Travel exercises: 10 workouts you can perform on the road

Exercise when travelling. (Photo: Yannic Laderach via Unsplash)

This is among the most popular time of the year to travel as most work slows down to a trickle globally, many offices are closed, schools are on a break and festive cheer is in the air along with the pleasant nip. And now that you have lived through a pandemic that forced you to convert your home into a multipurpose space (office, school, nursery, gym) beyond its primary use as a family abode, you are probably a lot more flexible and adaptable as far as your fitness and exercise routines are concerned — which will make it easier for you to remain active while you enjoy a holiday.

Bengaluru-based Manish Chowdhary, the co-founder of Wow Skin Science, seeks out tennis and paddle courts wherever he goes to get in a game or two to keep his active routine going.

The Reliance Brands boss Darshan Mehta, who travels extensively, packs his running shoes before anything else and has run in over more than 200 cities worldwide. He goes for his runs no matter whether he is traveling for business or leisure.

Shahid Lokhandwala, a businessman who lives between Mumbai and Pune, finds a CrossFit gym in whatever destination he travels to and tries to get at least three workouts in a week.

“There are so many workout options and so many resources available, no matter where you go, you really have no excuse to not workout except that you don’t feel like it,” says Sandeep Sachdev, trainer, nutritionist and co-founder of Easy Human fitness studio and café in Mumbai. “If you want to cycle, most cities across the globe have some sort of bike sharing apps or bike rental agencies. If you want to run, there are running groups everywhere and they are, generally, very welcoming. Most gyms and CrossFit boxes have pay as you go drop-in options. And, so, many places have excellent fitness equipment installed in public places like parks and promenades so that everyone can get some exercise for free.”

There are also serious benefits of staying active while travelling. One, you will find yourself with a lot more energy and enthusiasm to do things, if you continue to exercise. Second, working out or playing a sport will help you work up your appetite and also aid in digesting what you eat and drink. Third, if you continue to exercise you are less likely to complain about “holiday weight gain”. Fourth, it will ensure continuity and that means you would neither suffer from muscle soreness nor struggle when you restart after a break.

You don’t even need to hit the gym or go find a yoga studio to get your exercise while travelling. You could do it just about anywhere if you stick to bodyweight exercises or yoga. “Some clever planning and thinking out of the box when it comes to exercise can make it both fun and effective at the same time,” says Sachdev, who feels HIIT (high intensity interval training) is a great format that ticks all boxes and is extremely effective.

For those who like yoga and cannot devote enough time to go through an hour-long session, could easily turn to performing the Suryanamaskars, which are an effective strength training exercise as well as a fundamental yoga flow, says Karthik Kashyap, a yoga instructor who has a PhD in yoga and philosophy from Mangalore University. Though social media often informs us of people doing 100 or even 500 Suryanamaskars, you don’t really need to perform that many. Just doing five to 10 Suryanamaskars with proper form and technique is enough workout for most people.

Here are 10 workouts that you can perform on the road: