Health + Fitness: Get in the Fitness Groove

Even though James and I are part-time RVers, it’s common for us to be on the road for months at a stretch. We’re fortunate that our day jobs allow us to work remotely, so there’s nothing tethering us to our house back in Utah. When we’re on those long trips, there’s an interesting phenomenon that happens. At some point (for me, it’s around week four or five), there’s a crossover from “vacation mode” to “living mode.” It’s a sort of settling in that naturally happens, like getting in a new groove.

Once you’re on the road that long, you’ve had time to develop new habits around your daily life without even realizing you’ve done so. They’re similar to the routines you have back at home but different because the environment is different. It’s like roots growing, and the longer you’re in the RV, the deeper the roots get.

One of those routines you build is getting regular exercise. On a shorter trip, while you’re in vacation mode, it’s not uncommon for RVers to set aside exercise. You’ll be home soon and back to your regular exercise routines, right? What’s a week or two off in the name of vacation? The personal trainer in me isn’t a fan of that mindset, but I do recognize it’s a normal human reaction to vacations. So, for the first few weeks of your trip, you might more easily put exercise on the back burner. Then, the shift happens.

There’s a point on longer trips when it becomes harder to continue ignoring your body’s need for regular exercise. It’s like doing laundry. When you do it regularly, you feel organized and on top of things. But when you go four or five weeks without doing it, you see that pile building up, you’re re-wearing dirty, rumpled clothes, and you don’t feel good about it. Same goes with exercise. Go that long, and negative, guilty feelings set in. You start wanting to do it just so you’ll feel better. So you get some exercise—and do your laundry—and suddenly, the world feels a lot more right.

But I Walk a Lot on My Trips!

One of the most common ways RVers get exercise is by walking. Walking, when done at a moderate intensity, is a good form of cardio exercise but alone it’s not enough to keep us fit. Science has shown that doing cardio exercises like walking or jogging doesn’t give us some sort of magical whole-body protection. Exercise only preserves the muscles you’re using. So if you’re only walking, you’re leaving your upper body vulnerable to sarcopenia, which is a gradual loss in muscle strength and mass that starts around our 30s. It’s what the “Use it or lose it” saying is talking about.

As you work to build your fitness habits on the road, you should do walking or other cardio regularly—getting a minimum of 2.5 hours of it each week. But don’t forget about your strength workouts.

Strength Training

Strength training can get tricky with RVing. You need resistance to build strength, but traveling with heavy weights or large pieces of exercise equipment isn’t ideal. More weight sucks at your gas mileage, and most of us don’t have the space, anyways.

National gym memberships can be a smart solution for some, depending on how much you travel. Both Planet Fitness and Anytime Fitness have around 2,300 locations around the US. But when you find yourself camped far from your nearest gym, you quickly realize that’s not a perfect solution.

That’s why I prefer RVing with my own travel-friendly strength-training equipment. Making my own gym just outside the RV door is a great feeling, especially when I’m parked somewhere with views for days.

Band Together

If you only take one travel-friendly thing with you in the RV for your strength-training workouts, the absolute best choice would be a resistance-band kit. From a practical perspective, bands are inexpensive, pack down small, and they’re very lightweight, making them perfect for even the smallest RVs. From a workout perspective, there isn’t a major muscle group you cannot hit with bands, so they cover everything. Beginners, seniors, and advanced exercisers alike can benefit from resistance bands because they are completely adaptable to all fitness levels.

Besides being practical and functional, there’s perhaps an even more important bonus with bands, and that’s their motivation-boosting effect. If you want to stay motivated, it’s important to LIKE your exercise, and the bands have an excellent “play” factor about them. They give you virtually unlimited possibilities to keep your workouts fresh and interesting.

There are loads of resistance band options, but I prefer the types that come in kits with multiple strengths of bands, detachable handles, and foot cradles, and, just as important—some sort of anchor. There are two types of resistance bands anchors. One slips through a door crack on the hinge side, so it allows you to use the band “anchored” to any door.

And the other option is an anchor wrap, which is what I use when RVing. It’s a strap of webbing that wraps around anything sturdy: a picnic table leg, the RV’s running board, a railing, a tree, etc. Once you wrap it around whatever you’re using, you thread your band through it. Anchors allow the bands to become pretty much the same thing as a cable machine at any gym, giving you hundreds of exercise options.

So, whether you’re on the road for a short while or for months on end like us, getting in the fitness groove is a healthy habit worth building. If you need some ideas for exercises, I’ve shared lots of travel-friendly workouts over on The Fit RV website, so check those out. Many even come with a printable version so you can print them out and stash them in the RV for convenient workouts anywhere, anytime. Because really, the more you exercise on the road, the deeper the roots grow in your fitness habit—and the more likely you’ll continue to do it. As for building your laundry habit, though, hopefully, you’ll have better luck with that one than I do!

Did You Know?

According to exercise scientist Dr. Jim Stoppani, research shows that training with resistance bands builds functional strength more efficiently—and also offers better injury protection—than strength training with free weights.

Bring Your Own Gym With You: No Weights Required!

Try these resistance band exercises on your next RV trip. See the video for these moves at TheFitRV.com!

Single Row with Squad Hold

Squat down with your feet hip-width apart and hold that position as you slowly perform rows. A row helps improve shoulder health and posture.

Core Twists

Face away from the anchor in a split stance, both hands holding handles together. Keep your arms straight as you rotate the handles away from the anchor until the band touches your arm.

Squats with Shoulder Raise

Grasp the handle in both hands with straight arms overhand grip. Drive hips back and very slowly squat down while raising the handle to parallel to the floor with straight arms.