To combat these negative effects, here’s a full workout you can do right in the airport. Complete with targeted mobility work, blood-pumping strength training, mood-boosting cardiovascular exercise, and restorative stretches, this entire workout can be performed within your terminal.

Jetsetter Airport Workout 

• Why Work Out at the Airport?
• Dynamic Mobility
• Upper and Lower Body Training
• Cardiovascular Conditioning 
• Targeted Stretching
• What Will Other Travelers Think?

Why Work Out at the Airport?

It’s simple. You are choosing to spend some of the downtime around your flight moving to counteract a few of the potential downsides of travel. Travel tends to confine us to small spaces and it separates us from our regular movement practices. Fortunately, exercise has powerful effects on our bodies and minds. It can keep us moving well and feeling good. 

Just one bout of resistance training has been shown to increase concentrations of anti-inflammatory protein messengers in and around the knee joints. (1) Moreover, this effect lasted over three hours. Since prolonged sitting is typically hard on joints such as the knees, it makes sense to counteract immobility with exercise.

On the psychological side, a single bout of resistance training or cardiovascular training has been associated with improvements in mood and well-being. (2) If you work out regularly, you may be accustomed to the uplifting effects of exercise. On the flip side, you’re also likely to notice its absence. If you could keep the exercise-induced good vibes rolling through travel season, why wouldn’t you?

An underappreciated benefit of exercise is the potential boost to the immune system. Immediate and lasting elevations in immune cell activity occur after submaximal resistance training and cardiovascular exercise. (3) Ultimately, any non-fatiguing workout may stimulate the immune system to mobilize its resources.

Although these acute changes in the immune system have not been directly tied to risk of common illnesses, it seems safe to say that revving up your immune system may be desirable if you are soon to be confined with dozens of strangers on a plane.

Dynamic Mobility

The dynamic mobility part of this workout serves dual purposes. First, it’s a great warm-up. Second, it begins to address some of the “problem areas” that may become stiff or achy during prolonged travel. For this portion of the workout especially, settle into a controlled exercise pace. Find a quiet area of floor space, tune out the hustle and bustle of the airport, and then get to work.

Plank to Pike with Alternating Toe Reach

• How to Do it: Begin the high plank position — similar to the top of a push-up with your body straight and supported by your palms and forefeet. Move to the pike position by driving your hips back and up, putting your body into an inverted v-shape. Next, reach one hand toward the opposite foot. Return to the pike position and repeat with the other hand to the opposite foot. Drop your hips and return to the high plank position to complete the repetition. Repeat the entire sequence for reps. 
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10
• Rest Time: Rest only long enough to transition to the next exercise. 

Plank to Deep Lunge with Rotations

• How to Do it: From the high plank position with your hands and feet on the ground, bring one leg forward.  Place your foot outside of your hand, or as close as your flexibility allows. Lift your hand on the forward leg side and reach for the ceiling. Rotate your trunk and follow your hand with your eyes. Replace your hand to the floor and bring your leg back to the high plank position. Repeat with the other side to complete one full repetition.  
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10 per side
• Rest Time: Rest only long enough to transition to the next exercise. 

Side Plank with Rotations

• How to Do it: Get into a side plank position, supporting your body with one forearm and both feet. To enhance stability, place the foot of your top leg slightly in front of the foot of your bottom leg. Reach the hand of your top arm underneath your rib cage, near the ground and toward the wall behind you. Allow your body to rotate at your support-side shoulder and keep your eyes locked on your moving hand. Reverse the movement and reach your moving arm toward the ceiling. 
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10 per side.
• Rest Time: Rest only long enough to transition to the next exercise. 

Dead Bug

• How to Do it: Lie on your back with you arms straight up and your legs bent at roughly 90-degrees. Bring your low back into contact with the floor by rolling your pelvis backward (imagine “tucking your tail” or “bringing your belt buckle toward your chin”). Keep your low back in contact with the ground throughout the exercise. Simultaneously bring one arm to the ground overhead and the opposite leg down to the ground. Return to the start position. Repeat with the other arm and leg to complete one repetition. This can require some coordination, so move slowly and focus on controlling the movement
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10 per side.
• Rest Time: Rest only long enough to transition to the first exercise. 

