It is always great to have exercise equipment that you can use anywhere – whether you are traveling or simply want to get in a quick workout at home.

Especially equipment that can add resistance and be used to make moves more challenging.

Because often when we travel or workout at home, we struggle to find ways to advance movements and “add weight” or resistance unless we have access to a hotel gym or home set of weights.

That is why pieces like the CoreX RipFit Trainer are so great to have as part of our home/travel gym. They are easily storable and don’t weigh much, but can be used to add resistance to exercises and make them more challenging when we don’t have weights available.

Plus the RipFit Trainer combines resistance band and mini bands, which means that not only can you add resistance to compound movements, but you can also do all the glute activation moves we love!

If you are looking for some great new moves to include in your home and travel workouts, check out these 20 Exercises Using The RipFit Trainer.

Travel Workouts – 20 Exercises Using the RipFit Trainer

Glute Activation Exercises:

Because the RipFit Trainer has a nice ankle strap to use with its resistance bands, you can easily do plenty of glute activation exercises to develop strong, sexy glutes at home or while you travel.

And if you are sitting on an airplane or in car for hours, you need to do these activation exercises to prevent low back, hip and knee pain!

For all three activation exercises shown below, you can use the door anchor that comes with the trainer if you don’t have a post or pole to wrap it around.

Standing Kickback – A great exercise to get your glute maximus activated and work on hip extension.

With the resistance band anchored in front of you, place the ankle strap around one ankle. Standing tall, kick the foot with the strap back. Keep both legs fairly straight as you kick back. You don’t want your knee locked out, but you don’t want to bend the leg as you kick back.

Keep your chest up nice and tall and don’t lean forward or arch your back just to kick the leg back and up higher. It doesn’t have to be a big range of motion.

Really focus on squeezing your glutes to lift your leg up and kick back. Slow down the tempo of the move to make it more challenging.

Also stand further away from the anchor point to increase the resistance.

Complete all reps on one side before switching.

Standing Abduction – The Standing Abduction activation exercise is a great way to work your abductors and glute medius.

Set up with the strap around one ankle, facing the band (with your side to the anchor point). The foot with the strap should be farthest from the anchor point.

Then with both toes pointing straight ahead, lift the leg straight out to the side. Try not to lean away too much as you lift.

You really want to focus on squeezing your glutes as you lift to the side.

If you want to work your external rotators, you can turn the toe up and out as you lift.

Move in at a slow and controlled tempo. Step further from the anchor point to increase resistance.

Quadruped Straight Leg Kickback – This move will activate your core, glutes and hamstrings.

For this move you could use the ankle strap, the bar or even simply the resistance band.

Using the bar, set up on your hands and knees with your hands on the bar under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.

Place the resistance band around one foot and flex both feet.

Then kick one leg back, pressing the resistance band out and away. Squeeze the glute as you lift the leg and drive the heel toward the wall behind you.

Hold for a second or two at the top and lower back down.

Don’t rush the movement. The slower you go and the longer you hold, the harder the move will be.

Also, do not hyperextend your low back as you lift or allow your hips to rotate open. You don’t need to lift the leg you kicked back above parallel to the ground. Just focus on squeezing your glutes as you lift.

Complete all reps on one side before switching the band to the other foot.

Lunges/Squats:

One of the toughest areas of the body to really challenge with your workout when you travel is the legs because resistance is often needed to make the legs really work.

That is where the RipFit Trainer resistance bands come in handy.

And with the lunges below, you can work your glutes and legs from a few different angles. We don’t move in one plane of motion in everyday life so why should we in our workouts?

Again if you don’t have anything to wrap the band around, you can anchor it in the doorway.

Curtsy Lunge – This is a great lunge to work the outside of your glutes.

To do this move, anchor the band and place the ankle strap around one ankle. Stand with your side to the anchor point and step far enough away that there is tension in the band.

The foot with the strap should be closest to the anchor point.

Then standing tall, step across and behind with the foot in the strap to lunge down. Keep your chest up as you sink into the lunge and really step across.

Sink down as low as you can and then come back up to standing.

Move in a controlled manner and don’t let the trainer pull your leg back up.

Complete all reps to one side before switching.

