Traveling this summer? Take your boxing workout on the road

Photo via Istock

Summertime is the season of road trips, and having spent the last two months traveling, I faced the dilemma of road warriors everywhere: how to stay fit while living out of a suitcase.

It's not easy when the "work out room" at your hotel consists of a broken treadmill, two mismatched free weights and a stationary bike circa 1982. But a boxing workout can be surprisingly travel-friendly. Although you'll have to leave the gloves and heavy bags behind, you can use boxing fundamentals to get a great workout in almost any environment.

I was lucky to have my trainer/boyfriend, Golden Gloves champion Aaron Emmons, on the road with me for most of my travels. Here's the workout we followed, which still allowed plenty of time for sightseeing, shopping, and beaching.

Warm Up  
We started with 10-15 minutes of light jogging, which if you're staying in a downtown area or close to a local park or nature area, is a great way to get in some sightseeing. Of course, sometimes you're just making an overnight stop on your way to somewhere else, and you might not feel like leaving your hotel. If that's the case, you can run the stairs, or even a jump rope in your room (since jump ropes are small enough to toss in your suitcase).

Shadow Boxing
After our warm up, we did three to four rounds of shadow boxing, but instead of rests, we mixes in calisthenics to get the most out of our workout. We did squats, lunges, burpees or high knees, but you can pick any four of your favorites. The most important thing is spark your heart rate, and replacing rests with calisthenics is the best way to do so. You don't need much space for these exercises: an exercise room, an empty space in the parking lot, or even your room will work in a pinch.

Cool Down
We finished off with some jumping jacks, abs and then light stretching. Altogether, this 30 minute workout kept us energized, in shape and ready for our next adventure.