Upper and Lower Body Training

The main course (or concourse) of the airport workout is full-body resistance training. The first two exercises use your body weight as the resistance, while the final three exercises use your carry-on luggage for resistance.

Each of these exercises will use an intensification technique called “elevator reps” to increase the training stimulus with limited load. Every individual repetition consists of one full range of motion repetition followed by one rep with roughly 50% range of motion and another rep with roughly 75% range of motion. Elevator reps are structured based on the resistance curve of the exercise. Each repetition forces you to spend extra time in the most challenging portion of the range of motion. The specific techniques are shown and described below.

If completing elevator reps for the target rep range is too challenging, either perform the basic exercise without the intensification technique or perform fewer total repetitions per set.

Push-Up with Elevator Reps

• How to Do it: Begin in the top position of the push-up. You should be supported on your palms and the front of your feet with your elbows extended and your trunk braced. Lower yourself to the bottom position of a push-up, with your chest just above the floor. This is where the “elevator reps” begin. Push halfway back to the top position then immediately reverse the movement and return to the bottom position. Push three-quarters of the way to the top position and immediately return to the bottom position. Finally, push all the way to the top position. That’s one rep.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10 
• Rest Time: Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets. 

Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats with Elevator Reps

• How to Do it: Stand in a staggered stance with the top of your rear foot supported by a piece of stable luggage (definitely nothing with wheels), or a bench or chair. Shift your weight primarily onto your front leg and lower yourself toward the ground keeping your torso upright. In the bottom position, the knee of your rear leg should gently touch the floor or hover just above it. Time for the “elevator rep.” Push halfway to the top position then return to the bottom position. Then, push three-quarters of the way to the top position then return to the bottom position. Complete the repetition by pushing all the way to the top for one full repetition.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10 per leg.
• Rest Time: No rest between legs. Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Suitcase Row with Elevator Reps

• How to Do it: Hinge forward at your hips and hold your luggage below you at arm’s length. Keep your legs slightly bent. Pull your shoulders and upper arms up and back to row the luggage to your stomach. To perform the elevator repetition, lower the bag halfway to the bottom position, then row it back to your abdomen. Next, lower the bag three-quarters of the way to the bottom position and row it back up. Complete the rep by lowering the bag all the way to the bottom position. 
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10 
• Rest Time: Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Suitcase Good Morning with Elevator Reps

• How to Do it: Stand up straight and hold your luggage tight to your chest. Unlock your knees and hinge forward at your hips until you feel a profound stretch in your hamstrings. This is the bottom position. To perform an elevator rep, return halfway to the top position then lower to the bottom position. Next, return three-quarters of the way to the top position and return to the bottom position. Finally, return to standing to end the repetition. 
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10 
• Rest Time: Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Suitcase Upright Row with Elevator Reps

• How to Do it: Stand holding your luggage in front of your legs with your elbows straight. Draw your elbows up and out as you pull your luggage along the front of your body. In the top position, your hands should be at neck or sternum level. Lower the bag halfway to the bottom position then upright row it to the top position. Lower the bag three-quarters of the way to the bottom position and upright row it back to the top, and then lower the bag to the bottom position to complete one repetition.  
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10 
• Rest Time: Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Cardiovascular Conditioning

In addition to duty-free shops, fast food, and the occasional shoeshine station, airports tend to offer large expanses of indoor space. If you avoid the escalators and moving sidewalks, the airport can provide a great environment for cardiovascular training.

After locating your gate and taking inventory of how much time you have to burn, go for a fitness walk. Since you cannot leave your luggage unattended, walking offers the added benefit of loaded carries. 