The slower you move and the more tension there is in the band, the harder the move will be.

Reverse Lunge – This is a great move to target the glute maximus; however, using the resistance band really forces the entire leg to work.

Set up facing the anchor point with the ankle strap around one ankle. The ankle with the strap will be the leg that lunges back.

Stand up nice and tall with tension in the band and then step back with the leg in the strap. Sink into a nice deep lunge, keeping your chest up nice and tall.

Then come back up to standing. Do not let the band pull you back forward.

Repeat, lunging on the same side.

Sink as low as you can each time you lunge. Beginners may not be able to lunge as low.

Advanced exercisers will want to lunge as low as possible while also moving further away from the anchor point to add tension.

Side Lunge – The side lunge is a great way to work your glutes and adductors.

To do the side lunge, set up with your side to the anchor point and the ankle strap around the ankle furthest from the anchor point.

Standing nice and tall, take a bit step out to the side with the foot in the strap and sink down into a low lunge.

You want to bend the knee of the leg with the strap and sit your butt back to lunge down. Keep the other leg straight as you sink into the lunge.

You may lean forward as you sit your butt back and down, but do not let your chest round over.

Then, driving off through the heel of the foot with the strap, come back up to standing.

Repeat, lunging out on the same side.

Do not let the band pull you. Move at a controlled tempo.

Step further away from the anchor point to increase the resistance. Also, sink lower into the lunge, but make sure both heels stay down as you lunge out.

Lunge with Knee Drive – This lunge is a great way to work your entire leg because each leg has different muscles targeted during the lunge.

Set up with your back to the anchor point and the strap around one ankle. Step out away from the anchor point so that there is tension in the trainer.

Step the foot with the strap back and bend the front knee to sink into a lunge. You will keep the back leg straight with this lunge.

Then come back up to standing, driving the back knee up as you stand up.

This is a more explosive movement. You want to drive the knee up quickly as you come out of the lunge.

Then sink back into the lunge and repeat.

Even though you want to move quickly, do not let the band pull you.

Complete all reps on one side before switching.

Front Squat – Front Squats are a great way to work your legs and core. With the RipFit Trainer, you can also do Back Squats or even Overhead Squats if you want to mix things up!

To do the Front Squat, hook the band up to the bar and step onto the band. Bring the bar up to your shoulders and hold it up at your shoulders with your elbows up to keep the bar back against you.

Then, keeping your chest up, sit your butt back and down.

Keep your heels down as you squat as low as you can while keeping a nice tall spine. Then drive through your heels to come back up to standing.

Squeeze your glutes at the top.

Repeat.

The further apart your feet are on the band, the harder the move will be; however, it will also change how you work your legs. Be carefully to not set up in too wide a stance.

Chop and Core Exercises:

It is very important to work your core; however, that doesn’t mean you should start doing a ton of crunches on your back on the ground.

To work your core, you need to work everything from your shoulders to your knees, which is what the moves below do. Plus, these chops, crunches and crawls work your core from every angle!

Paddling – One of our favorite new core moves, Paddling not only works your core, but really isolates each side of your body and forces it to work hard to stabilize. This is a great movement for anyone that does a lot of stand up paddling or even kayaking.

To do Paddling, hook one end of the trainer up around a pole or in a doorway using the door anchor. Attache the bar to the other end of the band.

Then hold the bar in both hands with the palm of the top hand facing you and the palm of the bottom hand facing away. To give yourself more control, hold the bottom hand closer to the band attachment.

Facing the anchor point, step back so there is tension in the band.

Sink into a little squat and begin to paddle back, bringing the bar down and back toward your side. You will row on the side of the hand that is low.

Drop the bar down low toward the ground and sweep it back toward your butt.

Once you’ve brought the paddle back toward your heels, bring it slightly up and around in a circle and back around to the starting point.

You don’t want to circle up to your shoulders, but up to your hips is good.

Then draw the bar back and down again to repeat the movement.

Move slowly and don’t let the band pull you back around.

Complete all reps on one side then reset your hands and switch to the other side.

Press Up with Rotation – This is a great way to work your core and chest with a rotational exercise.

Set up with the band anchored behind you and one end of the bar attached to the band.

