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Your Travel Workouts:
Three Fat-Burning Workout Routines for the Hotel Room
By
Eugene Thong
CSCS
................................................................................
 Do you ever wonder if those diet gurus and late-night infomercial
hucksters actually follow their own recommendations?
I mean, can you
really, honestly see Suzanne Somers pumping away on her Thighmaster, or
Tony Little on a Gazelle, furiously sweating away in his basement? How
about so-called "diet gurus" like Dr. Phil who haven't seen their own
feet since they were in grade school?
But I digress. I guess I'm testy since I'll be getting a taste of my
own medicine this week. Currently, I'm sitting in a Hyatt in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a fully-functioning gym/fitness room. Of
course, one man's "fully-functioning" is another man's "barely
functional." And as I survey the hotel's weight selection (with nothing
heavier than a 35 lb dumbbell in sight), I think to myself,
"This is going to be an interesting challenge."
What's a fellow addicted to lifting heavy things to do for fitness?
The answer: Use leverage to get around the lack of heavy things, or work
on different aspects of the game.
Since the dry desert air has been keeping me up at night, I decided to
craft three fat-burning workouts for you, the busy
MCNewsletters reader. I had a lot of fun test-driving them and hope you
enjoy every excruciating minute as much as I did. While all of these
workouts are based on the development of separate, specific attributes,
they all have three things in common:
1. They can all be done in your typical hotel fitness center or
your own hotel room.
2. They all dramatically increase your metabolic output, causing
you to burn fat faster.
3. They are all short (time-wise) workouts. In fact, workout
three is only 7.5 minutes long!
Note: All these workouts work better if you have access to some
weights (even limited weights), but all is not lost if you don't. I've
written in "weights-less" alternatives where applicable.
Ready to go? Let's proceed:
Workout one: Strength-Based
This workout is designed to increase your lean body mass. As
we've written about previously,
increasing muscle mass is
the best way to increase your metabolism, so you'll burn more
calories throughout the day.
Increasing muscle mass is a combination of
two factors: intramuscular tension and accumulated by-products of
fatigue. In other words, you have to create high levels of tension in
the muscle by making it work hard, and you've gotta feel a burn. This
workout calls for concentration and effort - so be sure to use
resistances that feel "tough."
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Pistols (One-legged Squats) x 10 reps each side
One-armed Pushups x 5 reps each side
Dumbbell Deadlift x 15 reps
One-armed dumbbell row x 10 reps each side
Trunk rotations x 10 reps |
Using weights that feel like a challenge to you, perform the above as
listed, in that order. Repeat the series three times or until muscular
exhaustion occurs. If muscular exhaustion occurs on any given exercise,
you're done on that one. Move on to the next.
Use the resistance (i.e. weights) used to track your progression.
As always, if you're confused as to how to perform a given exercise,
check our library of how to videos and form checklists for
clarification.
Workout two: Metabolic Conditioning
This workout is designed to
maximize
EPOC. Mike's already written a fairly extensive article on the
fat-burning benefits of EPOC, but let me summarize - maximizing the
overall work effort maximizes calorie burn, both during AND after the
workout. You should move quickly during this workout; don't
dilly-dally! Take as little rest as possible. It's only 15 minutes
long, so you can rest afterwards.
Set your timer to 15 minutes. If you don't have a timer, use the wall
clock or clock radio in your room.
Perform the maximum number of circuits (without resting) of the
following:
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Chinups x 5 reps
Pushups x 10 reps
Bodyweight Squats x 15 reps |
Use total number of circuits completed to track your progression.
Yes, you must complete all reps of one exercise before going to
the next one.
Yes, if you can't do a full pushup or a chinup, you can substitute
modified pushups or Smith bar chinups (see our article "What to do if
you're weak! - a FAQ").
And no, 10 rounds is NOT impossible. Enjoy!
Workout three: Interval-Based
Workout numero tres delivers the strength and muscle-building benefits
of workout one and combines it with the conditioning effects of workout
two. Needless to say, it delivers quite the punch! It's based off of
the Tabata Push-Pull workout and is better left to readers who are
already "fighting fit." But hey, don't say I didn't warn you.
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Romanian Deadlift/Overhead Dumbbell Press
Alternating Dumbbell Lunge/Chinups
Bench Dips/Smith Bar Pullups |
Choose one of the listed pairs and perform them in a
Tabata interval, i.e.,
Perform a 30 second warmup -
bodyweight squats or
pushups work well - then,
Do the first exercise for 20 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds (and pick up
the weight for the second exercise). Perform the second exercise for 20
seconds. Rest for 10 seconds (and pick up the weight for the first
exercise). Repeat for 7 minutes total.
Use the Total Tonnage method described in the
Tabata Push-Pull article to track progression.
Remember to choose a weight that feels "moderate" for this one - it gets
tough!
So there you go! Three workouts, three different ways to keep your
fat-burning efforts alight while you're on the road. Choose your
medicine wisely and take your iron pill. No excuses now. Now if you
all will excuse me, there's a
post-workout recovery shake on the counter that requires my urgent
attention...
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About the Author:
Eugene Thong, CSCS, was born a weak, skinny,
bespectacled child. Now, thanks to a steady diet of martial arts,
scientific inquiry, and heavy compound movements, he's no longer weak.
His scientific bent, Zen-like demeanor, and efficient but intense
methods have made him one of New York's most sought-after personal
trainers.
 When
not helping clients cultivate their own inner 6-packs, Eugene can be found
arm barring opponents at Renzo Gracie's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy or
sailing through the air on his snowboard. Read Eugene's semi-weekly musings
on exercise, fitness, and fat loss
at his blog
Eugene is Mike's co-author of The Black Book of Secrets- The Bible of
Effective Weight Loss.
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Diet Articles
Exercise Articles
Strategy/ Motivation Articles
Diet Q and A
Exercise Q and A
Strategy/ Motivation Q and A
How To Videos
Fat Loss Series
Head for the Hills and Strip Off
the Fat in 12 Minutes!
The Green Apple (mini) Project
Healthy does not necessarily mean good for fat loss!
What's More Important? Counting Calories or Eating the Right
Combination of Protein/ Fat/ Carbs?
The Beach Day Program: Lose 10-20 pounds in 10 weeks
Carb Manipulation: Your Simple Guide to Looking Good Naked
Carb Manipulation: Your Simple Guide to Looking Good Naked
(Part
2)
What do you think of that diet where you eat certain foods based on your blood
type?
I’ve always been told to get a six- pack you need to do a lot of abs
work with high reps. Would you agree?
Do I need supplements to lose weight?
Is it possible to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time?
I’ve got fat located in
the area of my body where my arm meets my shoulder, and I can’t get rid
of it. Are there any exercises in particular that would help improve
that? Or what about any spot reducing supplements?
I know I should be having
some protein and carbs after a weights workout, but what about after
cardio? I've heard that you should wait 2 hours before eating.
You mentioned the benefits of scheduling a "cheat meal" into your eating
program at least once per week. Is there a best time to eat a cheat
meal?
Should I be counting my grams of fat, sugar, and calories?
What can I do to flatten my lower abs? I've been
doing crunches and hanging leg raises for the last year, but nothing
seems to help.
Mike's Blog
Eugene's Blog
Fiorella's Blog
Christopher's Blog
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