Staying Fit on the Go: How to Keep Up Your Workout Routine While Traveling

The airplane wheels touch down, and your fitness routine flatlines. It’s a familiar story.

You spend months building good habits. But one week of airport food, client dinners, and a missed travel workout routine can make you feel like you’re back at square one. Research from the American Heart Association confirms vacation weight gain is real. It can stick around for weeks after you’ve returned.

This is not another “try to walk more” article. This is an actionable 2025 guide on how to maintain your fitness. You’ll learn how to use your hotel room as a gym, use fitness tech, and turn your travel itself into a workout for staying fit while traveling.

1. Master the “Good Enough” Workout (Mindset Shift)

The biggest problem with staying fit while traveling isn’t your hotel. It’s the “all-or-nothing” trap. You think, “If I can’t do my usual hour-long gym session, I’ll just do nothing.”

This mindset guarantees you’ll lose the progress you worked hard to build. You need to redefine what success looks like on the road. A 15-minute, high-intensity workout is infinitely better than zero.

Consistency is more important than intensity when you’re away from home. Your goal is maintenance, not a new personal best. Remember, CDC data shows only 24.2% of adults meet full fitness guidelines anyway.

Here’s a practical tip: schedule it. Open your phone calendar and add a 20-minute “Bodyweight Session.” Treat your simple exercise on vacation just like a business meeting you cannot miss.

Your Hotel Room is Your New Gym (No-Equipment Workouts)

You don’t need a fancy gym to get a great workout. Your own body weight is the most effective tool you have, and you can use it anywhere. This makes for a perfect hotel room workout.

Here is a simple 20-minute travel workout routine. Set a timer for 20 minutes and do “As Many Rounds As Possible” (AMRAP) of this circuit:

The 20-Minute Hotel Room AMRAP

Here are the five exercises in your circuit and how to do them.

1. Air Squats (10 reps)

• How to do it: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your chest up and your back straight. Lower your hips as if you are sitting back into a chair.
• The goal: Go down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Push through your heels to stand back up. That is one rep.
• Reps: Do 10 squats.

2. Push-Ups (10 reps)

• How to do it: Get into a high plank position with your hands under your shoulders. Your body should be a straight line from your head to your heels.
• The goal: Lower your chest toward the floor by bending your elbows. Push back up to the start.
• Make it easier: If this is too hard, do them on an incline. Place your hands on a sturdy desk or against the wall.
• Reps: Do 10 push-ups.

3. Walking Lunges (20 reps total)

• How to do it: Take a big step forward with your right leg. Lower your body until both knees are bent at a 90-degree angle.
• The goal: Make sure your front knee stays over your ankle, not in front of it. Push off your back foot to stand up, then step forward with your left leg.
• In a small room: If your room is tight, just do “alternating reverse lunges” in the same spot.
• Reps: Do 20 total reps (10 for each leg).

4. Tricep Dips (10 reps)

• How to do it: Use a sturdy hotel chair or the edge of the bathtub. Sit on the edge and place your hands next to your hips, with your fingers pointing forward.
• The goal: Lift your hips off the chair and walk your feet out. Lower your body by bending your elbows straight back. Push through your palms to lift back up.
• Reps: Do 10 dips.

5. Plank (30 seconds)

• How to do it: Hold your body in a straight line, just like the top of a push-up. You can rest on your forearms or your hands.
• The goal: Keep your core tight and do not let your hips sag. Look at the floor to keep your neck straight.
• Reps: Hold this position for 30 seconds.

You can get creative with what’s in your room. That hotel chair is perfect for dips or step-ups. A small towel can work as a slider for core exercises, turning any floor into part of your hotel room workout.

If you prefer following a video, check out Joe Wicks’ “20 Minute HOTEL HIIT” on YouTube. He uses a “40 seconds work, 20 seconds rest” format with moves like “Burpee Power Knees” that will get your heart pumping.

3. Pack a ‘Micro-Gym’: The Best Portable Gear of 2025

Bodyweight workouts are great. But if you want to level up your travel workout routine, you can pack a ‘micro-gym’. The best gear for staying fit while traveling gives you the most options for the least weight and space.

The simplest choice is a set of resistance bands. Brands like Rogue make tube bands that are light, cheap, and easy to pack. You can use them for bicep curls, shoulder presses, rows, and assisted squats.

For cardio, nothing beats a simple jump rope. It gives you a very high-intensity workout in just a few minutes. It also takes up almost no space in your carry-on bag.

If you travel often, the best all-in-one tool is a suspension trainer. The TRX Home Suspension Trainer is a great example. It weighs less than two pounds and lets you do dozens of exercises.

It comes with a door anchor that you safely secure over any sturdy hotel door. This lets you do pull-ups (rows), chest presses, and challenging leg exercises. It’s a complete gym in a tiny bag.

4. Use Your Phone as a Personal Trainer (Top 2025 Fitness Apps)

Your smartphone is your best accountability tool. It’s always with you and can keep you on track. You just need to download the right apps to turn it into a personal trainer.

If you’re short on time, the Seven app is a great choice. It guides you through quick, high-intensity workouts that last only seven minutes. It’s perfect for busy mornings before a conference.

For more variety, Nike Training Club (NTC) and FitOn are excellent. They offer huge libraries of free, trainer-led classes. You can easily find a bodyweight-only session for an effective hotel room workout.

Getting outside is a great way to exercise on vacation. You can use Strava to find popular running or cycling routes loved by locals. It takes the guesswork out of exploring a new place.

For a fun, motivational twist, try Relive. It tracks your hike or run and creates a cool 3D video story of your route. This makes your outdoor workout a memorable part of your trip.

Conclusion:

Staying fit while traveling in 2025 isn’t about finding a perfect gym. It’s about blending movement into your journey.

This means doing a 15-minute hotel room workout one day. The next, it might be using a pocket-sized resistance band or turning your sightseeing into a run.

Don’t wait until you get home. Pick one strategy from this list for your next trip. What’s your go-to travel workout routine? Share it in the comments below.

Your health doesn’t have to be on pause just because you’re on the move.