Hooray! You’re hitting the road in your RV; it’s an exciting time. Fitness while traveling may be the last thing on your mind. Whether you’re heading out for a week, a month, or a year, all that comes with RVing can be time-consuming, stressful, and challenging. As a result, your fitness while traveling may fall to the bottom of your priority list. Some full-time RVers groan about gaining the dreaded “RV 15” during their first year or two on the road. If you haven’t lived on the road before, it might be hard to know how to stay fit while traveling. It takes practice, it takes a plan. So whether you’re wondering how to stay fit on a road trip, or how to stay fit while traveling for work, we hope these tips learned from a healthy RV life on the road will help you stay fit and travel more.
Staying Active While Boondocking
RV Boondocking usually means wide open spaces and easy access to the great outdoors. If you’re going boondocking in your RV, build yourself a menu of fitness on the go to choose from for your cardio: walking, jogging, hiking, biking, etc. Then, use your at-home workouts to fill in the gaps for strength training while traveling: plyometrics, resistance training, yoga, pilates, etc.
Staying Active at RV Resorts
Staying at an RV resort typically means more amenities. You might have a fitness center on-site, there may be a swimming pool for lap swim or water aerobics, and there may even be yoga or pilates classes offered! The diversity of options may make it easier to stay on track with your fitness on the road. For example, pickleball is good exercise AND tons of fun (and it’s a big craze in RV parks these days). From the comfort of the RV park, you might be able to log some miles for walking and jogging without ever crossing the street or waiting for a stoplight. And if your RV Park is nearby to a town, you might also find access to gyms. Many RVers have a national gym membership that they can use at multiple locations across the country. You may also enjoy a more local boutique gym for spin classes, barre, and more. There is typically more diversity of options to stay active at RV resorts.
Exercise Equipment For RVing
Whether you’re at an RV park or out boondocking, having the right RV fitness equipment on board can make exercising while RVing a lot easier.
Support your RV workout routine with this must-have list of travel workout equipment:
- Running shoes
- Jump rope
- Travel fitness mat
- Foam roller
- Loop style resistance bands
- Adjustable dumbbells
- Bicycle
- Umbrella
- Rain jacket
Most of these items are small and will be well worth the space they take up in your RV. The rain jacket is so that you can’t use wind or rain as an excuse not to get outside and get moving. Check out our list of Essential RV Workout Equipment here!
What To Watch Out For
Even with all the right tools, there are some challenges to watch out for. Weather is a big one. If your RV isn’t big enough to exercise inside, wind, rain, heat, cold, humidity, dust, dirt, bugs, you name it- could deter you from sticking to your at-home workout routine. Be prepared with some RV travel workouts that don’t require much space or equipment, so you can squeeze in a workout even if you’re faced with uneven terrain or cows outside your rig. Finally, your schedule may not be as predictable as when living or working from a house. On travel days, choose a time in advance that you’re going to fit in a workout (ideally before you depart as travel days can be unpredictable). A less consistent schedule could make it hard to form a routine, so try stacking healthy habits on top of things you can predict will always happen. For example, every time you arrive at a new campsite, walk the perimeter and get to know your neighborhood on foot. Or every time you walk by your RV pull-up bar, do at least 2 pull-ups.
Tips for fitness while traveling
So you’ve got the RV workout equipment, and you know what challenges you might face, now it’s time to make a plan.
Here are some tips for success with your fitness on the road plan:
- Schedule your fitness into your calendar
- Set aside time every day for movement
- Plan ahead for adjusting your schedule for long travel days
- Hire an online coach for guidance and accountability
- Join an online fitness program for structure and pre-planned workouts
- Find an accountability buddy with similar goals
- Sign up for a goal worth training for, ie: 5k, 10k, century ride, etc.
Armed with your new plan, it’s time to get to work! Follow your plan, discover what you like, and then refine the plan. Make sure you build a support system with the right people and the right environment. Hire a coach or get an accountability buddy to surround yourself with people who support your goals. And make your space, however small, work for you: remove any barriers to working out. If your jump rope is tucked away at the back of an overstuffed closet, hang it on a hook by the door so you can easily grab it at any time. You CAN keep up with your fitness while traveling, and we hope these tips help.
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