When was the last time you did a HIIT cardio workout at a hotel?

If you’re like most folks, I’m sure you utilized the hotel’s gym to perform your HIIT (high intensity interval training) cardio session.

If not at the hotel’s gym, maybe you did your quick HIIT cardio session (P90X, Insanity, jumping jacks, burpees, etc.) from inside your hotel room.

What if I told you there was one more location that you could use to get a good cardio workout in?

Your hotel’s hallway!

High Intensity Interval Training + Hallway = Crazy Idea?

Why Use Hallways For HIIT Cardio Workouts?

Think about it.

What’s the longest stretch of space at a hotel?

Unless you’re staying at a super luxurious hotel with a great big lounge area the answer is typically the hallway.

Hotels want to acquire as many guests as possible so they will try to build as many rooms as possible.

How do hotel guests get to their rooms? Through hallways of course!

Therefore hotel hallways are quite lengthy due to all the rooms.

Most hallways are designed in a straight up and down, shotgun approach. When I say shotgun, I simply mean that you can see from one end to the other end of the building if you were to step into the hallway.

Larger hotels are shaped more like squares or rectangles. This design allows a hallway to extend into another hallway at each corner.

Both types of hallways work fine for these workouts I have designed.

HIIT Cardio Hotel Hallway Workouts

These workouts were written without the use of any additional equipment other than what the hotel guest would naturally carry with them.

You can always make things harder by adding some weighted objects and/or dumbbell weights to some of these routines. If using the hotel’s dumbbells, please make sure you have their permission to use them in the hallways.

MicVinny Disclaimer: I don’t want to get a call from some hotel manager saying: “Our hotel guest said that you told them to use our weights in the hallway. That’ll be a $500 fine sir!”

Become A Track Star

The first HIIT cardio workout that comes to mind when looking at how hallways are built is the 50 meter sprint. You know the event at the Olympics that determines the world’s fastest man or woman.

Now you don’t have to be Usain Bolt level fast or as dedicated as Nick to do this workout.  Just as long as you give it more than 80% effort, you’ll easily reap the benefits of sprinting.

Please be careful with your hallway sprints. Do these when you know the hallway will not be crowded.

If people unexpectedly show up in your hallway, be respectful and slow down, stop or move around them. You can always start your sprint again when they leave.

Hallway Sprints

Just like the Olympics, start at one end of the floor on your two legs and run as fast as possible to the other side of the hallway.

Go as far as you want.

Take a 40-60 second rest and repeat 7-10 more times.

Professional Hallway Sprints

Just like before, except start your pace with all four of your limbs touching the ground just like a professional sprinter.

This creates a different starting position and gets more muscles involved in that initial burst of speed.

Bear Crawls

Get down on all fours and quickly crawl across that hallway.

When doing this for the first time, aim to go at least 5 doors down the hallway.

Once you reach your desired number of hotel doors, take a 40-60 second rest.

For your next set, try to do the amount of doors you did last time plus one more.

Keep adding more doors for each additional set until you can’t physically performed the hotel door distance anymore.

Try to beat that number next time.

Forward and Reverse Bear Crawls

Just like Bear Crawls except once you reached your door number, you now have to go back to where you started in reverse.

Ex: 5 doors forward, 5 doors backward, rest 40-60 secs. 6 doors forward, 6 doors backward…etc.

Crab Walks

Instead of getting on all fours like you do for the Bear Crawl, you get on all for legs from a posterior position which makes you walk like a crab.

Use the same idea for the Bear Crawl. Just don’t be surprised if you can’t go as far with this movement due to the position it puts your body in.

Try to do it in forward and reverse as well.

Farmers Walk

Overhead Farmers Walk

This sounds simple to do but trust me; it’ll get your heart pounding.

Place both hands above your head and walk up and down that hallway as fast as possible for two minutes straight.

Take a 30 second break and then repeat four more times.

Weighted Overhead Farmers Walk

If the above was too simple, it’s now time to graduate to the next level.

Using any weighted object (pillow, laundry bag, luggage, dumbbells,etc.), raise that object evenly above your head and do the same as above.

If your arms start to give out, stop, put them safely down and then put right back up and continue going until your two minutes is up.

Two minutes walk.
One minute rest.
Repeat

This sounds so easy but trust me, it’ll hurt in a good way.

One Arm Suitcase Farmers Walk

Using a suitcase, hold it on one side of your body as you walk down the hallway as fast as possible. Once at the other end, switch hands and walk back to where you started.

Keep going until your two minutes is up.

One minute rest
Repeat four more times

The key is to use your core/abs to keep you stable. You will find the opposite side of your body doing all the work as it stabilizes your mobility.

Hands to the Side

If you don’t have super long wingspan like I do try this.

Raise your arms completely to the side until they are at shoulder level.

Now start walking down the hallway without lowering your arms.
Go for two minutes.

If your arms get sore. Stop, lower them down really quickly but put them back up and keep going until your two minutes are up

Three Doors Down

Here’s a simple hallway HIIT circuit you can do with just 3 exercises:

• Inchworms
• Toy soldiers
• High Knee Skips

For every three doors you pass, you will switch exercises.

Inch worms

Toy soldiers

High knee skips

Once you do each exercise at least three times, take a 60-90 second break and repeat 2 more times.

Floor by Floors

Bottom to the top

Start on the bottom floor. Walk the entire floor from one side of the hallway to the other side where the stairs are.

Run up the stairs to the next level. Walk that hallway to the opposite staircase. Run up the stairs to the next level.

Repeat until you’ve made it to the top of the hotel.

Top to the Bottom

Same as before but start at the top and work your way down.

Odd/Even Floors

You can do the bottom to the top, but instead of stopping on every floor, you can sprint up to either the next odd floor, or even floor.

Give these hallway workouts a try during your next trip!