Right as Rain: Staying in Shape Without a Gym

As odd as it may sound, I feel most comfortable on planes, at airports, or in hotels. I travel a lot for work and those places become spaces where I can focus, reflect and even relax. But because I often find myself on the road, it’s hard to stick to a routine when it comes to my fitness. This is challenging because, as we all know, consistency is key to progress in anything.

Fortunately, I made a habit of “getting it in” wherever and whenever I could by utilizing my body weight and my environment. I studied countless workouts that could be done in a short amount of time, with minimal equipment and requiring very little space. I even made a documentary called Raise Up: The World is Our Gym about people that trained in their neighborhood playgrounds all around the world.

We tend to see issues like lack of time or money as limitations when it comes to our physical fitness. Sometimes we even let that perception paralyze us into not even trying. Ironically, what I’ve found is that when we work within those perceived restrictions, it generally has the opposite effect as we once thought.

Instead, we tend to see better results from a combination of sharp focus for a shorter amount of time, varying exercises to keep our minds and muscles constantly stimulated, and high intensity exercises that build muscle and burn fat simultaneously.

In my experience, 20 minutes a day produces better results than two hours once a week.

Here are some quick tips (and tools) that have helped me stay in shape without having a gym membership for over eight years.

TIPS

High Intensity Interval Training

Also abbreviated as HIIT (or “Hit), this has been a popular form of exercise for years. This means that you perform your exercises at maximum intensity for short bursts, followed by periods of rest. The aim is for your heart rate to be constantly bouncing up and down and keep you in fat-burning mode while you building muscle. It’s the backbone of many of the quick workouts you can do anywhere.

Tabata Workout

One of my favorite types of HIIT, though you may hate it. Good news? You only have to hate it for FOUR MINUTES! A Tabata workout is a cycle of exercises where you work for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 for a total of eight rounds. The exercises can be anything (though they are typically body weight exercises like push-ups, jumping jacks, squats, etc.). You will feel the burn quickly and can do as many of them as you like. After 8-20 total minutes, you’ll be glad you don’t have much time!

Walk/Run

Is walking the first form of exercise? What makes this one so timeless is that it’s good for your body, your mind and your wallet. Almost any high performing person I’ve studied takes a break to walk when he or she feels stressed or unfocused. There’s a reason for that. If you have nothing else, go take a walk around the neighborhood. And guess what? You can walk in the rain, too. If you are really short on time, do 10 sprints (also a form of HIIT!) anywhere from 40-100 yards and you’ll be good to go.

TOOLS

Kettlebells

Incorporating the kettlebell can make a huge difference in your fitness. I had a back injury flare up in 2015 that sidelined me a couple times that year. But, like any failure or mistake, I looked at what I could learn from it and how to make myself better (to prevent it from happening again). Focusing on my posterior chain (the muscles in your back from your shoulders to your heels) with kettlebell workouts changed my life. My favorite exercise when I don’t have a lot of time or space are two-handed kettlebell swings. It’s super important to focus on your form and make sure that your glutes and and hips are the muscles doing the work, not your lower back. Check out this video for perfect form!

Doorway Pullup Bar

This piece of equipment is lightweight, can fit in most doorways, is easy to store, and crazy cheap. I have had one at every house I’ve lived in since 2008, and they are easily my most-gifted item to friends and clients. You can do a lot more than pull-ups on them and there are tons of tutorials to show you how to use it. If you can’t do a pull-up, simply start with just hanging and holding your body weight as long as you can.

TRX Suspension Trainers/Gymnastics Rings

Both of these are excellent tools that you can use in tight spaces for full body workouts. I like to use the rings to work on straight-arm strength using the top support position, or exercises like rows, dips, and tucks or “L-sits.” Secret tip: your core gets a killer workout in ALL of these exercises! The TRX system gives you the ability to add leg workouts and even put your feet in the straps for some creative core work.

All of these tips and tools will easily and quickly help you stick to a routine because you can usually do them anywhere or take them with you on the go. Even if you have plenty of time, you can still benefit from these exercises. Just switch it up, be creative, and have fun!

Expert tip: do NOT try to pack a kettlebell in your carry-on luggage.

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Rain Bennett is a two time Emmy-nominated filmmaker, fitness professional, public speaker, and writer. His mission is simple: to help people realize that they too can be great, no matter where they come from or what they start with. It just takes passion, persistence, and a plan.

Bennett directed and produced his first feature length documentary in true indie fashion by traveling the world with only a backpack and a Canon DSLR camera. That film, Raise Up: The World is Our Gym won “Best of the Fest” at the Hip Hop Film Festival NYC and received global distribution through Red Bull Media House. He’s been featured in publications like Men’s Health and Sports Business Global and is a regular contributor to Breaking Muscle. When he’s not making movies or training clients at Sync Studio in Durham, he’s hosting a new webseries called The Perfect Workout Show.