Hotel and travel workout with no equipment: 25 minutes to keep your gains
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One strength session a week is enough to keep your strength and muscle for months if you maintain the intensity, according to a 2021 review. A trip does not have to cost you your progress. A 25-minute hotel workout with your bodyweight or a resistance band, how to make it harder without weights and what to do about jet lag.
In 2021, Spiering and colleagues reviewed how much exercise you need to keep your gains when time is short. Their conclusion: strength and muscle size were maintained for up to 32 weeks with a single strength session a week and one set per exercise, as long as intensity did not drop. Older adults needed a little more: up to two sessions and 2-3 sets per exercise.
Applied to a trip: you do not need your gym or your full programme. You need few sets, but hard ones. Here is a no-equipment hotel workout that fits into 25 minutes and two metres of floor, a resistance band version and how to plan the week depending on how long you are away.
Do you lose muscle if you do not train while travelling?
Much less than you might think. In the study by Bickel and colleagues (2011), 70 adults did strength training three days a week for 16 weeks and then spent 32 weeks either not training or doing one third or one ninth of that volume. In the young participants, both reduced doses maintained the muscle they had gained. And strength was largely kept even by those who stopped completely, with only a slight drop at the end.
A few days off do not undo months of work; we cover it in detail in how much muscle you lose when you stop training. What does cost you is losing the habit: coming back after weeks off usually weighs more on your head than on your muscles.
| Length of trip | Sessions per week | Realistic goal |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 5 days | 0-2 short sessions | Keep the habit; resting is fine too |
| 1 to 3 weeks | 2 sessions of 25-30 minutes | Maintain strength and muscle |
| More than 3 weeks | 2-3 sessions with progression | Maintain or keep progressing, with a band or the hotel gym |
What fits in your suitcase: your bodyweight and a resistance band
Does training without weights work? For maintaining, easily, and for gaining too. In the study by Kikuchi and Nakazato (2017), push-ups with a load matched to 40% of the bench press maximum grew the chest and triceps and increased strength just as much as the bench press with that same load, over 8 weeks of two sessions a week. The review by Schoenfeld and colleagues (2021) explains why: muscle grows across a wide range of loads, light ones included, when sets are taken close to failure.
A resistance band adds what bodyweight lacks: pulling movements such as rows and pulldowns, and extra load for your legs. According to the meta-analysis by Lopes and colleagues (2019), covering 8 studies, training with elastic bands or tubes improved strength just as much as machines and dumbbells, in both legs and arms. And a band fits into any corner of your suitcase.
The travel rule: cut sets, not effort. Two or three sets per exercise stopped 1-2 reps short of failure maintain more than five comfortable sets.
No-equipment hotel workout (25 minutes)
A full-body circuit built on the basic patterns: push, pull, legs, hips, shoulders and core. Do the exercises in pairs (A1 with A2, then B1 with B2 and C1 with C2), alternating them with 60-90 seconds of rest: while one area works, the other recovers.
| Exercise | No equipment | With a resistance band | Sets × reps |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1. Push | Push-ups (feet on the bed if they feel easy) | Chest press with the band behind your back | 3 × 8-20 |
| A2. Pull | One-arm row with a loaded backpack | Row with the band anchored in the closed door | 3 × 10-15 |
| B1. Legs | Bulgarian split squat with the rear foot on the bed or a chair | Squat with the band under your feet | 3 × 8-15 per leg |
| B2. Hips | Single-leg glute bridge with your shoulders on the bed | Romanian deadlift with the band | 3 × 10-15 |
| C1. Shoulders | Pike push-ups | Band shoulder press | 2 × 8-15 |
| C2. Core | Plank with shoulder taps | Band Pallof press | 2 × 10 per side |
If you have time to spare, add another round of A and B. If you are short of time, do only A and B: in 15 minutes you have trained your whole body. Push-up technique and variations, from easiest to hardest, are in push-ups: technique and variations, and the Bulgarian split squat in Bulgarian split squat.
How to make it harder without weights
- Lower more slowly: 3-4 seconds on the way down and a pause at the bottom turn easy push-ups into a demanding set.
- Go single-leg or single-arm: the Bulgarian split squat and the single-leg bridge double the load without adding weight.
- Fill your backpack: water bottles or books for the row, the Romanian deadlift and the Bulgarian split squat.
- Gauge how close you are to failure: end each set 1-2 reps short of failure. If you are not sure how to judge it, we explain it in RIR and RPE.
If the hotel has a gym
Hotel gyms usually have dumbbells, a machine or two and treadmills. That is enough to adapt your usual routine: swap the barbell for dumbbells, prioritise multi-joint exercises and keep the intensity even if you cut sets. You will find a plan built only around dumbbells in dumbbell workout plan.
