By Allesha Thomas

August 30, 2025

7105 Views

ADVERTISEMENT

Easy Exercises for On The Go Healthcare Travelers

Stay fit anywhere—no gym, no problem!

👋 Life on the Road Doesn’t Have to Sideline Your Fitness

Between long shifts, new city logistics, and rotating sleep schedules, squeezing in a workout as a healthcare traveler can feel nearly impossible. But here’s the good news: you don’t need a gym membership or fancy equipment to stay strong and energized. We have compiled some easy workouts for healthcare travelers.

As a former traveler once told us, “I used to think I had to sacrifice fitness during assignments. Then I discovered the power of a 10-minute routine in my hotel room. Game changer.”

Whether you’re on call, working nights, or between contracts, these workouts for healthcare travelers are designed to keep you active, balanced, and feeling your best—wherever the job takes you.

🌟 The Real Benefits of Moving Your Body

We all know exercise is “good for us,” but it can be easy to forget why—especially after a 12-hour shift.

According to the Mayo Clinic, regular physical activity provides some powerful health benefits, including:

Controls weight
Combats health conditions and diseases, including:

  • Stroke
  • Metabolic syndrome
  • High blood pressure
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Depression and anxiety
  • Many types of cancer
  • Arthritis
  • Risk of falls

Improves mood (goodbye, night-shift blues)
Boosts energy
Promotes better sleep
Can improve your sex life
And—bonus—it can be fun and social!

💬 One healthcare traveler shared:

“I didn’t realize how much movement impacted my mood until I made stretching and bodyweight exercises a daily habit. Even just 10 minutes changes my whole outlook on the day.”

Whether you’re trying to prevent burnout, sleep better, or just feel stronger, consistent movement is a small act of self-care that pays off in big ways—mentally and physically.

✨ Quick Workouts for Healthcare Travelers

These workouts for healthcare travelers focus on mobility, strength, and flexibility—all without requiring much space or time.

ExerciseFocus AreaReps / DurationPro Tip
Push‑UpsArms, chest, core10–15 repsStart on your knees if you’re a beginner
Tricep DipsArms, shoulders12–15 repsUse a stable chair or table
Bird‑DogCore, posture10 on each sideKeep your back flat
PlankCore, stability30–60 secondsBreathe deeply; form > duration
Reverse LungesLegs, glutes10 per legStep back for better balance
Bodyweight SquatsLegs, core15–20 repsKeep knees behind toes

🕒 A Quick 10–Minute Routine for Busy Healthcare Travelers

Total time: ~12 minutes

  1. Warm up – March in place or do jumping jacks (1 min)
  2. Push‑Ups → 10–15 reps
  3. Tricep Dips → 12–15 reps
  4. Bird‑Dog → 10 per side
  5. Plank → 30–60 seconds
  6. Reverse Lunges → 10 per leg
  7. Bodyweight Squats → 15–20 reps
  8. Cool down – Stretch your hamstrings, shoulders, and back (2 mins)

🧳 Pro tip from a Gypsy Nurse follower:
“I kept a travel yoga mat in my trunk and would unroll it at the park between shifts. Sometimes the fresh air made all the difference.”


🌍 Practical Fitness Tips for Healthcare Travelers

  • Think mini workouts. You don’t need a 60-minute sweat sesh. Even 5–10 minutes makes a difference.
  • Turn breaks into movement. A few squats or a brisk walk around the hospital parking lot beats scrolling TikTok in the breakroom.
  • Be kind to your body. Recovery is part of fitness. After back-to-back night shifts, stretching or gentle movement can do more good than a high-intensity session.
  • Make it a habit. Link movement to a daily cue—like post-coffee, pre-shower, or after your shift.

🧠 Why It Matters

Your health and energy levels impact your work and quality of life. These workouts for healthcare travelers aren’t about perfection—they’re about making yourself a priority, even when schedules get hectic.

