(This article by Capt. M.J. Hessert, USN, originally appeared in the June 2026 issue of Military Officer, a magazine available to all MOAA Premium and Life members who can log in to access our digital version and archive. Basic members can save on a membership upgrade and access the magazine.)

I spent the COVID-19 pandemic aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). Aside from the normal challenges of life at sea, there were additional hardships due to the coronavirus, including closure of the ship’s gyms. So I switched to bodyweight workouts that could be done in my stateroom.

I still use these workouts when traveling because they are perfect for hotel rooms or even a quiet corner of the airport. Furthermore, people unaccustomed to resistance training will find this to be a good beginner workout for home and away.

While it’s difficult to perform pulling exercises without equipment, pushing exercises are readily available with your bodyweight and can provide nearly a full body workout.

“Your gym is wherever you are, and the best training equipment is your own body,” said George Cruz, a certified strength and conditioning specialist at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. “Many critique calisthenics and claim that they do not provide enough of a stimulus. However, we can alter volume and intensity to ensure a good workout.”

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Indeed, because fitness levels and free time vary, I recommend two to four sets of each of these exercises to fatigue, depending on your needs:

• Air squats: Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width and squat down with your arms in front of you for balance. You can hold a door frame if needed. This exercise primarily targets the quadriceps and gluteal muscles.
  
  
• Multidirectional lunges: Standard lunges are performed in the normal walking plane or perhaps side to side. For this exercise, imagine you are standing in the middle of a clock face. Lunge toward each number on the clock. Moving in many different planes is especially good for balance and small stabilizer muscles in addition to the quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings.
  
  
• Pushups: Place your hands shoulder width apart. Keeping elbows close to your sides, engage your core while lowering your chest toward the floor, and then push up. This is excellent exercise for the pectoralis (chest) muscles, triceps, and abdominal muscles.
  
  
• Side planks: Lay on your side and push up so that your elbow and forearm are under your shoulder and you are balanced on the side of your downward foot. Engage your latissimus, obliques, and gluteal muscles on the downward side. Hold until fatigued.
  
  
• Flutter kicks: Lay flat on your back with your legs straight and toes pointed. Place your arms at your side or, for extra support of your lower back, put your hands under your buttocks. Lift your legs a few inches off the ground, then alternately kick in small, quick motion, which exercises the abdominal muscles and quadriceps.
  
  
• Prone overhead back extensions: Lay on your stomach with arms stretched ahead and legs straight. Simultaneously lift your chest, arms, and shoulders off the floor while raising your legs off the ground. Hold until fatigued.
  
  
• Rows: To incorporate this exercise, use your backpack or carry-on. Hold the bag in one hand, bend over at the hip, and pull the bag up to your lower rib cage on that side. You may stabilize yourself on the side of the bed with the other hand. Repeat on the opposite side.

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“By utilizing our own bodyweight as resistance, we are still able to improve strength, endurance, coordination, and flexibility, even while traveling,” Cruz said.

Capt. M.J. Hessert, USN, is an emergency physician and aerospace medicine physician in San Diego.