Cardio in your room: 10 minutes that count
If you cannot go out for a run, short and intense cardio is the most efficient option. In the study by Gillen and colleagues (2016), sedentary men did three 20-second bike sprints within a 10-minute session, three times a week for 12 weeks. Their maximal oxygen uptake rose by 19%, the same as the group that cycled for 45 minutes non-stop, and their insulin sensitivity improved by a similar amount.
In a hotel you can apply it on the gym bike or, without one, climbing stairs or doing high knees at full speed for 20 seconds. With jumps, spare a thought for whoever sleeps below you. If you prefer something gentler, walking around the city counts too; we compare both approaches in HIIT or moderate cardio.
Jet lag and sleep: when to train after you arrive
The review by Waterhouse and colleagues (2007) attributes jet lag mainly to the body clock still running on the time of departure. Its main effects are poor sleep and lower performance, and the clock readjusts through signals such as light and the schedule at your destination.
- On day one, train lightly or not at all: after a long flight and a bad night, a heavy session achieves little.
- Move in daylight at your destination: walking or training outdoors exposes you to light on the new schedule.
- Protect your sleep: it is where recovery is consolidated. We explain it in sleep and athletic performance.
Common mistakes when training on the road
- Trying to replicate your full programme: without time or equipment you end up doing nothing. 25 minutes beat none.
- Doing easy sets just to tick the box: what maintains muscle is intensity, not the number of sets (Spiering, 2021).
- Making up for it on the last day: a punishing session before your flight does not recover the missed ones and leaves you sore in your seat.
- Confusing walking with strength training: on a sightseeing trip it is easy to clock up lots of steps; they count for your health, but they do not replace strength sessions.
If you want the routine done for you, the Progrevia generator has a “Travelling” equipment option: it only suggests bodyweight and resistance band exercises, adjusted to the minutes and days you have. And if you have no equipment at home either, see the no-equipment home workout.
- Spiering BA, Mujika I, Sharp MA, Foulis SA. Maintaining physical performance: the minimal dose of exercise needed to preserve endurance and strength over time. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2021;35(5):1449-1458.
- Bickel CS, Cross JM, Bamman MM. Exercise dosing to retain resistance training adaptations in young and older adults. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2011;43(7):1177-1187.
- Kikuchi N, Nakazato K. Low-load bench press and push-up induce similar muscle hypertrophy and strength gain. Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness. 2017;15(1):37-42.
- Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Van Every DW, Plotkin DL. Loading recommendations for muscle strength, hypertrophy, and local endurance: a re-examination of the repetition continuum. Sports. 2021;9(2):32.
- Lopes JSS, Machado AF, Micheletti JK, de Almeida AC, Cavina AP, Pastre CM. Effects of training with elastic resistance versus conventional resistance on muscular strength: a systematic review and meta-analysis. SAGE Open Medicine. 2019;7:2050312119831116.
- Gillen JB, Martin BJ, MacInnis MJ, Skelly LE, Tarnopolsky MA, Gibala MJ. Twelve weeks of sprint interval training improves indices of cardiometabolic health similar to traditional endurance training despite a five-fold lower exercise volume and time commitment. PLoS One. 2016;11(4):e0154075.
- Waterhouse J, Reilly T, Atkinson G, Edwards B. Jet lag: trends and coping strategies. The Lancet. 2007;369(9567):1117-1129.
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Frequently asked questions
Do I lose muscle if I do not train on holiday?
Very little in a few weeks. In the study by Bickel (2011), strength was largely kept even without training, and in young adults one third of the usual volume maintained all the muscle gained. Two short sessions a week are enough to keep it.
What exercises can I do in a hotel room?
Push-ups, Bulgarian split squats with your foot on the bed, single-leg glute bridges, rows with a loaded backpack, pike push-ups and planks. With a resistance band you can add rows, shoulder presses and Romanian deadlifts.
How many times a week should I train while travelling?
Two sessions of 25-30 minutes are enough to maintain. According to Spiering (2021), even one weekly session with one set per exercise maintains strength and muscle in young adults if intensity does not drop.
Is it worth packing a resistance band?
Yes. According to the meta-analysis by Lopes (2019), training with elastic bands improves strength as much as machines and dumbbells, and the band adds the pulling exercises that bodyweight does not cover well.
Is it better to train or rest with jet lag?
On the first day, a light session or none at all. After that, training or walking in daylight at your destination helps reset the body clock, which according to Waterhouse (2007) is the main cause of jet lag.
Informational content based on the available scientific evidence: it does not replace advice from a healthcare professional. If you have an injury or a medical condition, or are pregnant, check with one before changing your training or diet.