• How to Do it: Walk or climb stairs at the highest effort and quickest pace that allows primarily nasal breathing, which may provide a more efficient cardio training stimulus compared to open-mouth breathing. (4) For a greater challenge for your grip and core, perform a literal suitcase carry. Instead of wheeling your luggage or slinging it over your shoulder, carry it at your side in one hand. Switch sides just before your grip fails.
• Sets and Duration: Two or three five-minute intervals.
• Rest Time: Rest two minutes between each interval.

Targeted Stretching

Stretching serves as a nice cooldown. At this stage, your muscles are warm and ready for a relaxing stretch. To efficiently wrap up your workout, each of these stretches hits multiple muscle groups. Like the dynamic mobility warm-up, special attention is given to areas of the body that commonly become stiff or cranky with prolonged seated travel. 

Half Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch with Side Bend

• How to Do it: Kneel down with your front hip and knee bent to 90-degrees and your the knee of your trailing leg on the floor underneath you. Roll your pelvis underneath you (again, think about “tucking your tailbone” or “tilting your belt buckle toward your chin”). You should feel a stretch develop in the front of your trail leg thigh. Squeeze your glute to maintain this stretch. Reach overhead with the arm of the kneeling leg and slightly bend sideways to increase the stretch. Hold this position before switching sides.
• Sets and Duration: 3 x 15 to 30-second holds per side. 
• Rest Time: Rest only long enough to transition to the next stretch. 

Pretzel Stretch

• How to Do it: Lie on your side with both legs bent in a “zig-zag” position — your bottom leg’s thigh in line with your torso and your other thigh pointed straight ahead. Reach back with your top arm to grab the foot of your bottom leg. Use a luggage strap, belt, or shoelace if necessary. Flex your top side hip and knee and use your opposite arm to push your knee toward the floor as far as comfortable, thereby promoting trunk rotation. Lie back and try to rest your head and both shoulders on the ground. Hold this stretched position for time before switching sides.
• Sets and Duration: 3 x 15 to 30-second holds per side. 
• Rest Time: Rest only long enough to transition to the next stretch. 

Thoracic Spine Extension Stretch

• How to Do it: Kneel in front of your luggage with your glutes resting on your heels. Place your elbows on the luggage and interlace your fingers at the back of your head. Drive your sternum “up” and forward, and aim to feel a stretch in your mid-back, lats, and triceps. If your luggage is soft-sided or collapsible (like a duffel bag), use a bench or chair instead.
• Sets and Duration: 3 x 15 to 30-second holds. 
• Rest Time: Rest only long enough to transition to the next stretch. 

Thoracic Spine Flexion Stretch

• How to Do it: Stand with your fingers interlaced in front of your stomach and your arms straight. Drop your chin to your chest and reach your hands forward as you push your mid-back backward. Think about maximizing the distance between your sternum and your hands and focus on feeling a stretch through your mid-back.
• Sets and Duration: 3 x 15 to 30-second holds. 
• Rest Time: Rest only long enough to transition to the first stretch. 

But What Will Other Travelers Think?

If you commit to this airport workout, you will draw some curious (and maybe even judgmental) eyes. Forget the lurkers. Your lifestyle is your business alone. Only you will live with the ramifications of prolonged sedentary behavior at the airport, and only you will experience the benefits of completing a light workout during your next layover or wait at the airport gate. 

Assuming you want to arrive at your destination feeling fresh, why wouldn’t you take a few steps to ensure that outcome? A light workout at the airport can help. And speaking of feeling fresh, if you do work up a sweat, be sure to make a pit stop at the restroom to freshen up before you board your plane. Mobilized, energized, clean, and ready for take-off.

Add a Workout to Your Itinerary

Let’s face it, air travel is hard on the body. Fortunately, a workout that promotes mobility and a healthy pump might be the best non-pharmaceutical tonic for the ills of air travel. Until more airports start building gyms within their gates, bodyweight moves and luggage lifts might be your best options. Bookmark this airport workout as your travel companion for your next flight. 

