14 Minimal + ZERO Equipment WODs That Are Perfect for Holiday Travel

Did you know A FROZEN TURKEY could be substituted for a kettlebell in just about any workout?? It wouldn’t be a great substitute, but technically it could work. Ok let's get real, if you’re traveling for the holidays, you may not have access to fitness facilities. No worries! You can still get your FITNESS on with an at-home workout. Below are 14 Travel-Friendly WODS with both zero and minimal (1 dumbbell + Jump Rope) equipment options. If you think you can’t get a SOLID sweat from minimal equipment or bodyweight workouts, you clearly have never done 100 Burpees For Time ;)

10-Minute Workouts

"Good Grief"

Every 2:00 x 5 sets

12 Burpees (As Fas As Possible. SPRINT!)

Scale: 8 Burpees

"Shoulder Stay or Shoulder Go"

AMRAP 10

30 Double Unders*

15 V-Ups

30 Plank Shoulder Taps

*Scale: 60 Singles

Bodyweight Version

30 Lateral Line Hops

15 V-Ups

30 Plank Shoulder Taps

"Simply Complex"

EMOM x 10

5 No-Push Up Burpees

6 Air Squats

7 Sit-Ups

Workout flow: Complete all 3 movements in one minute. Repeat for 10 minutes.

Scale: 4 No Push-Up Burpees, 5 Air Squats, 5 Sit-Ups

"Turkey Tabata"

Tabata (20s on/10s off) - 20 Rounds

Sumo Dumbbell Deadlift

Pistols Squats*

Single Dumbbell Hang Clean & Jerk

Pistols Squats*

Workout flow: Complete 20s of each movement in sequence, resting 10s between each movement. i.e. 20s of Sumo Dumbell Deadlifts-10s Rest-20s of Pistol Squats-10s rest etc.

*Scale: Single Dumbbell Front Rack Lunges

Bodyweight Version

Odd Objet Deadlift (water jug, backpack, etc.)

Pistol Squats*

Tuck-Ups

Pistol Squats*

*Scale: Reverse Lunges

10:00-20:00 Minutes

"Cramp-Us"

4 Rounds of AMRAP 4

30 Lunges

60 Double Unders*

Max Hand Release Push-Ups in the time remaining

Rest 1:00 between rounds

*Scale: 120 Singles or 30 Lateral Line Hops

"Devils in the Details"

For Time

50 Single Dumbbell Devils Press

Every 2:00, including the 0:00 - 15 Sit-Ups

Bodyweight Version

For Time

80 Burpee Jump Squats*

Every 2:00, including the 0:00 - 15 Sit-Ups

*To perform the Burpee Jump Squat, complete a standard burpee, but perform a squat jump immediately after standing instead of jumping and clapping your hand overhead.

"Gobble-It"

1 Mile Run

then

30-20-10

Dumbbell Goblet Squat

Dumbbell Snatches

Bodyweight Version

1 Mile Run

then

30-20-10

Jump Squats

Push-Ups

"Fight Gone Rad"

3 Rounds

1 minute Max Single Dumbbell Thrusters

1 Minute Max Hang Dumbbell Snatches

1 Minute Max Vertical Jumps

1 Minute Max Single Dumbbell Push Press

1 Minute Max Shuttle Runs

1 Minute Rest

Bodyweight Version

1 minute Max Air Squats

1 Minute Max Reverse Lunges

1 Minute Max Vertical Jumps

1 Minute Max Push-Ups

1 Minute Max Shuttle Runs

1 Minute Rest

"Push It Real Good"

100 Push-Ups*

Every time you break, perform 15 Mountain Climbers

*Scale: 100 Knee Push-Ups

20:00+ Minutes

“The Jogfather”

800m Run

75 Air Squats*

800m Run

75 Sit-Ups*

800m Run

75 Reverse Lunges*

*Scale - 50 Air Squats, 50 Sit-Ups, 50 Reverse Lunges

"Thunder Thighs"

21-18-15-12-9-6-3

Air Squats

Lunges

Jump Squats

Jumping Lunges

*Scale: Rep Scheme 20-16-12-8

"Tumilson" (Hero WOD)

8 rounds

200m Run

11 Burpee Deadlifts*

*Scale/Bodyweight: 11 Burpee Jump Squats

"Sweet Emom-tion"

EMOM x 30

1 - 8 Burpees

2 - 16 Air Squats

You Might Wanna Break Up With Lean Cuisine

Remember when Lean Cuisine was all the RAGE in the early-mid 2000’s?

Frozen meals can save you in a pinch, but they are less than ideal daily nutrition solutions for two big reasons:

1. Satiation. Frozen meals that are high in quickly digested carbohydrates but low in protein, veggies and fiber won’t keep you full for long. Which means you’re more likely to feel hungry sooner and/or overeat later. By some kind of witch craft, many frozen meals like Lean Cuisine manage to contain 300-450 calories while also being very small and not satiating.

2. Sodium Content. So much sodium in a small package! Several Lean Cuisine meals contain upwards of 600mg of sodium. If you already struggle to balance sodium content in your diet, you should reevaluate regularly consuming frozen meals.

When I work with individuals who rely heavily on frozen meals, we aim for a few solutions:

Meal Prep Time Management – Meal prep CAN be a long arduous process, but it doesn’t HAVE to be. For those who are pressed for time, bulk prepping foods instead of making separate individual meals, and utilizing “set and forget” kitchen appliances like slow cookers can cut a Sunday of meal prep down to a 30-minute task.

Quick Cook Options – A rotisserie chicken+ frozen steamable veggies + a bag of 90 second rice/pasta will give you the same no-fuss, instant frozen meal effect with less additives, more fiber and more protein, so it will keep you fuller longer. PLUS it’s easier on the wallet, because you can save the leftovers to use for other meals!

Choosing Better Frozen Meals – Tapering back our intake of frozen meals + simply choosing frozen meals with a shorter ingredient list can do wonders. See the photos below for a few suggestions!

If you want to eat better, feel better, or just kick frozen meals to the curb, I got you. Head over to the contact page and shoot me a message!

Put Down You Phone, Pick Up The Gainz

How do you get STRONG without spending 3+ hours at the gym? The answer is terribly simple: Rest.

Rest days - You need these in order for your body to recover and build muscle.

Measured rest between movements/sets - The sad forgotten cousin of “rest days” that people often ignore.

It’s easy to get on your phone and catch up on emails or scroll through the Gram during your rest periods. However, studies have shown:

• In terms of chronic adaptations, resting 3-5 minutes between sets produced greater increases in absolute strength, due to higher intensities and volumes of training.

• If your goal is muscular hypertrophy, the combination of moderate-intensity sets with short rest intervals of 30-60 seconds might be most effective due to greater acute levels of growth hormone during the workout.
  

TLDR: For maximal strength and hypertrophy, you NEED to measure your rest periods.

If you’re not measuring your rest periods, I challenge you to try it for 1 week. Be STRICT with your rest between movements and sets.

Not only will you stimulate muscle growth more efficiently, you’ll maximize your time in the gym and bring more intensity to your sessions in the process.

Give this sick quad finisher a shot, with no rest between movements and 2:30 rest between sets. Enjoy the pump!

3 sets

8/Side Bulgarian Split Squats

20 Banded Quad Extensions

Max Wall Sit

Rest 2:30 between sets

Workout courtesy of Kyle Flowers, CF-L2

Sources: de Salles BF;Simão R;Miranda F;Novaes Jda S;Lemos A;Willardson JM; (n.d.). Rest interval between sets in strength training. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.). Retrieved October 18, 2021, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19691365/.