Hotel Workouts - Pullups/ Hangboard

I've been traveling for the past few years for work, and seem to get much weaker during field season (Apr-Dec).

Hotels usually have some free weights and a bench, with a treadmill but no bars. Anyone find a clever way to bring a pull-up bar/ hangboard setup in a situation like this? I've tried the iron gym thing but usually the doorframe is in the wrong spot or super shitty. It's also usually in the desert, middle of nowhere and very hot. The more I write i'm just realizing that I'm probably boned unless I build a mobile t-stand or something.

Are you traveling via car or suitcase?
I’ve made portable setups using a small wooden lip and C Clamps over a doorway. Very sturdy and probably more practical than the iron gym

2x C Clamps, wood strip for one side, then mount your hangboard to a wood board with a lip on the backside. Clamp it all together without dropping a c clamp on your head. 

Get one of these, I love mine for travel and at home: www.tensionclimbing.com/product/the-block

Andy W wrote: Get one of these, I love mine for travel and at home: www.tensionclimbing.com/product/the-block

This looks awesome may need to get one.

You could also get a set of these and take some bands with you https://www.crimpwerks.com

There are worthwhile portable hangboards that hang from a cord with carabiner. Problem is finding an indoor point high enough to hang it from. Outdoors can use a tree branch or playground gym, if find one near your hotel.

Ken

I like the C-Clamp idea, since it would allow for hanging and doing pull-ups. I guess I'm having a hard time visualizing how to set it up without destroying the drywall, unless you mount wood on both sides of the frame?

That block thing is super awesome though. I see myself buying one in the very near future...

Yes. Wood on both sides of the frame. The other side is just a thin strip to distribute the pressure

Hangs and pullups on the door jamb

travel boards are awesome. I have one of these that goes with me everywhere ( awesomewoodys.com/products/…). I have also made a trx ring for shoulders. used some old rope and cut a few handles from an old trek pole.

+1 for the woody's. I travel extensively and globally for work. The best solution I've found is the Woody's Cliff Bar Mini, which is even tinier than the one john greer linked and weighs next to nothing. I also take about 10 feet of webbing. Like you, I don't think I've ever actually hung this in a hotel room. If there's a weight room available you can hang it off some nautilus stuff, but I'm generally traveling in quite poor countries where that's not the norm. In those cases I sling it over a tree branch (hat tip to kenr) in the parking lot or any pipes or other metal structures that will hold my weight on the exterior of the building. You will get a lot of questions, but also have some great conversations and meet some new people (usually security guards, for me). 

If you get one of these boards and a couple different rubber bands with varying tensions you will be able to do a solid workout/maintain easy mobility.  I am stationary with where I live and that is all that I need for my routines before work.  

+1 Andy w

I use the tension flash board and also use 1-2 aid hooks to hang from a (sturdy) door frame. The hooks will leave a small indentation, but no one will see it.

Thanks for all the great ideas! I think I'll combine all the methods and buy a choice hangboard/hangblock, and bring tools to either mount (the aid hook idea is awesome) and bring bands/weights. I'll be in Hanksville, UT for a while this year, where there are guaranteed to be no trees in sight, and the motel will likely have a door frame with the same competency as a paint stick.

Shameless Plug:
https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/114034662/endless-rope-pull-machine

If anyone’s interested, I’m selling an Awesome Woodys Cliff Board:
​https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/116360647/fs-awesome-woodys-cliff-board-portable-hangboard​​​

I just use a single Metolius Rock Ring. I clip that to a single strand of accessory cord and hang it over a closed door. You can loop it around the door nob on the other side for added security.

I do single handed 45deg+ reps on it and it sort of simulates juggy overhanging climbing. Plus you can work monos without damaging your fingers.

Not a perfect setup but its cheap easy and light....you'll just get bothered TSA for carrying "a large rock" if you are flying... assuming the government is functioning right and that the TSA is there at all.

-rb

Ryan Christopher wrote: I just use a single Metolius Rock Ring. I clip that to a single strand of accessory cord and hang it over a closed door. You can loop it around the door nob on the other side for added security.

I do single handed 45deg+ reps on it and it sort of simulates juggy overhanging climbing. Plus you can work monos without damaging your fingers.

Not a perfect setup but its cheap easy and light....you'll just get bothered TSA for carrying "a large rock" if you are flying... assuming the government is functioning right and that the TSA is there at all.

-rb

Well, to be fair, even when it's not shut down, I'm not sure it's "functioning right"...

Regarding your hotel workout idea, that's pretty cool. Very space-efficient.

When I know I have to check a bag, I'll disassemble my doorway pull-up bar, and bring that, but even taken apart, it's failry bulky. (And I've been in hotels where the bathroom door is configured in such a way that it's rendered useless anyway.) A Rock Ring or two would be a definite improvement.

Of course, if my destination city has a climbing gym, I'll usually try to get there at some point during my trip.

Jon Rhoderick wrote: Yes. Wood on both sides of the frame. The other side is just a thin strip to distribute the pressure

I don't see why one wouldn't make both sides usable. One side can be 7/8', w/ a 1/16 roundover, and the other side can be 1/2-5/8', also w/ 1/16 roundover, this way you can use the larger side for warm ups and the smaller side for the actual workout. Also has the added benefit of spreading the load a bit more than just a strip of 1/4", so you don't damage anything and tick off the management :)

I think the main thing is that there is imagination, and the chosen object would hold out the weight of its body))) I think there are many applications for a smartphone