Travel Workouts

Hotel Crossfit Workouts

Keep on top of your workout of the day (WOD) routine while travelling, with advice from our PT ‘The Fit Thing’ and her take on 20 hotel crossfit workouts you can do on vacation.

Hotel Crossfit Workouts Guide

Travelling but love CrossFit? Well, it’s not off the cards. While you might associate CrossFit with bumper plates and barbells, the principles of CrossFit can be translated into bodyweight workout sessions or in hotel gyms with limited kit. All you need to know is the movement patterns and workout types when you’re on holiday or business trips, and you can get as good of a sweat on as if you were at your CrossFit box back home.

I’m going to take you through some CrossFit workout ideas, translate some terms, and help you get moving when you’re away. 

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PT Writer // Becky
PT Writer // Becky

Specialising in words and WOD - I'm also a pre and post-partum physical training consultant when I'm not writing. @thefitthing

To the point

hotel crossfit workout guides for travellers

I’ve been a Personal Trainer at The Fit Thing since 2016. I’ve followed CrossFit workouts myself and put my clients through them too, helping build their strength, cardio, and mental toughness. Over the years my client base has been men and women ranging from 15 to 79 and they’ve all given the principles of CrossFit a go. 

I also love to travel, and so do my clients. When I travel I like an efficient workout, something that doesn’t take long, but gets super sweaty and gets the muscles burning. This is why I always choose an AMRAP or EMOM workout when I’m in a hotel, on a beach or at a local park – and this is exactly what I’m going to share with you. 

These workouts are tough, but if you need to take additional rest – do. If you’re new to CrossFit or exercise, lower the reps or if following equipment workouts use lighter weights. 

If you are looking for a gruelling workout challenge then ramp up each session with a buy-in of 50 burpees, a mile run, or 100 squat jumps! 

Right, let’s jump into hotel gym workouts that give you your CrossFit fix.

CrossFit traditionally consists of a mixture of Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, gymnastics, and HIIT. It is increasingly popular and researchers have found significant improvements in health and wellness due to CrossFit – it’s a decent workout that you’ll get hooked on. 

Usually, you’ll be using a combination of barbells, free weights, and body weight. However, if you’re in a hotel, on a beach, or at a park, you might not have the kit you’d usually see in your CrossFit box — but don’t let that demotivate you.

You can absolutely do CrossFit-style workouts with nothing more than your body weight — and maybe a skipping rope if you have it.  

A hotel CrossFit workout should include movements that get your heart pumping, require strength and skill, and are suited to your own ability. You want to include the main movement patterns, that includes, hinge, push, pull, single leg, squat, and core. 

A CrossFit workout can be anything from 4 minutes to an hour, though the hour-long ones might leave you in pieces as they’re designed to be intense.

Crossfit Workout Terms Glossary

hotel crossfit workouts
TermDefinitionThis Means?Best For?
AMRAPAs Many Rounds As PossibleComplete as many reps or rounds of a given set of exercises within a certain time period. Sometimes this is written as Rounds For Time, or for timeGreat for endurance and testing mental resilience
EMOMEvery Minute on the MinutePerform a specific exercise or set of exercises at the start of every minute, resting for the remainder of that minute until the next interval starts.Great for conditioning
WODWorkout of the DayFollow a set session with a variety of movements, sets and reps.Great for a challenging and varied workout
E/SEach side
Buy inBuy inBefore you start the session you have to ‘buy in’ with a set exercise.
Buy outBuy outTo finish the session you have to ‘buy out’ and perform the final exercise.

Muscles worked

  • Back
  • Chest
  • Shoulders
  • Arms
  • Quads
  • Core
  • Posterior Legs

Time Needed

Each variation of these workouts should take you between 20 to 30 minutes, making them great options to keep active and healthy while holidaying without losing too much of your day in the gym. They also make ideal options for a nice wake-up workout and still have time to grab a breakfast before the buffet closes; without needing to wake up so early you can’t sleep last night’s debauchery off.

Suggested Hotel Crossfit Workout Playlist

The Crossfit Workouts

We have broken these hotel crossfit workouts into variations that cover the following methods, all based on what kind of gym equipment is available in your hotel gym or room.

Types of Hotel Crossfit Workouts: 

– Kettlebells
– Bodyweight
– Dumbbells
– Barbell
– Calisthenics/Bars

Kettlebell CrossFit Workouts

hotel crossfit workouts with kettlebells

Most hotel gyms, even the ones that look like they’ve not been updated for 20 years, would have a kettlebell. Dust it off and give this kettlebell CrossFit Workout a try. 

Kettlebell AMRAP/ Rounds for Time

 Set your timer for 20 minutes, stay focused and get ready to feel the burn. This one is a decent cardio workout, but will also get your muscles pretty pumped.

10 High pulls

10 Goblet squats

10 Push press

10 Deadlifts 

20 Reverse lunges 

10 Sit-up and press

[Buy out to finish – 50 burpees]

Kettlebell EMOM

Every minute on the minute perform the following. Rest for the remainder of the minute. Do as many rounds of this as you like and rest for 2 minutes between rounds.

