Despite luggage space being at a premium, I’ve often sacrificed precious shoe space for my workout clothes, sneakers/trainers and good intentions (thinking I’ll find a cool yoga, barre or cardio class in my destination or at the hotel). I’ve found that I rarely get to the local gym or boutique studio for travel workouts and instead tend to get my workout on the road with hours walking or through fun adventures (i.e. bike tour in Naples, hiking in Zion, kayaking, etc.).
Staying healthy on the road can be tough especially if you are a business travel road warrior. On vacation, while I give myself some latitude, I do try my best to get in a workout each day. There’s a lot of wine and chocolate to negate as my “no calories on vacation” mantra can only go so far. When researching hotels, I do give extra points to those with free access to special gyms on/off site and will ask the concierge for a list of workout options in the area. So this is my list with travel workouts for everyone.
Note: If you have a local gym membership, ask if they have properties or affiliated clubs in the cities/town you are visiting. Some may allow free visits, others charge an additional fee.
Easy to Pack Items for Travel Workouts
My secret exercise equipment is small and easy to pack – stretch exercise bands and spiky massage balls. Both fit in my suitcase, carry on or even my handbag. Each are quick ways to recover from flights, trains and bus travel. I will tell you that I do get mileage out of these two items – the spiky ball for my sore feet does wonders and the stretch bands help my legs. I have thought about travel TRX bands but those get a bit complicated in my experience with the hotel doors so you might need to go to the hotel gym and see if you can anchor them there (you may need to ask hotel and/or trainer).
Free Travel Workouts – Use Your Feet
The easiest (and cheapest) way to work out while traveling is to walk as much as you can in the new city/town (make sure you have comfortable travel shoes). You can also say no to escalators and elevators for smaller distances and use the stairs. While the aim is the elusive 10k steps per day, only you and your FitBit know if you succeed or fail. As for me, I walk until I can’t walk anymore and need to call Uber.
When I sail on a cruise, I opt for the cheapest cabin (usually lowest deck) and use the stairs throughout the cruise. There were many days where I regretted that decision – namely from deck 2 to 11 for the gym workouts where I arrived huffing/puffing with a red face to begin my workout. You can also walk the outside deck for a great workout – on Holland America, they raise money for charity each cruise with their 5k charity walk. A few spins around is quite the workout and you can meet new friends while enjoying the seaviews!
If you bring hiking shoes/boots with you, you can explore the trails near the city or more adventurous nature attractions. If you want to rent gear, then consider REI Rentals in the travel destination. It seems that snow shoes, tents and sleeping bags are popular items to rent at REI.
With wellness travel exploding currently, it’s exciting to see an airport gym ROAM Fitness at BWI which includes workout gear and showers. If you need to wait in the airport anyway, you might as well make it count.
Travel Workouts Apps
Class Pass is an app that allows you to visit various types of workout locations for a set number of visits/credits per month per payment plan. If you like to vary your travel workouts at boutique studios, Class Pass is a good option especially if you are keen to do yoga one day, barre the next and kickboxing another day. Classes are available in 80+ cities including International cities. There’s really no excuse with ClassPass to say you can’t find a workout option. Now as for leaving the pub on time in London or pulling yourself away from work or leisure attraction, that’s another story.
The MindBody app is a great tool to find fitness, wellness and beauty options near you. The cool part of this app is that you can see if the fitness vendor offers a free first session, discounted new member trial or other promotion for first time visitors. You need to register to use the app and then have access to the three main categories – fitness, wellness and beauty.
- Fitness area will show you all of the options within a time period and location. You will see gym or boutique studio info, class name, instructor and pricing.
- Wellness has a plethora of sub-categories – Massage, Acupunture, Meditation, Nutrition, Chiropractor, Naturopathic Medicine, PreNatal, Physical Therapy, Coaching/Healing, Cryotherapy (doesn’t sound fun being that cold), Heated Therapy, Reflexology, Water Treatment, Body Treatments and Wellness for Kids.
