3 Tips To A Successful Hotel Gym Session

Do you ever go on vacation with the intention to train only to find yourself dissatisfied with the hotel gym, layout, and available equipment? This frustration can compound once you realize that half the exercises in your training program are not possible without specific pieces of equipment.

I’ve been all around the world and every time I travel to a new country I keep several things in mind.  I can assume with near perfect accuracy that the hotel gym will lack a barbell.  It will lack bumper plates, and most likely scalable resistance bands.  At the same time, I know the value of a program and how impactful consistent structured training can be on my goals and ability to ski at my desired level.

For this, I’ve created a 3 step guide to athlete-proof any gym, in any country, with nothing more than a little floor space and a yoga mat.  I’ve proved this system from small basement gyms in Quebec, to 20th story corner room gyms in Danang, Vietnam.  No matter where you are in the world these 3 tips will allow you to stay on task and complete an effective training session without the frustration of the unknown environment that awaits you.

Cherry pick any of the following tips to best navigate your next training session on the road.  Even if you get snowed in, you can always execute a bodyweight program from the Programs Dashboard, or pull up Mobility Level II or III and kickstart your recovery between days on snow.

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Tip 1: FIND A WEIGHTED OBJECT AND SOME FLOOR SPACE

To complete an effective training session you need nothing more than one heavy object and some floor space. This will become more clear as you read but for now, let’s focus on this concept.  The object you choose can be anything moderately heavy and easy to grip.  Obviously, kettlebells, dumbbells, weight plates, and medicine balls function best but you’re not limited to those items. I’ve used tote bags filled with books, backpacks filled with cinder blocks, etc.  The purpose of this object is to provide usable resistance to any of the movements described in the following tip.

With the object in hand, find some floor space away from other patrons where you have the ability to lay down flat on your back fully extended without bumping into equipment. This will function as your gym space, uninterrupted by other patrons looking to use equipment.  By forming your own zone, you will be able to shorten the total duration of your training session and quickly change from movement to movement with limited rest and no wasted time.  From an onlookers’ perspective, you will present as focused and “not to be bothered”. I’ve found this to be quite effective as opposed to meandering around the room which typically leads to conversation and wasted time.

Tip 2: EXECUTE EACH OF THE FOLLOWING MOVEMENTS

When training in borrowed space, movement effectiveness becomes your best friend.  The quickest way to train efficiently is to select one of each of the following five movements.  This will ensure that you cover all joint actions and movement requirements for a balanced training session. 

1. Hip Dominant:

• Deadlift, hip bridge, and single leg variations

2. Knee Dominant:

• Squat, step up, lunge, and single leg variations

3. Horizontal Push/Pull:

• Push-up, bent over row, and single arm variations

4. Vertical Push/Pull:

• Pull-Up, overhead press, and single arm variations

5. Core-Specific Exercise:

• Hollow hold, plank, superman, and some core flexion exercises

By selecting an exercise from each of the above categories, you will ensure that you complete a balanced training session.  It’s important to remember that sports involve the entire body. When you move down the hill on skis, there are myriad forces acting against you.  A body capable of responding to these forces will be built through balanced training aimed at improving baseline movement patterns.  For the sake of hotel workouts and training in your relatives basement during the holiday, I urge you to replicate this list under weight (loading).  Here’s a sample day from a training program that could be done with a single 12lb (6kg) object in a small space.

As you can see, this training session involves nothing more than body weight and a 12lb object as well as some free moving space.  You could essentially arrive at a hotel or condo gym that is completely empty of equipment and still complete an effective training session that keeps you on track for your goals.  Additionally, this will keep your legs fresh and ready for the next day on snow instead of having a down day of zero activity.

Tip 3: MODIFY THE STRUCTURE, MAXIMIZE RESULTS

From my experience coaching clients, athletes, and completing makeshift training sessions in scarce gyms occupying odd corners of the world, I can assure you that structure becomes your best friend. Structure can be motivating or frustrating and I’ve narrowed down the quickest way to achieve an effective training session without feeling like you have to labor away for hours in a strange facility.

My biggest concern when modifying structure is losing out on key exercises or volume (total sets x total reps).  Let’s face it, when we are on vacation skiing or traveling the world, the last thing we really want to do is spend 1.5 hours in a hotel gym.  So take your entire training structure, reduce the reps by 3-4 per sets, slightly reduce the weight, and eliminate your typical rest periods.  So, If you took the above training example and pulled out the rest periods, you would eliminate 0:10:30 from your session. Now you can add a full warm up and still keep your training session under an hour.  Of course, this is assuming the resistance is light enough to complete multiple rounds without fatigue.  This reduction in rest will also maintain a higher heart rate through the session and leave you feeling like you really maximized your short amount of time in the hotel gym.

Because the provided training session above uses multiple joints, muscles, and movements in opposition of each other, you can reduce or eliminate the rest without building up too much compounding fatigue.  For example, when you get done doing lunges, you start doing pushups, when you’re done with your pushup reps, you begin bent over rows.  Further explained, when your triceps and chest are done doing pushups, they can recover while your biceps and back muscles do rows. 

Working opposing muscles groups in a circuit is a great way to complete a ton of volume in a shorter amount of time while elevating your heart rate and producing a stimulus that will keep your body fresh and ready for the next day on snow.  Once you’re done, just make sure to stretch back in your room.

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If you implement these 3 tips on your next vacation, you will surely feel accomplished and ready for whatever comes your way.  Every good ski trip still has down days. Now you have some structure that will positively impact your return to snow.

Of course, these tips can be applied to any Ski System training program on the site or in your phone.  They are all structured with these movement principles in mind.  Now you have more tools to develop consistency and build your training habit.

-Abe