References

1. Helmark, I. C., et al. (2010). Exercise increases interleukin-10 levels both intraarticularly and peri-synovially in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial. Arthritis Research & Therapy, 12(4), 1-11.
2. Rocheleau, C. A., et al. (2004). Moderators of the relationship between exercise and mood changes: Gender, exertion level, and workout duration. Psychology & Health, 19(4), 491-506.
3. Schlagheck, M. L., et al. (2020). Cellular immune response to acute exercise: Comparison of endurance and resistance exercise. European Journal of Haematology, 105(1), 75-84.
4. Dallam, George & Kies, Bethany. (2020). The Effect of Nasal Breathing Versus Oral and Oronasal Breathing During Exercise: A Review. Journal of Sports Research. 7. 10.18488/journal.90.2020.71.1.10.

Featured Image: Xato / Shutterstock

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Resistance training helps to maintain and improve physical health, appearance, and strength. Strong evidence even links resistance training to reduced risk of death from all causes. (1) Beyond these obvious benefits, resistance training is emerging as a potential intervention to support mental health. (2)(3)

For the sake of your body, lifespan, and mind, resistance training must be accomplished during travel. Since hitting the weights can be challenging when you’re on the road, here are three travel-ready workouts for your next expedition.

World-Class Travel Workouts 

• With Bodyweight 
• With a Resistance Band
• In a Hotel Gym

Bodyweight-Only Traveler’s Workout

Staying in a hotel or short-term rental with no fitness facility? Fortunately, bodyweight training is a viable option to hit nearly all major muscle groups.

No Weights, All the Gains

This quick and efficient bodyweight workout can be performed in the comfort of your hotel room or short-term rental bedroom. Classic exercises like the push-up are combined with challenging moves that train body parts you might not have known were possible using bodyweight. Since strength levels and body weights vary, a wide range of repetitions are suggested for this workout. Shoot for a repetition target that results in a challenging set. 

Push-Up

• How to Do it: Lie on the floor with your palms under or just outside of your shoulders and your toes dug in to the floor. While maintaining a ridged plank (straight line through your torso and legs), push through your palms until your elbows are straight. Lower with control.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 5-20
• Rest time: Rest 60 seconds between sets.

Pike Push-Up

• How to Do it: Begin in a high plank or push-up position supported on palms and toes with straight arms and straight legs. Push back into the “pike” position by shifting your hips back and keeping your back straight, inverting your head downward. Perform a push-up by lowering your forehead toward the floor then pushing back to the v-shaped pike position. 
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 5-15
• Rest time: Rest 60 seconds between sets.

Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat

• How to Do it:  Set up for the Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat, also known as Bulgarian Split Squat, by sitting on the edge of the bed and straightening your working leg in front of you, with your heel on the floor. Maintain this foot placement as you stand, and place your non-working foot behind you on the bed. Lower your body toward the floor with control, then return to standing. Keep most of your weight through your front foot, not on the rear support foot.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-20 per leg.
• Rest time: No rest between legs. Rest 60 seconds between sets.

Elevated Single-Leg Bridge

• How to Do it: Lie on your back perpendicular to the bed with your knees bent approximately 90 degrees. Place your working side heel atop the bed, while maintaining the other leg unsupported. Bridge your hips up by driving your heel into the bed and extending your hip. Lower with control. 
• Sets and Reps: 3 x5-15 per leg.
• Rest time: No rest between legs. Rest 60 seconds between sets.

Side Plank

• How to Do it: Lie on your side with your support arm on the floor directly under your shoulder. Straighten your support arm and reach your top arm to the ceiling. For balance, widen your base by placing the heel of your top leg far in front of the toes of your bottom leg. Imagine a straight line running through your nose, chin, sternum, and zipper. Don’t let your hips drop toward the ground. Hold this position for time before switching sides.
• Sets and Hold Duration: 3 x 20-30 seconds per side.
• Rest time: No rest between sides. Rest 60 seconds between sets. 

