Despite some seriously impressive facilities around the globe, the phrase ‘hotel gym’ is still pretty synonymous with, well… not being very good.

Think a limited range of slowly decaying dumbbells of questionable integrity, a cable stack with half the attachments missing, and a selection of cardio machines that belong in a museum. And that’s if your hotel has a gym at all.

That said, I’m a big believer in the idea that you don’t need a gym to get in a solid workout. You just need a smart plan and the willingness to train with the same intensity you’d bring to a fully equipped facility.

This workout, one of my favourites, is a go-to hotel-room staple that covers all the major movement patterns. It’ll help you maintain muscle, stay conditioned and maybe even eke out a few gains if you push the effort hard enough.

The Ultimate Hotel Room Workout

Circuit A

5 rounds

A1. Single-Arm Towel Row x 6-10 reps per arm

• Loop a towel around a sturdy door handle.
• Lean back until your arm is fully extended.
• Pull your elbow towards your hip.
• Lower under control and repeat.

A2. Dips Between Chairs x 10-15 reps

• Place your hands on two sturdy chairs.
• Support your bodyweight with straight arms.
• Lower until your elbows reach roughly 90 degrees.
• Press back up explosively.

A3. Shrimp Squat x 5-10 reps per leg

• Stand on one leg and hold your opposite foot behind you.
• Lower under control until your rear knee nearly touches the floor.
• Keep your chest upright throughout.
• Drive through your heel to stand.

Circuit B

5 rounds

B1. Burpee x 10 reps

• Drop your hands to the floor.
• Jump your feet back into a plank.
• Perform a push-up.
• Jump your feet forward and explode upwards.

• Start in a strong plank position.
• Lower your chest until it’s just above the floor.
• Keep your body in a straight line.
• Press back up and repeat.

B3. Split-Squat Jump x 30 reps

• Start in a split stance.
• Lower into a lunge.
• Jump explosively and switch legs mid-air.
• Land softly and move straight into the next rep.

If there’s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it’s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in – all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.

Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? Click here to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men’s Health app.

With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.    

As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that’s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.   

Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts.   

 You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for ‘free pizza’ and wait for him to appear.