Grab the bar in both hands with your palms facing away and your hands about shoulder-width apart. You will start by rotating toward and away from the side of the bar with the band.

Stand with your feet hip-width to shoulder-width apart. The closer your feet are together, the harder your core will work to stabilize.

Rotate open and back toward the side with the band. For example, rotate back to your left with the bar up at your chest.

Then rotate back forward, pressing your left arm out straight as you rotate. You want to press the bar away from your chest and up at a slight angle as you rotate back front.

Then bring the bar back into your chest and rotate back open.

Complete all reps on one side and then switch sides, flipping the bar over so the band is on your other side.

You can also do this move with a little more of a squat or even in a staggered stance. To vary it up further, you could do it as a high to low press instead of a low to high press.

Half Kneeling Chop – A great high to low chop to work your core that is done while half kneeling on the ground.

Anchor the trainer up high and attach one end to the bar. Set up half kneeling far enough away from the anchor point that there is tension in the band. The leg closer to the anchor point will be up.

Hold the bar in both hands with your palms facing away.

Rotate and reach up with the bar toward the anchor point.

And then chop down and across your body, bringing the bar down and outside your hip.

Keep your chest up as you rotate and don’t round forward. You can lean forward, hinging at the hips, but do not round forward.

Chop down and across your body with the bar and then go back up and across to reset and repeat. Move slowly through the motion.

Move further away from the anchor point to make the move harder.

Kneeling Crunch – If you have to do a crunch, this is the crunch you should be doing.

Anchor the trainer up high with an end of the band attached to each end of the bar. Hold the bar in both hands with your palms facing the ground.

Bring the bar into your chest and kneel on the ground with your back to the anchor point.

Then crunch over dropping your head down to the ground. Do not sit back on your heels so much as crunch over.

Then slowly come back up nice and tall before crunching over again.

Move slowly and don’t let the band pull you back up.

Crawling With Resistance – Crawling is a great cardio and core exercise that is only made even more challenging by adding resistance.

Beginners will want to stick with a bodyweight crawl. Only advanced exercisers will want to add the RipFit trainer in.

Anchor the band low behind you and attach an end of the band to each side of the bar. Step into the band and place the bar just below your hips on your legs.

Set up on your hands and knees with the bar just below your hips. Flex your feet and lift up onto your toes.

Then beginning to crawl away from the anchor point, keeping your knees close to the ground. Step opposite leg and arm forward and then the other leg and arm forward.

Crawl as far from the anchor point as you can and then slowly crawl backward back with the opposite arm and leg working together.

Do not let the band pull you. Keep your knees close to the ground the entire time.

You can also use the ankle strap or simple loop the band around you if you find the bar to be uncomfortable.

Chest Presses:

While push ups, handstands and dips off of furniture are three great exercises to include in your travel workouts, it is also nice to have some other options to add variety to your routine. (Plus, you could always add the RipFit Trainer into your push ups to make them even more challenging!)

Below are two great standing exercises to work your chest, shoulders and triceps.

Alternating Presses with Rotation – This is a great chest press exercise that adds in a little rotation to work your core.

Anchor the band behind you and attach it to the bar. Step inside the band with the anchor point behind you.

Hold the bar up at your chest and stand with your feet about hip-width to shoulder-width apart. You can also stand in a staggered stance if you want.

The press one side of the bar out and away from your chest, extending your arm fully. Then bring that arm back in and press the other arm straight out at your chest.

Keep alternating sides.

You can change up the tempo of this move just make sure you stay in control of the band. Slower reps will force the muscles to work in a different way that quick repetitions.

Two-Arm Chest Press – A great basic standing chest press.

To do the Two-Arm Chest Press, anchor the band behind you and bring the bar up to your chest. You can stand with your feet even or in a staggered stance.

The wider your feet are apart, the easier the move will be on your core.

Then press the bar straight out from your chest with both hands. Do not let your shoulders shrug as you press.

Keep your core nice and tight.

Extend your arms fully and then bring the bar back in to your chest. Move slowly and don’t let the band pull you back in.

Back Exercises:

It may be most difficult to work your back when you are traveling unless you have a pull up bar. While there are some bodyweight back exercises you can do without equipment, more of them work on activation than on truly strengthening and developing the big muscles of your back.

