A travel workout is any session you can finish with little or no equipment so you stay consistent on the road, and my two favorites are a three-mile run paired with 300 push-ups, and a 100-rep, full-body workout you split with a partner.
On Physical Friday I talk about the physical things we can do to stay in shape so we can keep hunting, fishing, hiking, and getting outside for life. Travel wrecks a lot of fitness plans, but in my opinion consistency wins — getting something in beats nothing. Here are two simple workouts that travel anywhere.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
My go-to is three miles paired with 300 push-ups. You can run the three miles first and finish with the push-ups, knock out the push-ups first and then run, or break the push-ups up across the run — drop and do ten every couple hundred yards. You can do it outside, on a treadmill in a tiny hotel gym, or by running laps around the parking lot. It needs zero equipment beyond your own body and a little distance, which is why it is one of my all-time favorites for the road.
Cover three miles however you can and complete 300 push-ups at some point during it. Run three miles then do all 300, do all 300 then run, or stop intermittently and bang out a set of push-ups. On a treadmill, run a bit, hit pause, drop down for push-ups, then climb back on. When you are done you have logged three miles and 300 push-ups. You can also swap the run for a rower or a bike — pick a distance and pair it with push-ups, like a 5K and 500 push-ups.
Pick five bodyweight movements and do 100 reps of each as a team: 100 pull-ups if you have a bar, 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and 100 burpees. You and a partner split the reps any way you want — ten and ten, 25 and 25, or 50 and 50 — so there is built-in work and rest. You can also cycle through all five exercises a few times, like ten and ten of each for five rounds to reach 100 apiece. It is a fantastic full-body session you can do anywhere.
Adjust the volume. With the 100-rep partner format, two people of equal fitness can each take 50 of every exercise. If you are at different levels, just shift the split — one person does 60 pull-ups and the other does 40, or 80 and 20, all the way down. Someone brand new to training can work side by side with someone deep into their fitness journey, both doing the same movements, just different shares of the reps. That is what makes this format so easy to dial in to whatever time and ability you have.
Be careful. If you are somewhere you have never been, ask the front desk or concierge whether it is a safe area to go running, because not every area is. If it is not, you are better off on the treadmill or running laps around the parking lot. Be especially cautious early in the morning or late at night when you really do not know where you are. I would rather work out indoors, which I do not love, than head out into a spot I should not be in.
Because falling off is the real risk. You build consistency, motivation, and momentum, then a business trip throws a wrench into it — you eat poorly, skip workouts, and come back needing time to get the fitness train rolling again. When you are traveling, getting something in is better than nothing. A short run with push-ups or a quick 100-rep circuit keeps the habit alive so you do not lose the progress you worked for. Maintenance, not personal records, is the goal when you are away from home.
I am busy and traveling in the prime of my career, and I have watched travel derail my fitness more than once, so I keep two workouts that need almost nothing — three miles and 300 push-ups, and the 100-rep partner circuit — so there is never a good excuse to skip. I get into how I actually run them in a crappy hotel gym, outside, or in a parking lot in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Here are the two routines I reach for on the road. I cover the details in the episode.
I unpack each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
The hotel gym that is the size of a closet with one treadmill is not an excuse — it is the setup for three miles and 300 push-ups. Run for a bit, hit pause, drop to the floor for a set of push-ups, climb back on, repeat. By the end you have your three miles and your 300 push-ups in a space barely big enough to turn around in. I walk through exactly how I run it in tight spaces in the episode, so press play in the player above.
This is what I love about the 100-rep format. The volume flexes to whoever is doing it. Equal partners each take 50 of every exercise. A beginner paired with someone in great shape just takes a smaller share — maybe 20 to the other person's 80 — and you both finish the same work. I explain why training side by side like this keeps people coming back in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Travel does not have to knock you off track. Keep one or two workouts that need almost nothing, and you remove every excuse before it shows up.
If you have got an awesome road workout of your own, I want to hear it — you might even end up on the show talking about how you stay consistent while you travel. Press play in the player above.
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
travel workouts · hotel gym workout · push-ups · bodyweight training · three miles 300 push-ups · 100-rep workout · partner workout · burpees · pull-ups · CrossFit · consistency · Physical Friday · Tom Rowland Podcast
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's Physical Friday series I share the training, nutrition, and mindset that keep fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen strong enough to do the things they love — hunting, fishing, hiking, and more — for life.
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