Why the 12 Minute Athlete Workouts are Perfect for Traveling

It’s happens to everyone…

You keep a perfect workout schedule when you’re at home, never missing a day. But then one day, you go on vacation or travel for work and bam—all your hard work falls apart.

Because while you might pack your workout clothes with good intention to use the hotel gym, they never actually make it out of the bottom of your suitcase.

And before you know it, you’ve stopped exercising at all, completely abandoning your usual health routine. You start eating all the local foods, drink a little more than usual, and rather than walking, splurge and get a cab (it is vacation after all).

Soon enough, your pants start fitting tighter, your energy levels drop, and your motivation goes way down—you’re back to square one. And worst of all, it’s not so easy to get back to being healthy when you get home.

But that’s where the 12 Minute Athlete workouts come in.

Here’s why they’re the best way to motivate yourself to work out when you’re traveling:

They’re short

It’s pretty tough to motivate yourself to work out while traveling when you know your workout will take at least 45 minutes to an hour.

But 12 minutes? Everyone has an extra 12 minutes in their day.

Squeeze in a quick interval training session in between meetings or before a big night out.

Or, if that’s not an option, just get up a few minutes earlier (my go-to method)—that way you’ll get your workout over with early, and not have to worry about exercise the rest of the day.

They don’t take any space

Sure, some of the workouts on the site include a little sprinting, but that can easily be substituted with another exercise (such as high knees or burpees).

And nearly every other exercise on the site can be done with very little space.

That means the workouts are perfect to do in a nearby park, on an outdoor patio, or even in your hotel room.

And there goes your excuse of not having enough space to get a proper workout in.

You can do them with little or no equipment

The best thing about the 12 Minute Athlete workouts is that you can get a kickass workout with little to no equipment.

Sure, many of the workouts on the site include exercise gear like kettlebells and pull up bars, but you don’t need them to get in a good workout.

When I travel, I always make sure to throw in my timer and my jump rope. Also, if you have a sandbag, you can always just throw in the shell (it takes up zero space) and fill it with something heavy when you reach your destination.

But you don’t even need any of these to work up a sweat—you can use just your own body weight and still get in a good workout.

For bodyweight substitutions to all exercises, make sure and look at the bodyweight equipment substitutions.

No more excuses

You can’t say you don’t have the time. You can’t say you don’t have any space. And you can’t say you don’t have the gear.

So the next time you travel, leave your excuses at home.

Make 12 Minute Athlete workouts a part of your normal travel routine, and you’ll feel healthier, more energized, and less guilty about those inevitable extra indulgences.

And best of all, you’ll be able to pick up right where you left off when you get back home—and won’t have to go shopping for a larger pant size when you return.

Image credit: © Paweldutka




















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5 thoughts on “Why the 12 Minute Athlete Workouts are Perfect for Traveling”

  1. I was recently on a 36 hour travel itinerary where I was stopped in Guangzhou for 7 hours. I jumped over the chairs at the gate for a bit of a workout, and ran up and down the terminal…I got a lot of stares, but that is what we must deal with in the name of our health, right?

    Reply
    • That’s awesome! Long travel days are the worst and often include WAY too much sitting. I’ll have to give your stair method a try in the future.

      Reply
  2. I always worry about missing workouts when on holidays but recently got back from 7 days in Kos and the 12 minute athlete app solved that problem, did a workout every morning in hotel room and felt fantastic all day not feeling guilty about lazing by the pool!!

    Reply

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