Great workouts do not require a lot of time or equipment - just these bodyweight exercises.

I’m a big fan of hotel gyms - finding good hotel gyms or making do with bad hotel gyms.

But hotel gyms aren’t always a viable option. Some hotels don’t have a gym or you may encounter a scenario when the hotel gym isn’t usable - it’s closed for renovation or it’s too crowded.

Instead of skipping the workout altogether, my fallback is always a good old-fashioned bodyweight workout in the hotel room.

And to be completely honest, I’ve had some of my best workouts in hotel rooms.

So I’m sharing with you five of my favorite bodyweight hotel room workouts that do not require any equipment.

Working Out in a Hotel Room with Calisthenics

Before we get into the workouts, I need to share some important guidelines for working out in a hotel room.

This isn’t a gym and there are other people in the hotel, so the first thing you need to consider is how much noise you’re making. This is especially important if you’re working out early in the morning or late at night.

I do not do any jumping exercises - no jumping jacks or burpees if I’m not on the first floor.

While hotels typically do a good job of cleaning rooms in between guests, it’s best to not place complete trust in the cleanliness of the floor.

For any exercises that require you to get on the floor, place a towel or mat down first.

Building Muscle

Now let’s get into what types of workouts where looking to do. This depends heavily on your current goals and abilities.

If you want to build muscle with calisthenics, your focus should be on applying as much tension as possible to your muscles.

This can be done by slowing down your tempo and keeping tension on your muscles for longer.

Take push-ups for example: instead of doing as many as you can as fast as possible, slow it down by taking 3-5 seconds to lower yourself. Hold the bottom for a few seconds to enhance the stretch (stomach and chest stay off the ground). Then, take another 3-5 seconds to push yourself back up.

This principle can be applied to any bodyweight exercise.

Cardio/Fat Loss/General Fitness

If your goal is to lose weight or maintain general fitness, you want to push yourself hard in a short period of time. Your focus will be on your output within a time constraint.

This will look like a set number of reps you need to hit with a timer. Your goal will be to complete the number of reps as fast as possible, mark the time, and aim to beat that next time.

Beginners should also focus on learning proper form and training the muscles to develop the range of motion and flexibility needed to perform these workouts.

Hotel Room Workout #1 (Beginner)

5 Rounds for Time:

20 Push-Ups
20 Sit-Ups
20 Air Squats

Move from one exercise to the next without resting. Rest as long as needed between rounds but keep it as short as possible. Aim for 1-2 minutes rest between rounds.

If these exercises are beyond your ability, modify them. For example, if you can’t do standard push-ups, do them from your knees. Work within your ability range but focus on improving your form and range of motion every workout.

Hotel Room Workout #2 (Intermediate)

This is a muscle-building bodyweight workout. Do each exercise as straight sets with 30 seconds - one minute rest between sets.

Pike Push-Ups (Shoulders) - 3 Sets of 15-20
Reverse Lunges (Legs) - 3 Sets of 15-20 on Each Leg
Hand-Release Push-Ups (Chest) - 3 Sets of 15-20
V-Ups (Abs) - 3 Sets Until Failure

Maintain tension on the targeted muscle for each exercise.

Hotel Room Workout #3 (CrossFit - Intermediate)

For Time:

100 Push-Ups
100 Sit-Ups
100 Air Squats

Partition the reps as necessary. For example, you can do:

10 rounds of 10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, 10 squats.
5 rounds of 20 push-ups, 20 sit-ups, 20 squats.
4 rounds of 25 push-ups, 25 sit-ups, 25 squats.

Hotel Room Workout #4 (CrossFit - Advanced)

Complete as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes:

5 Handstand Push-Ups
10 Pistol Squats
15 Sit-Ups

Hotel Room Workout #5 (Advanced)

Do each exercise as straight sets with 30 seconds - one minute rest between sets.

Handstand Push-Ups (Shoulders) - 3 Sets Until Failure
Rear-Foot Elevated Split Squat (Legs) - 3 Sets Until Failure on Each Leg
Wide-Grip Push-Ups (Chest) - 3 Sets Until Failure
Floor L-Sits (Abs) - 3 Sets Until Failure (Hold as Long As Possible)

Push yourself to failure on each set but do controlled reps throughout.