Travel Tips
Staying fit While RVing
We all eat a little bit more and exercise a little bit less when we go on holiday. I just got back from ten days in Italy, which of course included cheap red wine, indulgent dinners and the dreaded 12-hour mostly-sedentary flight days. My better half and I are fairly diligent about regular workouts while at home, and we both eat relatively healthy, but we were pretty worried that we had each gained the dreaded vacation pounds. Surprisingly, neither of us had. I opened my Health App on my iPhone and noted that we did at least 10,000 steps (some days four times that) every day. This may have saved our butts. Quite literally. HERE ARE FIVE WAYS TO SAVE YOUR BUTT.
1 Eat like you would eat at home. It may be tempting to pack the RV with fun treats, but adding these extras every day is a surefire way of taking in unnecessary calories. Keeping the RV packed with healthy food will also keep the cravings at bay when on the road and driving past a fast food restaurant. Stopping at new farmer’s markets may also be a way to feel like you are getting a treat – who doesn’t want the first peaches of the season?
2 Schedule some exercise every day. Just a little bit of exercise can make a big difference in how you look and feel. This might be a hike up the nearest mountain, a bike ride to explore the town, or even a regular walk around the RV park after dinner. If you can incorporate weight-bearing exercises you’ll be even better off, and hand weights don’t take up much room in the RV. If you make it part of your routine, you’ll start to crave the exercise when or if you miss it.
3 Attend a class. Many RV parks offer fun activities – dance your cares away at Zumba, do some downward dogs at yoga or get a hole in one on the golf course.
4 Use some tech. There are so many free exercise Apps out there for your phone – from cardio to strength training to cool downs and everything in between. Do a search in the App Store for your favourite workout and you will be sure to find one. If you don’t want to carry your phone, you can also purchase a Fitbit ®. These help track your activity and it’s a fun challenge to try to meet your goals every day.
If it’s rainy out or you just don’t want to leave the RV, use your laptop to go online to YouTube and search for “Fitness in Your RV.” You can use an advance search to find almost any length of time – so the “I don’t have time” excuse isn’t going to fly.
5 Get a good night’s sleep. It’s been proven that sleeping well is key to keeping the weight off. Do your best to make this happen and you will avoid the sluggish feeling that makes you want to skip a workout and just eat potato chips.
Staying fit while RVing may be challenging but it can be done with a bit of foresight and some fortitude. You’ll come back from your vacation or winter away looking and feeling better than ever if you can incorporate these tips. But remember to not be too hard on yourself – balance is key. If you got your 10,000 steps in for the day, you definitely can have that piece of pie or glass of wine.