This post, originally written and published in 2015, referenced an article written in 2014 about…
Train While You Travel: Tips to Training Without a Pole
I used to travel all around the world (ah, pre-pandemic life!) for my old “day job” and at first, it used to put a huge kink in my poling and conditioning. While it’s hard to pack your pole with you (you can try though, just remember to bring a level and an Allen wrench!), there are tons of ways to stay fit in any travel situation.
Check out my tips (and apps and links!) to maximize the time and space you’ve got away from your home studio and your home conditioning routine.
No Equipment Necessary
Maybe you’re in meetings all day, working too late to make it to the hotel’s fitness center or that fitness center looks like it’s seen better days, whatever the reason, there are plenty of ways to work out in your room.
Handstands are best full-body and most pole-like exercise you can do just about anywhere. If you are using a wall, make sure you’ve got plenty of clearance away from anything you might pay for if it accidentally broke (like the hotel’s art collection).
Work your arms and shoulders with push-ups (any variation) and triceps dips (using the bed and/or desk chair).
Work your core doing planks (any variation), Pilates roll-ups or crunches in the space between the beds or between the bed and TV. Grab a towel from the bathroom to lie on before rolling around on a strange floor. (eww bed bugs).
Easy to Pack
Your room could be pretty small (I once stayed in a London hotel where my knees when sitting on the toilet were halfway into the shower) and doing things like handstands and Pilates roll-ups are just not possible.
Try packing these small fitness tools to maximize your space.
Resistance bands are by far the cheapest, smallest, and most versatile fitness tool you can buy. Small and compact, these colored bands come in different tensions that provide you more or less resistance and can be used in place of weights, working your muscles by using the bands in different ways. Buy yours at any fitness store or online.
Check out some resistance band exercises at this link.
Inflatable exercise balls require a little bit of space to roll around on but can be a great way to do your ab work or squats without having to touch the potentially icky floor or walls. Remember to pack a mini air pump or you’ll spend all of your time huffing and puffing getting it filled. Put it in the shower (if it’ll fit) to keep it out of the way of housekeeping staff. Find them at your local fitness store or online.
Check out some ball exercises at this link.
Myofascial release tools like a “peanut” can help you recover faster, especially if your travel is work-related and potential stressful. Sometimes the best conditioning is to focus on your recovery! Check out the tools offered by our friends at Rad Roller. They even have a free app with all sorts of ideas to get you started.
Bonus: If you trust the doorframe of the hotels you may be visiting, you might want to invest in a TRX .TRX is a deceptively simple device created by Navy Seals that uses suspension training to work your balance and strength. You can do a million and one evil little exercises that work every part of your body using your own body weight. They aren’t cheap but worth the investment in the long term if you travel frequently.
Meet New Friends
If you’re lucky your hotel has a gym onsite or a relationship with a nearby fitness club. If not, try these links and apps that will help you get out of your room and maybe even meet some new friends.
MindBody Connect, an app available for mobile phones, let’s you search all studios nearby or near a specific address that use MindBody for their class scheduling. Key word searches help you find many pole studios, yoga studios and other dance studios that you can book right through your phone.
Fortunately there are pole studios all over the world now so you can almost always meet new pole friends when you travel. Check out these lists on the IPIA website:
A tip when visiting studios: email before you visit so you understand what class level is most appropriate. This studio may use different terms than your home studio so try to include a link to a video showing your skills to help them identify the best class for you.
Taking a walk is a great way see the sights, check out local flavor and gets your cardio in. If you’re itching for a more intense cardio fix, try the local running routes.
Map My Run is an app and a website that tracks your running activity, finds or make routes, and asks friends to cheer you on!
Whether you are stuck in a tiny hotel room in Hawthorne, Nevada or running the river in Brisbane, Australia, you’ve got tons of ideas on how to train while you travel, with or without your pole. Happy travels!
Colleen Jolly is an entrepreneur and a pole dance enthusiast. She has been poling for 12 years, is the CEO of PoleCon and the Executive Director of the IPIA. She teaches pole, lyra, floorwork, and mobility online and in-person in the DC metro area. She has been active in leadership roles in several international businesses over the past two decades and is also an award-winning pole dancer, artist, writer, and speaker. She is certified in several movement modalities and wrote the book "Mobility for Pole" to help pole dancers move better.
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