Travel Workout with a Resistance Band

Along with a toothbrush, deodorant, and clothing, a resistance band belongs on your list of “travel essentials.” One simple resistance band allows you to train and add resistance to movement patterns that might otherwise be impossible without access to a gym. Best of all, a resistance band is light, easy to pack, and inexpensive.

Have Band, Will Travel (and Train)

This workout can be completed with a single loop-style resistance band (41-inch / approximately one meter) of moderate thickness. Select a band between 0.5 and 1.5 inches (1.27 to 3.81 centimeters) thick, depending on your strength. 

Band Pull-Apart

• How to Do it: Stand with the resistance band loop around your torso. Hold a short length of band in front of your shoulders with outstretched arms, palms down. Stretch the band by pulling your arms apart and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Return to the starting position.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-20
• Rest time: Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets. 

Band Push-Up

• How to Do it: Wrap the band around your mid-back, below your shoulder blades. Pin the ends of the band under your palms and begin the exercise in the top push-up position — supported on your palms and toes with your elbows straight. Lower your body toward the floor, then return to the top position. 
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 5-12 
• Rest time: Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Band Split Squat

• How to Do it: With the band looped around the base of your neck or across your upper back, securely anchor the other end under one foot. For safety, hold the band with both hands during the exercise. Take a large step back with the leg that isn’t atop the band. While keeping most of your weight over your front foot, lower your body toward the floor by bending your hip, knee, and ankle. Drive back to the top position. Perform all reps with this foot position before carefully switching legs.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-20 per leg.
• Rest time: No rest between legs. Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Band Row

• How to Do it: Place one foot securely on the center of your band. Hold the ends of the band with a neutral grip (palms facing each other) and perform a modified bent-over row by drawing your upper arms and shoulder blades back. Return to the starting position.
• Sets and Reps: 3×10-20 
• Rest time: Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Band Half-Kneeling Single-Arm Overhead Press

• How to Do it: Hold the band with one hand just above shoulder-height and anchor the other end of the band securely under the same-side knee. Place your opposite foot flat on the floor in front of you. Perform the press by stretching the band toward the ceiling until your elbow is straight but not fully locked out. Return to the starting position.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-20 per arm.
• Rest time: No rest between arms. Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Band Good Morning

• How to Do it: With the band looped around the base of your neck or across your upper back, securely anchor the other end under both feet. For safety, hold the band with both hands during the exercise. Perform the good morning by hinging forward at the hips while keeping your back straight and your legs slightly bent. Return to the standing positioning. 
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-20. 
• Rest time: Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Band Hammer Curl

• How to Do it: Stand with both feet securely on a short length of the band. Grasp the other end of the band with your arms at your sides and your palms facing inward. Perform a hammer curl by bending your elbows as you stretch the band. Return to the starting position. 
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-20 
• Rest time: Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Workout for the Hotel Gym

The typical hotel gym or “fitness center” is minimalist, to say the least. If you’re lucky, you might find a few treadmills or stationary bikes, a set of dumbbells up to 40 or 50 pounds, an adjustable bench, and, potentially, a random assortment of strength machines. However, even a simple hotel setup is nothing to scoff at. It can provide the tools for a high-quality, full-body resistance training workout.

Get Your Money’s Worth

This workout focuses on building muscle, also known as hypertrophy. A range of 8 to 12 repetitions is the traditional recommendation for muscle growth. (4) For strong lifters, a hotel gym might not offer adequate weight to achieve challenging sets in this repetition range. To remedy this predicament, the hotel workout uses advanced exercise variations, mechanical drop sets, and intensification techniques to ensure a stimulating level of effort is achieved. 