- Beauty includes Hair Salon, Face Treatments, Nails, Hair Removal, Makeup/Lash/Brows, Med Spa, Tanning (who still does this?), Tattoo/Piercing
Free Yoga Classes while Traveling
Google “Free Yoga in x City” and you’ll be pleasantly surprised (or overwhelmed) by the number of free yoga events throughout the city in the morning and evening. In Philadelphia, we have yoga on the river, at the Art Museum and on rooftops all for free – just bring your yoga mat (you can borrow/rent in some cities).
Workout fashion clothing stores, Lululemon and Athleta, offer free in store yoga classes during the week and will often offer free passes for a workout studio in the area (ask at the sales desk).
Airport Yoga – Travel Workout in the Airport
I’m sure many of you have found the quiet spots at the airport to do a bit of yoga before boarding the plane. I’ve even done some yoga on the plane (best on international flights in the small aisle between the restrooms). A few airports have added Yoga Rooms for travelers where yoga basics are supplied (mats and blocks). Some offer music, videos, meditation and guided assistance depending on the airport. Many are free to passengers, a few require lounge access on eligible tickets/status and a new airport vendor, Yoga on the Fly, charges a fee. You can also bring your own travel yoga mat if you want.
Here are a few airports with yoga options for now (I would expect more to come online as companies expand and airports look for new vendors to manage the amenity).
Domestic U.S. Airport Yoga Rooms
Chicago O’Hare (ORD) Yoga – Terminal 3
Chicago Midway (MDW) Yoga – Concourse C
Dallas (DFW) Yoga – Terminal B (D40/B1) and Terminal E (E31)
Denver (DEN) Yoga – Concourse A – Yoga on the Fly (paid access)
International Airport Yoga Rooms
Frankfurt (FRA) Yoga – Terminal 1 (gates C14-16) and Terminal 2 (gate D1)
London (LHR) – SkyTeam lounge access (paid)
Hong Kong (HKG)
Cathay Pacific just opened The Sanctuary by Pure Yoga Hong Kong in their lounge and it looks fabulous! With space for yoga and private meditation space, it’s a relaxing oasis before your long haul flight. Sky Team has yoga room in their HKG lounge for members and passengers flying on eligible tickets.
Travel Workout in the Hotel Gym
The place that gets no love is the hotel gym which has, in the past, been an afterthought by the hotel owner in terms of space and equipment. Some will surprise you with the latest tech and equipment while others might just put a treadmill and weights. The hotel gym is rarely crowded in my experience (except in Miami and Las Vegas). The hotel may have its own gym or be associated with the gym onsite to offer hotel guests free or discounted access. The luxury hotels is where I’ve found the most interesting gym options.
Luxury Hotel Gym Workouts
My favorite hotel gym is at the Peninsula Hotel Chicago. Hotel Guests are allowed to visit the private, member’s only gym on the top floor and attend the workout classes which are small group trainer led for free. I was able to work out with eight people in a cardio strength class one day and a core class the next day. I neglected to pack a swimsuit to enjoy the stunning pool. The Peninsula Chicago is the rare hotel that can keep you inside the entire visit with luxury options in food, drink, wellness and outdoor roof attractions (skating rink in winter, patio bar in summer).
Photo courtesy: Chicago Peninsula
In London, the Marylebone Hotel allows hotel guests access to the private members only gym, Third Space London, in the building. I was so excited for this opportunity that I brought my gym clothes, a bathing suit for the sumptuous pool and my trainers (sneakers). Unfortunately, my schedule didn’t gel with the workout times so my gym workouts were nil that trip. It’s tough in London to go out to the pub at night and try to wake up early to workout. I really tried but will need to go back and try again because seriously this place looks amazing! The same with The Mondrian London gym.
