Worried about staying on track with your health while on a trip in your RV? We’re here to help.
You’ve been working so hard to stay healthy lately—you’re eating well, exercising regularly, and really maintaining great physical and mental fitness. You’re also incredibly excited about your upcoming RV trip, but truthfully are stressed out thinking that all the hard work you’ve put into improving your health will go completely out the window once you embark on your trip to your favorite KOAs.
Well, it doesn’t have to. Your hard work will not be in vain, and with our tips, you will be able to maintain your new healthy lifestyle while also enjoying your RV vacation to its fullest extent.
Health and travel do not have to be mutually exclusive, and we are here to show you how to incorporate health into your travel, because they do in fact make a perfect pair!
Stop Every Two Hours
You likely have read article after article about how sitting for long periods of time is extremely damaging to your health. Well, that is no different when you are traveling in your RV. Unfortunately, you can’t stand and drive, but you can make a point to stop every 2 hours on the road to get out and stretch.
You will likely get “in the zone” of being on the road, so set an alarm to remind yourself to take a break every couple of hours. Make each stop about 15 minutes long to give you time to stretch your arms, legs, and back, and to walk around a bit to get your blood flowing again.
Being on Vacation Doesn’t Mean a Free Ticket to Forgetting About Health
Vacations are oftentimes synonymous with taking a break from reality, relaxing, and really enjoying yourself. You can do all of these things while still being healthy. Don’t lose sleep over having a couple of extra cookies while on your trip, but do not throw all ideas of health out the window of your RV. In fact, staying healthy while on your trip will allow you to enjoy your vacation even more. You won’t have the pangs of guilt for eating poorly or sitting too much, and you won’t dread as much returning home to your healthy eating and exercise routine.
Don’t let your RV trip put a bump in the road of your health. Being healthy should be a part of your everyday life, no matter where you are.
Plan Your Meals Ahead of Time
There is no hiding the fact that food options on the road are far from healthy. While there are some healthier options on fast food menus, let’s be honest: they still are not healthy. To avoid being stuck eating cheeseburger after cheeseburger and hating yourself for it, bring your own food.
Before you leave on your trip, take some time to really sit down and plan out your RV trip meals and snacks. This will not only save your health, but it will also save you a lot of money. Eating out while on the road can add up very quickly to be a large amount of money.
Pack a variety of foods so that you don’t get tempted to eat out and try to limit yourself to foods that aren’t high in salt. Salty foods can increase your chances of swelling when sitting for extended periods of time.
If you’re looking for help planning your menu our Healthy Eating Camping Menu can help!
Don’t Eat While Driving
Many times people don’t eat because they’re actually hungry—they just eat because they’re bored. This is highly likely to happen while in your RV on long stretches of road. You grab for a bag of chips and next thing you know; you’ve managed to eat the entire thing.
To avoid this, limit your eating to when you stop for your breaks. Make it a rule to not eat while driving in the RV. Being mindful about your eating is important both on and off the road.
Walk at Least 10,000 Steps
The 10,000-step concept established by fitness tracking apps and devices should be your bare minimum. Aim for much higher than this while on your RV vacation. If you’re stopping every 2 hours to walk around for 15 minutes, and incorporating other exercise into your vacation, reaching over 10,000 steps per day should be easy for you.
Pick Campsites That Have Opportunities for Exercise
When you’re looking for campsites to park your RV, choose ones that have hiking trails, bike paths, kayak rentals, or other activities. This will make exercise much easier for you. In addition, seeing other people being active in your campsite is a sure motivator for you to get moving too!
Bring Exercise/Active Gear With You
Packing small, light exercise equipment such as a yoga mat, yoga DVDs, or small weights will be a big help in you staying active and healthy on your RV trip. By seeing your exercise equipment, you will constantly be reminded to use it.
You may already do this at home, but it works for your RV trip as well: lay your workout clothes out the night before in a place where you will see them first thing in the morning. The guilt of walking past them without putting them on will likely be too much and you will have tricked yourself into working out.
Set Goals
With all the fitness tracking apps and devices of today, it is incredibly easy for you to keep track of your activity. Start each day with a personal goal, or make it a challenge with your travel buddies. See who can get the most steps each day, or who can bike the most miles around the campground. Make being active fun!
Mix Being Active With Sightseeing.
Many sights worth seeing on your trip can be done via your RV. However, make it a point to leave your RV parked at the campsite when you can and instead walk or bike to see the beautiful things you have on your to-do list for your trip. Also strive to do the unusual and try out things such as skiing, kayaking, or snorkeling to see things from a perspective other than the road.
Get Plenty of Sleep
No matter whether you’re at home or in your RV, sleep is crucial. However, when you’re traveling in your RV, sleep is even more important. Driving can be quite exhausting, and you don’t want to be so tired from your traveling that you aren’t up for any activities once you’ve reached your destination. Aim for at least 8 hours a night, but listen to your body—if it needs more than 8 hours of sleep, give it just that.
As you can see, staying fit while on the road in your RV is not a difficult task. It is certainly worthwhile to put in the little bit of extra effort required to maintain your healthy lifestyle. And KOA makes that easy for you. With campsites offering a wide variety of amenities, we are in full support of healthy living on and off the road.
Leslie, a.k.a. Copy Girl, is a copywriter who gets butterflies from telling stories through words.
Her voice comes from a place filled with passion, dreams, and lots of sugar. “Cake over steak” is her go-to motto.
With over 10 years of experience in crafting words, and years of embarking on travels that have taken this Montana girl to some incredible places, Leslie love the adventures of both body and mind her writing takes her on.
Everywhere she goes, she takes this advice with her:
“Hold on to your divine blush, your innate rosy magic, or end up brown.” – Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume
To see what Leslie’s up to in the writing world, visit her website here.
