There seems to be a commonly held belief that one must spend long periods of time in the gym in order to receive any benefit from a workout. Research that has been circulating recently says this isn’t so. This is good news for busy travellers who are on the go and likely do not have access to a gym and/or fancy equipment.

HITT, or High Intensity Interval Training, is an approach to fitness training that has you working out at a high intensity for a short period of time interspersed with recovery periods of lower intensity. This enables you to optimize the results of your workout without having to make the gym your second home.

Being physically active and incorporating some HITT workouts on your travels can help you stay reasonably fit while leaving plenty of time for touring.

An alternating combination of cardio and resistance work is ideal for an overall workout. Remember to do a light stretch afterwards to help release tension in fatigued muscles.

Here’s a WWT suggestion to get you started:

Walk to warm up: 1 minute

Run at moderate intensity: 3 minutes

Do push-ups against the wall, inclined on a bench or on the ground: 30 seconds or at least 8 reps with good form. Do continuously until time runs out.

Run at a little more intensity: 2 minutes

Do tricep dips on a bench or chair: 30 seconds or at least 10 with good form. Do continuously until time runs out.

Run at great intensity (you should be winded by the end): 1 minute

Walk to cool down. Repeat session at least one more time through.

Stretch legs, chest and triceps.

You can substitute with other cardio and resistance exercises of your choice and vary the timing. The key is to work as hard as is needed to get done quicker and with optimum results.

More WWT workouts coming. Stay tuned…