Heels-Elevated Dumbbell Front Squat

• How to Do it: Elevate your heels one to three inches (approximately 2.5 to 7.5 centimeters) by placing them on the frame of an incline bench. Alternatively, weight plates or squat wedges can be placed under your heels. Hold the dumbbells atop your shoulders. Keep your torso upright as you squat deeply and drive your knees forward to bias the quadriceps. (5) Return to a standing position.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12
• Rest time: Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Bench-Supported Dumbbell Row with Alternating Isometric

• How to Do it: Set an adjustable bench to 45-degrees and lie face down holding two dumbbells. Row both dumbbells to the top position by pulling your arms and shoulder blades back. Hold the dumbbell on the left side in the top position as you lower the dumbbell on the right side and row it back up. Next, hold the right dumbbell in the top position as you lower and lift the left dumbbell. Alternate sides with each repetition.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12 per arm.
• Rest time: Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Single-Leg Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

• How to Do it: Hold two dumbbells at your sides and carefully lift one leg into the air behind you. Maintaining a slight bend in your standing leg, fold forward at your hips until you feel a profound stretching sensation in the hamstrings of your working leg. Return to standing. Perform all reps with one leg before switching sides.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12 per leg.
• Rest time: No rest between legs. Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Seated, Incline, and Flat Dumbbell Press Drop Set

• How to Do it: This is a mechanical drop set — It uses the the same set of dumbbells and progresses from the most challenging exercise to the least challenging exercise with littler to no rest between each movement. Improved leverage (and mechanical advantage) will allow your muscles to continue after initial fatigue. Set an adjustable bench to a fully upright position. Perform a set of seated overhead presses by pushing the dumbbells from jaw-height to lockout overhead. When your muscles fatigue, adjust the bench to 45-degrees and perform a set of incline dumbbell presses, pushing the dumbbells from your upper chest to overhead. After reaching muscular fatigue again, finally adjust the bench to flat. Perform classic flat dumbbell bench press by pushing the dumbbells from your chest toward the ceiling. 
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12 for each movement (you may get fewer reps on the latter two exercises due to cumulative fatigue).
• Rest time: Rest only long enough to adjust the bench for each movement. Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Incline Dumbbell Triceps Extension

• How to Do it: Perform two arm exercises back-to-back without rest as a superset. Set the bench to a 45-degree angle and perform the incline dumbbell triceps extension — Hold the dumbbells alongside your head with your elbows pointed toward the ceiling. Straighten your elbows to lift the dumbbells, then control them back to the starting position.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise. Rest 90 to 120 seconds between sets.

Incline Dumbbell Curl

• How to Do it: Stay on the bench and begin the incline dumbbell curl with your arms hanging at your sides and your palms forward. Curl the dumbbells without allowing your upper arms to swing, then control them back to the starting position.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12
• Rest time: Rest 90 to 120 seconds before returning to the previous exercise.

Resistance Training on the Road

Travel can be hard on the body. Changing time zones and forced sedentary behavior in a car, plane, or train threaten to disrupt our normal rhythms and routines. Fortunately, dedicated resistance exercise can be restorative. It maintains training consistency and enables ongoing realization of resistance training benefits. Whether you check into the hotel gym, use a resistance band, or simply show up for bodyweight workouts, be sure to pack resistance training for your next trip. 

References

1. Shailendra, P., et al. (2022). Resistance training and mortality risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 63(2), 277-285.
2. Carneiro, L., et al. (2020). The effects of exclusively resistance training-based supervised programs in people with depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18), 6715.
3. O’Connor, P. J., Herring, M. P., & Caravalho, A. (2010). Mental health benefits of strength training in adults. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 4(5), 377-396.
4. Schoenfeld, B., et al. (2021). Resistance training recommendations to maximize muscle hypertrophy in an athletic population: Position stand of the IUSCA. International Journal of Strength and Conditioning, 1(1), 1-30
5. Fry, A. C., Smith, J. C., & Schilling, B. K. (2003). Effect of knee position on hip and knee torques during the barbell squat. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 17(4), 629-633.

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While some lifters jump at the chance for a socially sanctioned cheat day, which too often blends into a cheat week once leftovers are factored in, others are on the fence about the potential effects such indulgence has on their fitness plans and hope to avoid counteracting any hard-earned progress in the gym.

