EXERCISING AND RV TRAVEL

Exercising at home is relatively easy, because it becomes part of a routine life. You can easily plan to walk to work, join a health club, swim at the local pool, and do calisthenics in your large bedroom. You can also plan healthy meals. If you make a reasonable effort, you can stay fit.

Unfortunately, it is more difficult to establish routines when traveling in an RV. There’s the rub—one of the appealing aspects of RV travel is the lack of routine, the excitement of waking up every day or so in a new area, with no strict schedule. With a national park or new city to explore, who wants to spend time in a gym, even if one is available?

If RV travel is limited to a few days at a time, and you are generally healthy, it probably is OK to stop regular exercise. If traveling extends for weeks or months, though, it can have a real impact on both appearance and health. Though I find it hard to exercise enough while on the road, especially as I inevitably continue to age, I make a real effort to work on fitness in several ways:

• Getting up early seems to help in several ways. RV travel often takes place in summer, when the days may be too hot for exercising. Early in the morning, usually I can exercise in comfort. (As I am writing this, the temperature is rising toward 100° in this area. I would be foolish to “go out in the noonday sun.”) Also, most of us can exercise most efficiently if we pay attention to our internal clocks. I like a pleasant walk in the late afternoon, but anything more strenuous is better done early in the day.



• Walking is my favorite form of exercise, whether at home or away. It is also the easiest form of exercise to fit into other activities. If we are in an area where walking is easy, then I can walk for an hour along with sightseeing. On days when we are traveling, we stop often to give ourselves time to walk for 15 or 20 minutes at a time.  Unlike some RVers who will drive for nine or ten hours to reach some destination, we simply stop earlier. That leaves more time for walking and relaxing. (Jogging and running are great for younger people, of course. Not for me.)



• Hiking is wonderful exercise, and is usually strenuous enough to provide plenty of exercise.  But, good hiking trails are not always available, and at my age hiking is not always a sensible option. We do spend some of our travel time in national or state parks where we can hike. I find it hard to hike on rocky or watery trails, and carry a hiking stick even when the beginning of a trail looks easy. If the trail becomes too difficult, I turn back rather than risk injury.



• Tai chi chih  is a gentle form of tai chi that I have practiced for the past several years. In addition to being an aid to meditation, it is good anaerobic exercise, especially for anyone with problems of equilibrium. Though the slow, graceful movements look easy, it does take work, and strengthens the leg muscles, especially. (A bonus is that it helps control urinary incontinence.) No special clothing or equipment is needed, a boon to RV travelers. Usually I practice tai chi chih outdoors (it takes some space for some movements, and meditation is easier when I am gazing at a beautiful view), but in a pinch I do at least some of it inside the RV.



• Some resorts have small gyms with stationary bicycles, treadmills, and so forth for campers’ use. This may seem like a good solution to the exercise problem, and perhaps it is for people who prefer staying in expensive resorts. We are more likely to stay in primitive or basic campgrounds having no gyms, but if we do find ourselves in a resort where we are already paying for exercise equipment, I try to use it.



• Swimming is perfect for those who are competent swimmers and have access to a pool. In spite of taking swimming lessons at various times, I have never learned to swim well enough to do more than a couple of laps without tiring, and I end up bouncing along in the kiddie lane, getting very little exercise. Another problem, even for good swimmers, is finding a pool while traveling. The pools at campgrounds are usually crowded with small children who make it difficult to swim any distance, and many campgrounds have no pools at all.



• Stretches are helpful for easing any muscle aches and beginning the day. I do a few every morning. At one time physical therapists advised stretching before beginning any more strenuous exercise, but some recent research indicates it isn’t necessary. I continue stretching anyway, as my muscles seem happier when I do.

By doing some exercise every day, it is possible to avoid becoming one of those stereotypical RVers. (You know the ones I mean—they drive long hours, then stop at a campground in time to set up a barbecue and eat a lot of fattening food washed down with beer. They walk no farther than the campground toilets.) The RV life can be healthy with a little effort. Oh, one final comment about exercise: The most helpful exercise for most of us is firmly pushing ourselves away from the table!