Easy exercises for travel nurses aren’t about achieving fitness perfection—they’re about making yourself a priority even when the schedule gets hectic.


Below you will find a video with easy exercises to do anywhere. Best of all, they don’t require any equipment at all!

🔗 More Fitness Resources for Travel Nurses


💬 Let’s Hear From You!

What’s your favorite quick workout or travel-friendly exercise? Drop your go-to moves in the comments below to help other healthcare travelers stay strong on the road.


🧭 Final Word

Fitness doesn’t have to be complicated. With these workouts for healthcare travelers, you can stay energized, strong, and ready for whatever your assignment brings.

Find Your Next Travel Nurse Assignment
Ready to hit the road and take your skills somewhere new? Check out our job board and find your next opportunity today.

By Sancket Kamdar

January 9, 2022

10277 Views

ADVERTISEMENT

The Most Effective Portable Workout Equipment 2020 – Our Top Choices

Working out feels like a chore when traveling. But going without exercise for even two days in a row gets a real fitness enthusiast very anxious. You can’t carry your heavy dumbbells in your bag, obviously. What then?

Just cardio! Yes, 30-40 minute cardio, 3-4 days a week, allows for muscle maintenance and strength gain maintenance. Cross-fitters don’t mind swapping their cross-fit equipment with some high-level cardio using compact yet effective travel workout equipment.   

Portable Workout Equipment

With the right travel exercise equipment, you can avoid missing your workout sessions and start your mornings pumped up even without a gym when you’re away for a vacation or a business trip. We have made some top picks, some compact portable workout equipment that can challenge the fittest athletes. Check them out.

Water Weights –

Water weights are one of the most portable exercise equipment, but only when your travel setting allows it. If you happen to have a pool or a water body where you’re traveling to, you can go for water weights that are made of foam and plastic so that they can be heavy in the water.

Underwater workouts are quite effective if you combine the enhanced resistance of water weights with the natural guided underwater motions. If you’re planning to just swim, you can carry other compact travel fitness equipment, such as foam ankle and wrist weights, to increase resistance in your exercise.

Resistance Bands –

Foldable and super compact resistance bands are the top choice of travel exercise equipment for many fitness professionals and even cross-fit athletes. From simple resistance exercises to tough session goals, workout bands can cater to almost anything since the resistance they create can replicate the standard dumbbells.  

You can get single resistance bands or check out some challenging ones where you can insert more than one band in a single hook for more resistance. You can also get one with adjustable resistance.

Ab Roller –

We meet a lot of fitness professionals, especially cross-fitters who just don’t leave home for a vacation without a portable, lightweight ab roller. After all, it’s a great piece of workout equipment for triceps, back muscles, improving pulling strength, and core muscles, including abs. It’s perfect for high-power upper body workouts and isn’t also so much weight to carry, which makes it a travel essential for fitness ninjas.

Core Sliders –

When talking about portable travel equipment, we can’t miss the core sliders for two reasons:

One – they are small, light, and easy to carry. And two – they are great for strengthening and toning the chest, arms, glutes, and legs. With some simple exercises such as body saw, slider mountain climber, single-leg knee tuck, plank jack, etc., using core sliders, you can complete your exercise session equally effectively when you’re out traveling.

Speed Ropes –

The last and important one – speed rope. A speed rope is a must-have travel workout equipment when you can’t go for a full-fledged workout but don’t want to lose all the progress. Speed ropes are designed to be faster than ever to help you work harder and train better. Moreover, speed rope exercise is good for improving footwork, agility, coordination, endurance, and quickness, which is why it should be a part of every fitness enthusiast’s regular workout routine.

Moreover, we are all guilty of those extra calories we consume when on trips or vacations. With a speed rope, you can burn calories and fat quickly.

With these super-effective portable workout equipment, you can continue your fitness regime without a break and also compensate the guilt of gorging on all the delicious food on a vacation that you just can’t say no to. I hope this was helpful!

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)