Here are some of the most effective tips to get the best of both worlds — an indulgent holiday without sacrificing results.

• Don’t Skip Your Workout
• Train with Volume and Intensity
• Use Strategic Over-Reaching
• Focus on Homemade Food
• Protein and Veggies First
• Watch the Booze
• Enjoy the Day

Make Time to Train on the Big Day

Most lifters intuitively connect the dots between increased calories and increased exercise. On a cheat day, or any high-calorie day, it makes sense that you might be able to “undo” or minimize any excessive calories by pushing yourself harder than usual in the gym.

This is fundamentally true and mathematically accurate — trying to burn more calories when you eat more calories should create balance — so it’s important not to let your cheat day turn into a “rest day.”

A slew of research has shown that training after a large meal can help to control increased glucose levels. (1)(2) When blood glucose levels rise, the body often goes into fat-storage mode. However, the body’s physiological response to training can hijack that signal and re-route it toward building muscle or burning fat. (3)(4)

By stimulating your body with a good workout, you can essentially shift the physique-boosting odds in your favor when you know you’ll be hitting a cornucopia of holiday goods. If the thought of squatting on a full stomach makes you a little queasy, know that training before the meal, rather than after, has also been shown to be beneficial. (5)(6) Alternatively, taking a simple half-hour walk after dinner is another effective option. (7)

Program Your Workout for Better Results

If you do hit the gym for some lifting, it shouldn’t be a half-hearted session with your mind focused more on dinner plates than weight plates. To get the most benefit from a workout on the day of an extra-large meal, treat the session like any other rather than just going through the motions.

To burn the most calories in the gym and outside of it, you need to use sufficient training intensity and ample volume. (8)(9) That means working with weights that are at least 70% of your one-repetition max for multiple sets in the six to 12-rep range.

Ideally, you’d follow a full-body workout focused on big exercises like squats, presses, and rows. This will be an efficient way to train multiple muscle groups quickly and efficiently. If you’re traveling away from home and can’t find a gym, a simple bodyweight workout can still get the job done as long as you crank up the intensity with challenging exercises.

While cardio exercise can be an effective option, it’s hard to beat the intensity and muscle stimulation that weight training provides. (10) Any type of training can help make the best of a big food day, but if you have the opportunity, grab a lifting session.

Overtrain or Over-Reach

Another potential way to approach training through the holiday is to crank up your workouts beforehand, putting your body into a state of over-reaching — a short-term scenario where you significantly tax your body’s recovery systems before backing off, setting up a “rebound” that can produce major results. (11)

This could be as simple as squatting every day leading up to the big meal or performing the popular 10,000 kettlebell swing program. Whichever route you take, the general idea is to push hard with a focused short-term plan before the calorie surge, knowing that you’ll ease up and allow your body to adapt.

If you’ve already been pushing yourself for weeks or months and are feeling run down, you may not technically be overtrained, but you might be on the way there. (12) This would be an ideal time to dial back on the training in the short term, flood your body with nutrients, and come back refreshed and ready to tackle a new training plan.

“Relative energy deficiency in sport” is a complicated way of saying that some athletes consistently under-eat and/or train excessively, which affects their performance in the gym or on the field. (13) Adjusting their food intake, as well as their training program, is essential for correcting the hormonal problems caused by insufficient calorie intake. Going whole hog (or whole turkey, in this case,) can play a big role in addressing the problem.

Homemade is the Way

The Thanksgiving table might be the centerpiece of many family arguments ranging from “You’re dating who?” to “You voted for who?” but one of the less dramatic disputes might come from declaring the best dish of the night.

Whether it was Aunt Dottie’s pumpkin cheesecake, Uncle Elmer’s deviled eggs, or Cousin Eddie’s green bean surprise, you can bet it was something made with their own two hands in the family kitchen. It most likely wasn’t simply picked up, paid for, and unwrapped. Not only is homemade food typically fresher and tastier than store-bought dishes, but it’s typically less processed and made with relatively healthier ingredients.

