Travel and time can be significant obstacles to completing your daily fitness routine. Some days, it is easier to skip a workout than to try to squeeze it into your schedule and deal with a lack of equipment. After a work trip this week, I noticed I had two kettlebells stored in the back of my truck while packing for the journey home.
If you have only half the time you usually do to train, you can either skip working out or get something done during the time available. I had to cut a workout short — and I only had access to two 35-pound kettlebells and a parking lot to jog around — but that proved to be enough.
Read Next: The Best Way to Increase Your Running Mileage to Prepare for Military Fitness Tests
This quick training session took less than 40 minutes from warm-up to cooldown:
Warm-Up
Warm up with a squat/toe touch/jog pyramid:
- Run 50 meters, one squat, one toe touch/stand straight.
- Run 50 meters, two squats, two toe touches/stand straight.
- Continue until you do 10 squats and 10 toe touches.
After this little dynamic warm-up, you will feel ready to move on to the workout (running, leg day or both). This typically takes 6-8 minutes.
I did more cardio than resistance training, as I will have a full gym tomorrow and can make that a lift day. Here is how the circuit is broken up:
Workout
You can run or bike for 5 minutes if you have access to a different form of cardio. In this case, it took a minute to run around the perimeter of the parking lot. If you are at home, run 2½ minutes away from your house and 2½ minutes back. Then do the following:
- Kettlebell squats 10 (two kettlebells)
- Kettlebell Romanian deadlifts (RDL) 10 (two kettlebells)
- Kettlebell farmer’s walks 50 meters (one kettlebell in one hand; switch hands halfway — 25 meters)
- Kettlebell walking lunges 10/leg (one kettlebell in one hand; switch hands halfway — 5/leg)
This circuit took roughly 2 minutes to complete. At this point, I figured I could do this four times before I needed to stop. Depending on the time available that you have to train, you can do this for a few sets or several for a good mix of cardio and leg day. This specific circuit helped produce more than 20 minutes of total cardio, along with 8-10 minutes of core and leg resistance exercises.
This nonstop combination took 37 minutes. I took the next five minutes to walk and stretch every 30 seconds: thighs, calves, hamstrings, glutes and hips, with a mix of static and dynamic stretches.
Lessons Learned
Over the years, I have learned that long travel days (6+ hours of sitting), whether driving or flying, are not wise to precede with a tough leg day. This is why most of this workout focuses on conditioning through cardio activities such as jogging. If you find yourself sitting for long periods after a leg day, make sure to get up every so often to walk and stretch, as the post-exercise soreness can take its toll on how you feel the following day.
Check out Military.com’s Fitness Section for more ideas on workouts to add to your day, regardless of your fitness level and time available. There are beginner, intermediate and advanced training programs to suit every goal and situation.
Want to Learn More About Military Life?
Whether you’re thinking of joining the military, looking for fitness and basic training tips, or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox.
Story Continues
Read the full article here