As much as I love to travel, I hate coming home feeling unhappy about having gotten out of my healthy eating and exercising routine. Most people look at what is usually a pathetic, sparse hotel gym with dread, since they are almost always totally empty and have very little equipment except for a few cardio machines, free weights and maybe (if you’re lucky) a few medicine balls.

However, hotel gyms do provide an opportunity to shake up a usual routine and get creative with what’s available. An empty gym means that we get to sing out loud to our music and do dances in the mirror! As traveling consultants it’s easy to find excuses to not work out while traveling for work, so to make it easier for you guys, here is my program of 3 workouts that you can do at nearly any hotel gym (even a sparse one) to stay the course when you are on the road.

10 minutes on the elliptical (or any machine will do) to warm up, last 5 minutes, alternate 30 seconds HARD with 30 seconds of moderate work.

Exercises: 3 sets

1 Straight forward lunges holding 10 lb weights (30 total, 15 each leg).

2 Kneeling hinged back flys: kneeling on the bench with feet up and upper body hinged forward 45 degrees (core must be engaged to stabilize!) using 5lbs in each hand, perform 15 lateral flies bringing shoulder blades together.

3 Decline Push Ups with Med Ball: Feet on the bench with med ball under one hand, perform a push up. Roll ball over to opposite side and continue. Do 12-16 total, but make sure its an even number so you hit each side same number of times.

4 Scissor kicks with med ball: do this on the bench, alternating a tap with the ball to the leg that is kicking up.

Workout Option 2

Cardio

10 minutes on any cardio machine going into the 30-second intervals right away.

Exercises: 3 sets

1  Side to side lunges over the bench: with med ball in hand, standing to the side of the bench, jump up and over to opposite side. Repeat 30 times.

2 Curtsey lunges, bicep curl and side leg lift: using 5 or 10 lb weights in each hand, curtsey lunge one leg behind and to the side. While holding the lunge static, give it a bicep curl. Coming out of the lunge, balance on the stabilizing leg while lifting the opposite one to the side (this targets the outer thigh). Repeat opposite leg. Perform 24 total, or 12 each side.

2 Skull Crushers on the bench: lying down on the bench perform 15 skull crushers using 10-15 lb weights. I like to hold my legs straight up at a 45- degree angle and lower/lift them slightly while I’m doing this.

3  Bicycle Crunches on bench x 25 

Workout Option 3

Cardio

10 minutes on any cardio machine, going into intervals right away, 10 seconds easy, 20 seconds as hard as you can go.

Exercises: 3 sets

1  Side lunge jumps: I use 5 lb weights in each hand and make this as plyo as possible 24 total, 12 each side

2 Plie Squats with bicep curl and shoulder press. Bring two benches close together and do the plie squats balancing on them. This further helps keep your posture upright.