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Hotel Room Workouts

Good afternoon! I’m in London again this weekend which means another long run with friends, a lunch date with Casey, trying out a new spin studio, and plenty of sleep. It took all week for us to recover from the horrible food poisoning! Thankfully I woke up today feeling 100% and was able to get a lot of work done from our London flat as I had plenty to catch up on after a sick day and three days of travel. Do you all have any fun plans for the weekend?

Speaking of travel, thanks for all your feedback on Wednesday’s debate post about corporate travel policies and hotel gyms. As I said on Twitter yesterday, I am thankful for a world where readers and bloggers can debate and learn from each other and our differences!

One of the things that came out loud and clear in the comments, whether via Twitter, Facebook or the blog were that many people believe in the power of hotel room workouts and the ability to burn calories in your hotel room. Hotel room workouts come in handy especially when hotels either don’t have a gym or the gym has restricted hours. Thursday morning I did my quick 15 minute hotel room workout as the gym didn’t open until 7am.

15 minute hotel room workout from @Ashley Diamond #workout #hotelroomworkout

In order to help you guys out the next time you need a workout you can do in the comfort of your home or hotel room, I created a Hotel Room Workout Pinterest board. It features over 33 different workouts from across the web which you can do with absolutely no equipment. It’s a mix of workouts that you’ve possibly seen from bloggers like Gina, Julie, and Tina along with some that I discovered via Google. One of them, The 99, is so intense it’s more than an hour and is guaranteed to leave you sore the next day! Follow the board for constant inspiration as I’m going to continue adding new workouts from bloggers and fitness magazines as I see them!

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Do you have a go to “do anywhere” workout that you use when you’re stuck at home or in a hotel?

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4:30 Marathon Treadmill Workout

Happy Wednesday! This week is flying by both socially and work wise. As I mentioned, every single night is jam packed with another fun event as I try to savor every last minute with friends in the city! It’s a bit overwhelming to have plans every single night between now and July 11th but at the same time I feel very blessed!

Last night Jen and I sweat our way through a VERY tough Uplift Strength class with Liz Barnet before having dinner at the new to me Hu Kitchen.

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Per Jen’s recommendation I went with one of their bowls filled with a mix of quinoa, raw vegetable medley and the tasty roast vegetable mash. I topped it off with their incredible roasted wile mushroom medley, almonds, shallots, and a little dash of salt & pepper. It’s a good thing I don’t live or work closer to Hu Kitchen or I’d eat there ALL the time! If you are anywhere near Union Square I highly recommend you check it out for a healthy dinner or lunch option!

On top of that great workout that we enjoyed together, I was up at 4:15 this morning so I could meet Melissa Z for my favorite Barry’s Bootcamp class (arms and abs) with Josh Arden! As if the squats and lunge work didn’t leave my legs tired enough, this morning’s class reminded me why I love Barry’s so much. It is an efficient workout with great music and they have classes at just about every hour of the day. As a testament to that, I was in the 5am class while Bo took a 9pm class.

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Of all the workouts that I’ll miss while living abroad, this it the one that will be hardest to replicate on my own. Oh well, luckily I’m sure I’ll have new fun ways to break a sweat whether running up mountains or cycling along Lake Geneva!

But, what I really want to share with you guys today is an awesome treadmill workout my girl Laura prepared. After we spent an epic Saturday biking around Central Park and talking about workouts, she figured that having a handy treadmill workout would help ease my mind about training for a stretch marathon goal (4:30!!) and traveling. Less than a day later she shared this great workout with me which I was able to use last week in Geneva since I was bound to the hotel gym for each of my workouts. It is a workout that changes the speeds or incline constantly so getting bored isn’t an option. I must also say that at first glance it looks easy but by the end I was cursing it just like 400 repeats!

This is designed to help me hit my 4:30 marathon goal by prepping me for both hills and making the 10:18 pace feel easy. Maybe Laura is secretly getting me ready to run the Saleve again with Renaud when I arrive in Geneva next month! Either way, it’s only 20 minutes long and is a combo of hills and speed, based on the 4/3 rest principle. Note that no efforts last more than one minute, and if you don’t feel like you’re going to die in the final 30 second sprint, you should take the pace faster.

So far I’ve done this workout two times and love that it reminds me of Barry’s Bootcamp treadmill workouts that helped me run a half marathon PR back in April and literally changed the shape of my legs. If you really want a challenge or want to make sure you log at least 4 miles, try doubling the workout!

If you want to read more about this workout and the rational that went into creating it, head over to Laura’s blog!

This kitten has the right idea and I’m about to go do the same thing!

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Soldier of Steel Workouts

The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Soldier of Steel™.

I can’t believe it’s midnight in Geneva! The week has been exhausting but wonderful! In addition to hours of meetings and business, I’ve had the chance to swim in freezing Lake Geneva with co-workers and dine al fresco, enjoying the perfect Summer weather.

As you all know, business travel is a regular occurrence in my life. In order to maintain my health and wellness, working out while traveling is a non-negotiable. When possible, my travel workouts are based around running in a new city but this week, when staying in a remote location, they are in either my hotel room or the gym. Running on a treadmill can get boring and sometimes I’m not creative enough to make my own hotel room workout.

Therefore, when Fitfluential told me about the new Soldier of Steel workout series created by Mark Twight, Hollywood fitness trainer, I was more than intrigued. I hoped that the workouts would be things that I could do without a proper gym as let’s get real, half the hotel gyms are bare bones. I figured if the workout could help National Guard soldiers stay in shape and whip actor Henry Cavill into the MAN OF STEEL™, it had to be a serious workout!

The series of 28 workouts is available on their site for free!  The 28 day plan not only includes daily workouts but also videos which show proper form and training tutorials! Most of the workouts require nothing more than your own body weight which means this is perfect for me to use while traveling or when I arrive in Geneva next month!

This morning I added one of the moves, wall squats, onto my morning workout and I loved their version of a common exercise which left me challenged in a new way. Watch SoS Wall Squat VideoI’ve always done wall squats/sits with my back to the wall versus my nose like they show! Give it a try and see how much it challenges you! My plan is to add it to each workout this week and then move onto a new move next week! But, when I’m looking for a challenging workout on the go, doing one of the full routines will certainly leave me sweating!

Want to learn more about this awesome workout? Don’t take my word for it then – ask the expert! Ask Mark Twight your questions on Twitter tomorrow night. On Thursday, June 20, Mark Twight will answer fan questions on the @NationalGuard Twitter handle. Follow the conversation from 3PM EST – 4PM EST at #TwightTakeover.

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