Research has shown a connection between ultra-processed foods and increased fat gain. (14) Highly processed foods are also more likely to contain high levels of sugar, saturated fat, and sodium — a potentially health-damaging trifecta. (15)

When it’s time to finally sit at the table and dig in, dedicate more room on your plate to the foods made by hand rather than the stuff you can get at the supermarket. Even if it’s homemade mashed potatoes loaded with cream and butter, you’re ahead of the nutritional game compared to sodium-packed, instant-whip potatoes that lack both flavor and fiber.

The same principle holds especially true for desserts. Store-bought cakes, pies, and cookies fall exactly in line with the types of ultra-processed foods that should be on your own personal no-fly list. Even the most decadent homemade pecan pie topped with fresh maple-infused whipped cream would be a better nutritional choice than any off-the-shelf “defrost and serve” pies.

Because the homemade goods are reliably tastier (unless you’re dealing with an atrocious home cook), you’ll be more likely to actually savor and enjoy each bite, making a second or third slice entirely unnecessary.

Put More Protein and Vegetables on the Plate

This tip is a bit obvious, but if there’s one reliable way to set yourself up for minimal fat gain, around the holidays and year-round, it’s to focus on eating more protein and vegetables and less of anything else.

A higher protein intake has been associated with a lower rate of fat gain, even with significant calorie intake. (16) Getting enough protein will also boost your recovery from the tough workout you were sure to complete before eating.

The order in which you eat the food on your plate is an extremely simple yet overlooked way to improve your nutrition. You can control post-dinner blood sugar levels by essentially “padding” your stomach with protein and vegetables before carb-laden foods like potatoes or oven-fresh dinner rolls. (17)

Go Easy on the Drinks

Holiday season or not, most dedicated lifters understand that alcohol intake is generally counterproductive to any physique goals.

Not only does drinking booze impact sleep and recovery, which affects your training, but certain cocktails and hoppy IPAs contain as many calories, or more, as regular soda. The same people in the gym who wouldn’t dream of downing a bottle of sugar-filled pop with dinner sometimes don’t hesitate to throw back a DIPA (double IPA) or a sugary cocktail (or two).

Indulging in an adult beverage may be tempting around the holidays, but one of the simplest ways to stick to your fitness goals is to limit your drinking to the bare minimum. If that minimum is zero, even better.

Alcohol intake is shown to be associated with fat gain, so it makes sense that limiting your liquor can help keep you on the nutritional straight and narrow. (18) Of all the food-based debauchery Thanksgiving offers, monitoring or outright restricting your alcohol intake is the simplest way to avoid going too far off the rails from your standard diet plan.

Most of All, Enjoy

Thanksgiving is often seen as the first snowball in an avalanche of holiday parties, each one making it more and more difficult to stick to a rigid training schedule, let alone keep some semblance of dietary discipline. But, take a breath.

As the saying goes, “how you eat from November to December is less important than how you eat from December to November.” If you’re truly consistent for 48 or 50 weeks out of the year, then you won’t be pulled too far from center over the holidays.

When you’re dialed in to your plan the majority of the time, you can indulge in (and potentially benefit from) what researchers tantalizingly call “planned hedonic deviations,” or cheat days. (19) When you spend that day being de-stressed, not distressed, around friends and family, then it’s all the more worthwhile.

Unless you’re a competitive bodybuilder whose contest is the day after Thanksgiving, you probably don’t have to worry too much about overdoing the big meal. Apply as many of the previous tips as possible, for sure, but ultimately you don’t have to be “that person” who brings a baggie of low-carb beef jerky to the dinner table or who says “no thanks” to grandma’s handmade cookies.

Let the Season Begin

Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be too stressful. Okay, actually, it probably does when you factor in traveling, inevitable family drama, and marking the tip of the iceberg that is that holiday season. But at least now, you don’t have to worry about derailing your progress in the gym. So that’s one stress you can take off your plate, which conveniently leaves a little more room for turkey.

References

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