Winter Travel Workout: A Simple Dumbbell Circuit You Can Do Anywhere

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Sharing a winter travel workout for ya. This is a super simple dumbbell circuit workout that you can do anywhere!

Hi friends! How are you? I hope that your week is off to a great start! We’re driving back from the Princess _ I’ll share the adventures in Friday Faves – and heading home for discovery calls and all of the holiday baking.

Today, I wanted to chat a bit about travel workouts and share a quick and fun one for you!

Traveling during the winter months can be magical… and also a little disruptive to your routine. Between flights, family time, cold weather, and being out of your normal environment, workouts can often be the first thing to go.

The good news is that you don’t need a full gym or hours of time to get in movement while traveling.

This winter travel workout is one of my go-to routines when I’m out of town. It’s quick, effective, and requires just one set of moderate dumbbells. You can do it in a hotel room, Airbnb, or even a small living space, and it hits your legs, glutes, core, and upper body while getting your heart rate up.

The goal isn’t to crush yourself; it’s to move your body, maintain strength, and feel good while traveling.

Why Strength Training While Traveling Matters

When you’re traveling (especially in winter), movement tends to drop, sleep can be off, and inflammation can creep up.

Short, full-body strength workouts can help:

Maintain muscle and metabolism

Improve circulation after long travel days

Support energy levels

Reduce stiffness and joint pain

Keep stress hormones in check

This circuit-style workout gives you all of that in under 30 minutes.

Warm-Up (5–7 Minutes)

Before jumping into the circuit, take a few minutes to warm up and get blood flowing.

You can choose:

Brisk walking (outside or treadmill)

Marching in place

Dynamic movements like:

Arm circles

Hip circles

Bodyweight squats

Walking lunges

Inchworms

Torso twists

The goal is to feel warm and prepped for your body.

Winter Travel Dumbbell Workout Circuit

You’ll complete this circuit leading with one side, then repeat it leading with the opposite side. That ensures balanced strength and core engagement.

Aim to complete 2–3 rounds per side, resting as needed between rounds.

1. Dumbbell Swings x 30

(Hold one dumbbell with both hands)

Form cues:

Feet hip-width apart

Hinge at the hips (not a squat)

Drive through your heels and squeeze your glutes

The dumbbell should swing to chest height using momentum from your hips, not your arms

Keep your spine neutral and core engaged

Why I love it: Builds glutes, hamstrings, and power while elevating heart rate.

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Row and strength combo workout (+ video tutorial)

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Sharing a combination row and strength workout that you can do at home or take to your next gym workout. Our favorite rower for our home gym is here!

Hi friends! Happy Monday! How’s the morning going so far? I hope you had a great weekend. We finished decorating (just need the tree!), had an amazing dinner at Vivace, and got together with some friends. It’s also been rainy here and lovely. I hope you had a great weekend, too!

For today’s post, I wanted to pay a tribute to a fitness tool that we’ve added to our home gym and that we absolutely LOVE: the Aviron! (<— that it my affiliate link and they’re having a Black Friday promo right now! It’s their only sale so far this entire year.) You can check out my full review of Aviron here. Since we added it to our routine, it’s been so amazing to have for at-home rowing workouts, especially since we can stream Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, and play games. I watched half of Les Miserables while getting in an excellent cardio workout.

My all-time favorite way to use the rower is for combo strength and cardio. I’ll do sprints or drills on the rower and alternate with total body strength training moves. It’s also amazing that you can use the seat almost like a Pilates reformer; I’ll often use it for sliding side lunges and pikes.

Here’s a workout that I’ve been enjoying lately! Give this at whirl at home or at your next gym session. As always, talk with a doctor before making any fitness or nutrition changes. Modify as needed and honor your body.

Row and strength combo workout

You’ll complete three rounds of each circuit, separating each circuit with a rowing drill that will increase your heart rate and give you an awesome sweat.

The exercises:

Rowing warmup 5-7 minutes

Take this time to set up proper form, focus on your breath, and get your mindset in the game for a great workout. Play a song that will pump you up!

Circuit 1:

Biceps curl to overhead press x 10

Starting Position: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding dumbbells by your sides.

Biceps Curl: Curl the weights toward your shoulders, keeping elbows close to your body.

Overhead Press: Press the weights overhead, fully extending your arms.

Return: Lower the weights back to shoulder height, then down to the starting position.

Repetition: Complete 10 controlled curls and presses.

Goblet squat x 12

Hold a Dumbbell: Hold a dumbbell close to your chest with both hands.

Feet Placement: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.

Squat Down: Lowe

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