Should you go to the hotel gym or a commercial gym
Every time I go to the hotel gym, it’s either a hit or miss. A lot of hotel gyms are designed by people who have never stepped foot in a gym before in their life. It’s mainly there for advertising. There’s not much thought involved with choosing what to go in these tiny gyms. There is a lot more emphasis put on cardio equipment rather than weight training because people still think that cardio is the best way to lose fat. So the hotel designers are going to choose the most popular reason to work out and design the gym based on that.
30 minutes of jogging on the treadmill won’t build you any muscle
This type of steady-state cardio doesn’t put enough stress on our body to maintain muscle size. We are here to get bigger muscles or maintain them while we are out of town. If you are going for a short trip, then that’s fine to do nothing. You can check out my other blog on whether you should rest or work out on your trip. If you are going for over 2 weeks, then you may be in the territory of some muscle loss, which is okay too. If you lose some muscle and strength, you can quickly get it back. Personally, I like to stay fit while I’m traveling so I can keep the progress going and not get out of control. A long rest period is needed once in a while especially if you have been training consistently.
If you decide you want to train while you’re on vacation or a long trip then you’ll have to choose between a hotel gym or a commercial gym.
Can you train your muscles effectively on vacation in a hotel gym
Hotel gyms are convenient; you just have to leave your room and take the elevator and you are there. No extra payment needed, depending on the hotel. Most of the time they have a lot of cardio machines (treadmill, ellipticals, etc..) with a disgustingly low amount of resistance training equipment. You are lucky if you have dumbbells that go over 10lbs. You can make do with what you got. If life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.
Hotel Gym Exercise Plan With Just dumbbells
Dumbbell Bench Press: 2×8-10
Dumbbell Skull Crusher: 2×10-15
Dumbbell Rows: 2×8-12
Dumbbell Squat W/ Heel Elevation: 2×10-20
Dumbbell Lunges: 1x as many reps as you can
Dumbbell Deadlifts: 2×8-10
Dumbbell Curls: 2×12-20
This example covers your whole body the sets are low because you only need at least 4 sets a week for you to maintain your muscle. You want to do as many reps as it takes for you to get close to failure. If you have only 10lbs dumbbells and you do 60lbs on lunges back home, then you better believe you are going to be doing 100 reps for that exercise.
For cardio, I would do as much as you want: 20-30 minutes steady state or do interval 4 minutes on-off. Remember you may be getting more steps than you are used to back home, so adjust accordingly.
takeaway you should remember for your hotel workout
At least 4 sets for each muscle group
Get close to failure during each set
If the speed of your reps slows down, you are getting close to failure
Train each muscle group 2 times a week
Commercial gym: the best for maintaining or gaining
No brainer that commercial gyms are the best choice in terms of equipment. Of course all gyms have enough machines and free weights for you to satisfy your needs. You could continue doing your own exercise program that you run back home.
If you look up on Google or any maps type in gym, you’ll probably see 100s of them. I would look at the pictures and reviews first. Then I would look to see if they have a day or week pass. A lot of gyms don’t post prices, but if you see the reviews, then someone may post it there. Reddit is also a good location to check out which are the best gyms in the area you are traveling in.
Depending on how long I am traveling, I would adjust my program accordingly. If I am there 1-2 weeks, I would just make sure I am doing 4 sets of each muscle group that I want to train. Always get close to failure. If I am on a multiple-month journal, I would run my current training plan and adjust based on the availability of training equipment. Remember, your body can’t tell that you are on different pieces of machinery or different exercises as long as you are consistently still working out; then you should see some gains.
Commercial gyms are your best bet if you want to get the best workout you can while on the road.
Good option for a commercial gym while traveling
If you are like me, then you took one look at your hotel or hostel gym in shame and then walked. You loaded up Google and searched for a gym near you. My recommendation is to look at the reviews of the gym and search to see if they have guest passes they are $10-20 for a day as mentioned before. Some of the heavy touristy areas offer weekly to monthly passes for guests.
Anytime Fitness is a good option! You can guarantee that this will be open 24 hours and have guest passes. They are located in almost every major city around the world. When I was in Tokyo it felt like there was and anytime on every corner.
Outside gyms are also a popular option. In any Asian country they have some kind of outdoor gym lying around close to where you are staying. Most of the time these gyms are free. But be careful you don’t want to be in Thailand in the middle of summer outside. Setting yourself up for a one-way trip to the hospital.
Depending on what you pick, just make sure that it has what you need to get a good workout. Not everything is going to be exactly like home. Just remember that you’re not made of sugar but iron So it’s okay to change out exercises.
Should you choose your hotel fitness center or find a gym?
As I said throughout this blog, a commercial gym is my go to choice. A commercial gym is just a better option. You have all the equipment you need. 99% of the time you will have access to some kind of gym in a big city. Most of the hotel gyms are unreliable. You will be able to learn about the different gym cultures in different countries and cities.
At the end of the day, choose the most convenient option for you. The only thing that matters is that you get some training in. You only need to do the bare minimum to preserve your muscle mass.