by Matt Weik
Layovers suck. I’ve been there. You’ve been there. And regardless of your pleading to the airline customer service representative at the desk, you’re stuck sitting at a terminal for what seems like an eternity until your plane arrives. No worries! You can pass the time by fitting in an airport workout – no gym or equipment needed.
Don’t sit around at the terminal or an overcrowded airport Starbucks and only further elevate your stress levels. Make good use of your time by getting in an airport workout. If you’re lucky, the airport has a gym you can use but if not, all hope is not lost. There are plenty of exercises you can do while at the airport to get your swole on and burn some calories. In fact, most of the exercises you are used to doing in the gym can be done in the airport only with the use of your own body weight or your luggage. Below is an airport workout you can utilize the next time you’re stranded for an hour or more.
*Before utilizing the below workout, speak with your doctor to ensure you are healthy enough to engage in an exercise program.
Airport Workout to Pass Time and Get You Pumped
When it comes to your airport workout choices, you can do cardio only, resistance training only, or a combination of both cardio and resistance training.
For cardio, you can:
• walk around the airport
• walk up and down the stairs at the airport
• lunge up and down the terminal
• jog in an area that isn’t full of people
If you don’t mind people looking at you weird or you have space, you can even incorporate things such as burpees, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, etc. for your cardio or between your circuits to help keep your heart rate elevated and get the most bang for your buck with the time provided.
Prior to beginning the below resistance training airport workout, complete five minutes of a warm-up such as a walk up and down the terminal to get the blood pumping and muscles loose. Following the warm-up, complete the exercises below in a circuit where you move from one exercise to the next with either no rest or minimal. Once you get to the last exercise, move back to the first exercise and complete another circuit. If you can fit in 2-4 complete circuits that would be ideal. If you are limited on time, do what you can prior to your flight.
While no equipment is needed for the airport workout, I would highly suggest you use your luggage for resistance on many of the below exercises as well as a stable chair for the dips and pushups if you wished to change the angle at which you hit the chest. Using some resistance will make the movements found in the workout more challenging and allow you to burn more calories during the airport workout. Depending on your strength, you can even use your luggage for one-arm movements such as the row and biceps curl to work them a little harder than you would using both arms simultaneously.
Exercise Sets Reps
Squats 2-4 10-15
Deadlifts 2-4 10-15
Calf Raises 2-4 10-15
Pushups 2-4 10-15
Rows 2-4 10-15
Shoulder Presses 2-4 10-15
Triceps Dips 2-4 10-15
Biceps Curls 2-4 10-15
Crunches 2-4 10-15