Hotels with Travel Workout Essentials
The Westin hotel chain has a two wellness fitness programs – Run Westin and Gear Lending. Run Westin which provides running maps for 3 and 5 mile runs as well as options in some cities to join the Run Concierge small group runs. Westin Gear Lending provides workout clothes, socks and sneakers. The socks are yours to keep as part of the rental fee (usually $5+). You return everything but the socks once done. This helps keep your packing to a minimum because if you aren’t already traveling in your sneakers they can be problematic for carry on only packing. I’ve not tried the Gear Lending program yet to see if they offer plus size workout clothes and size 11 sneakers so watch this space for future updates. As for running, I’ll be the first one eaten by the zombies because I’m not a runner.
Kimpton Hotels wellness provide in room yoga mats, bike rental at select hotels and jogging stations filled with granola and healthy drinks. Some Kimpton hotels have affiliated local gyms on property, like the EPIC Hotel Miami which has Exhale Spa Miami which offers fitness classes (barre, cardio, yoga) for an additional fee.
Hotel Gym Las Vegas
Las Vegas is notorious for the see and be seen atmosphere and the gym is no exception. The dreaded “resort fee” includes access to the gym which you can’t remove if you don’t use. Rarely do I see women sans makeup or in unfashionable workout clothes. I usually skip the gym because I can’t be bothered with the scene which is silly given that I workout 5-6 times a week at home and have my lululemon with me. On a recent visit to The Wynn Las Vegas the gym charged an additional $30 per Yoga Class and I couldn’t hide my disgust with paying a resort fee to use the gym that didn’t include classes. One cool Las Vegas experience yoga I did consider was Yoga on the High Roller ferris wheel at the LINQ Promenade but the cost was prohibitive and doing downward dog while the pod is moving was a bit too much for my clumsy self.
Cruise Ship Gym & Wellness Spa
You are stuck on a floating hotel with 24/7 food options and buffets that bring out your inner glutton so visiting the gym should be on your itinerary. In my experiences sailing with various cruise lines around the world, the small gym has the latest equipment, personal training options and group classes with great views in the front of the ship. You pay extra for personal training and group classes depending on the cruise line. On one ship, I went to the boot camp class ($20) and was one of two passengers to show up so we essentially had a private training session (normally $100+) for less. Another cruise had TRX classes for free and was limited to ten people (only five signed up). Daily yoga is usually available for free to $10+ per class. Each cruise line and ship differs in their offerings and pricing. One funny coincidence – the trainer on the Celebrity Constellation (Turkey/Greek cruise) was the same on the Carnival Caribbean cruise – we laughed when we recognized each other.
The cruise ship usually has the spa connected to the gym with saunas, hydro pools and relaxing salt rooms and heated lounge chairs. These are, of course, extra with varying prices. Many spas will offer the special visit pass on the first day of sailing as they limit access. If you are keen to wellness options in addition to your gym workout, then consider the spa pass. Massage, acupuncture and other treatments are extra. A few ships now offer spa cabins, special spa programs and wellness cuisines.
Wellness Spa and Spa Resort Adventures
If you are keen to focus exclusively on your health and wellness, then consider going to a destination resort to sort yourself out. I’ve had fantastic wellness adventures at Red Mountain Resort & Spa in St. George, Utah and a luxury escape to Miraval in Tucson, Arizona. Miraval, now owned by Hyatt, is expanding the Miraval concept to additional cities in the U.S.
The game changer in 2019 will be Equinox Hotels and Cruises. The luxury Equinox gym is expanding the wellness concept to your travels full stop. Your food, workout and lodging options will all be healthy options and products. I wonder if the hotel is a gym or the gym is a hotel if I will manage to make it to a workout on time.
Travel Workouts – Don’t Sweat It
So I try my best to negate all the wine, chocolate and cheat day foods when I’m traveling by working out the best I can. While I’d love to try all the new trends in workout classes around the world, I’m yet to accomplish that feat despite good intentions. For now, I do my best to ensure wellness on the road and that my travel workouts fit my busy schedule. I try to schedule a spa day when I travel to take the day off to recover and that’s what works for me. When all else fails, I take the stairs and consider it a win! What about you? How do you workout on the road?
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