And anyone who travels a lot or has a desk job needs to make sure to work their back extra to prevent injury and improve their posture.

Here are three moves to really strengthen your back that you should be including in your travel workouts:

Lunge with Lat Pulldown – This is a great move to work your lats and strengthen your pull ups while also working your legs.

Anchor the band and bar up high. Then grab the bar in both hands with your palms facing away.

Step back and sink into a deep lunge with the back leg straight.

Lean forward over the front leg, keeping your back flat and reach your hands up overhead holding the bar.

Then pull the bar down to your chest, driving your elbows down toward your hips.

Keep your chest pressed out and your core tight as you pull the bar down to your chest.

Then relax and extend your arms back overhead.

Make sure to draw your shoulder blades down and back as you pull the bar down to you.

Step further away from the anchor point to increase the tension and make the move harder. You can also slow down the tempo of the move to make it more challenging.

Two-Arm Row – A great basic row to really activate the big muscles of your back. It is very important with this movement that you don’t shrug your shoulders or you won’t get the big muscles of your back working.

To do the Two-Arm Row, anchor the band and bar just below chest height.

Holding the bar in both hands, step away from the anchor point and sink into a little squat. Sit the butt back and keep the chest up nice and tall with the arms extended out in front of you.

Then row the bar back to your chest or just below. Stay in the squat as you row back and make sure to keep your chest up nice and tall and your back flat.

Do not round forward as you row.

Drive the elbows down and back so your shoulders don’t shrug.

Row the bar all the way to your body and then straighten your arms back out.

Sink lower in the squat to work your legs more or move back further from the anchor point to increase the tension. You can also slow down the tempo of the movement.

Pull Over – A great lat and core exercise that can be done standing or even lying down if you have a way to anchor the band behind you.

To do the move standing, anchor the band and bar up high and hold the bar in both hands with your back to the anchor point.

Step away from the anchor point and extend your arms up overhead. You want tension in the band with your arms up overhead.

Stand nice and tall with your feet about hip-width apart.

Then, maintaining a nice tall posture, press the bar down in front of you, keeping your arms straight. Press it down to your hips and then extend your arms back overhead.

Keep your chest up and your core tight then entire time you press the bar down. Feel the sides of your back working to pull the bar down and over in front.

Move slowly and step further away if you want more tension in the band.

Band Hip Hinge:

A great glute exercise that mimics the kettlebell swing and is often considered a hip thruster variation. It is one of the best movements to work your glutes. You can do the Band Hip Hinge standing or kneeling. Below are descriptions of each variation.

Standing Band Hip Hinge – Anchor the bar and band down lower and step into the band and place the bar just below your hips on the front of your legs.

Step away from the anchor point so that there is tension on the band. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart.

With your knees soft, hinge over. Push your butt back and lean your chest forward with your back flat.

Then squeeze your glutes to extend your hips and come back up to standing.

Once standing, hinge back over, pushing your butt back toward the anchor point.

You can change up the tempo of this movement. If you want to work on power, perform the movement explosively; however, you want to control the hinge over so that the band doesn’t pull you off balance.

You can also perform a really slow tempo to force your glutes to spend more time under tension.

Also, step further away from the anchor point to make the move harder.

Kneeling Band Hinge – This move really isolates the glutes even more than the standing hinge.

To do the Kneeling variation, anchor the band low and place the bar around your hips.

Kneel far enough from the anchor point that you feel the tension of the band wanting to pull you back.

Then hinge over, pushing your butt back toward the anchor point.

Squeeze your glutes and extend your hips to come back up.

Make sure to keep your back flat the entire time. At the top of the move, kneel nice and tall and really squeeze your glutes.

With these 20 moves you can create a variety of full body travel workouts or even home workout routines with the RipFit Trainer.

If you are interested in getting your own RipFit Trainer, visit CoreX.

What are your favorite Travel Workouts? What equipment do you have in your home gym?

NOTE: I was given a free RipFit Trainer to use for my own purposes at the gym. Because I liked using the product I chose to write a post with exercises using the Trainer. I do not get a commission off of sales of the product.