10 Snatches E/S

20 Swings (single arm for a challenge)

20 Squats

15 Push ups on kettlebell

10 Lunges E/S (10 one-legged squats for an extra challenge)

5 Turkish get ups E/S

Bodyweight Crossfit Workouts

hotel crossfit workouts

Bodyweight exercises really come into their own when you haven’t booked a hotel with fitness facilities. You can take these anywhere too, beach views, park life – get some fresh air with your endorphins. If you’re out in the park, a super simple bodyweight crossfit workout could be run a mile for time, burpees for time, or Tabata push ups (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off x 8)

Here are some bodyweight CrossFit workouts to get you pumped. 

Bodyweight AMRAP

Here’s a 20-minute AMRAP for you. Set your timer for 20 minutes and complete as many rounds for time as possible without rest.

15 Burpees 

20 Walking lunges

10 Push-ups

20 Squat jumps 

20 Mountain climbers 

15 Tricep dips 

Bodyweight WOD

This makes for an ideal hotel room workout. Follow this session and boost your fitness levels and increase body strength, even while travelling. 

100 push-ups

60 air squats

30 second squat hold 

20 Burpee broad jumps

5 Handstand push ups / 6 hand release push ups

FINISHER – 50 sit ups 

Bodyweight EMOM

Time to get the timer out. Every minute on the minute you’ll perform the next bodyweight workout, only using the remainder of the minute to rest. Do two rounds for a 20-minute EMOM.

20 Jumping Jacks

40 Lunges alternating (jump lunges for an extra challenge)

15 Triceps push ups

40 High knees

15 Sit ups 

30 Squat jumps 

10 Sumo squats (slower tempo)

10 Burpees to floor 

40 Bicycle ab crunches 

15 Frog jumps  

FINISHER – 30 second hollow rock hold (feel the burnnnn!)

Dumbbell Crossfit Workouts

Hotel Crossfit Workouts with Dumbbells

Ah, lucky enough to have access to some dumbbells in the hotel gym for your CrossFit workout? Let’s get started on Dumbbell exercises for your CrossFit workout that will get your heart racing and muscles pumped. 

Dumbbell AMRAP

Set your timer for 20 minutes and perform as many rounds for time as possible without taking a break!

10 Power cleans

10 Step ups E/S

10 Devil presses

10 Over-head walking lunge E/S

10 Thrusters 

10 Single-arm DB snatches

Dumbbell EMOM

Every minute on the minute perform the exercise. Use the remaining time in that minute to take a breath ready for the next minute and next exercise, to start. This is a total of 7 minutes, do as many rounds as you like, rest for 2 minutes between rounds. 

6 Split jerk E/S

15 Devil presses

10 Squat snatch E/S

15 Push press

15 Deadlift 

15 Overhead squat

20 Sit-ups 

Barbell Crossfit Workouts

Barbell Crossfit Workouts for travelling

A barbell for your hotel CrossFit workout is going to give you a serious session. The only thing that will be missing is your trainer from the box! 

Barbell AMRAP

Set yourself a timer for 5 minutes. Perform as many rounds for time as possible. Rest for 2 minutes. Then go again, 5 times in total.

3 Power cleans 

5 Front squats 

10 Burpees

10 Deadlifts 

10 Hollow rocks 

Barbell EMOM

Every minute on the minute you’ll start the next exercise, leaving the remaining time in the minute for your recovery. 10 minutes total for R1 and R2, 20 minutes in total. If your barbell is super light, think about increasing the reps accordingly. 

R1: Even minutes – 10 Back squat 

R1: Odd minutes – 40 mountain climbers 

R2: Even minutes – 10 Thruster 

R2: Odd minutes – 10 Burpees

Calisthenics Bar Crossfit Workouts

hotel crossfit workouts

If you’ve got access to a calisthenic bar for your CrossFit hotel workout then you’ve got some great options for exercises that will get you feeling strong, while testing your skill and endurance. 

Calisthenic Bars AMRAP

Set up your timer for 20 minutes, and try at get as many rounds for time as possible in. 

First off, buy in with either 500m run or 50 burpees 

Then AMRAP

10 Hanging knee raises

20 Pull ups (Burpee pull ups for an extra challenge!)

10 Push-ups

40 Air squats 

Calisthenic Bars EMOM

Perform this round 5 x, with a 2 minute rest between rounds. This will see you through around 30 minutes. 

20 Bodyweight rows

20 Air squats

20 Dips

20 Lunges (alternating)

20 Hanging leg/knee raises 

Finisher — Burpees for time!

Hotel Crossfit Workout Plans

Outro & Closing Tips

If you can commit to eating well and training while you’re away, you shouldn’t undo any of your hard work. Following sessions like these will have you still hitting those PB’s and reaching fitness goals when you’re on home soil.

Try a mixture of workout techniques to see what works best for you and the space and kit you have available. Looking for tough workouts? Challenge yourself with a ‘Buy in’ of 50 burpees to start, or a ‘Buy out’ of 500 m run when you’re already knackered — this will really test your mental toughness, endurance and motivation! 

References

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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