Guest Post: Tips for fitness while traveling on an RV for 3 weeks!
July 31, 2012 -
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hi all! Today I wanted to share an awesome Guest Post from
a #FitFluential lady named Monica who was traveling on an RV for 3 weeks;
and still found ways to work out & eat clean!
She is so inspirational and constantly tweeting pics of her
workouts and creative ways to exercise while traveling!
I couldn’t wait to share!
So I’ll let her story tell the rest…
“So, how about three weeks in an RV?”
My husband’s summer vacation suggestion should have brought up some questions.
We have three boys, did he mean all five of us?
Won’t we want to kill each other by the end of the trip?
But to be honest, my first thought was, how will I stay lean without a gym?
And how will I keep my eating clean?
I was always a skinny/fat girl. I wasn’t overweight, but I had too much body fat.
I was soft everywhere and I didn’t know how to change it.
The scale said I was fine, but the mirror doesn’t lie.
I knew I wasn’t in shape, but I couldn’t seem to get myself together for a number of reasons.
I hated cardio.
Weight lifting by itself only made me a bit bigger.
Eating small meals worked to keep me small, but not lean.
To say the least, I was frustrated.
When I discovered Zumba, my life began to change. I loved it!
I had finally found my cardio and attacked it with gusto.
I dropped a jean size and felt great. But I still wasn’t lean.
And at my age, well into my forties, I figured I was doing the best I could.
That’s when I took a good hard look at a friend of mine who competes in figure competitions at 43.
I thought to myself, “I may not be able to look quite like that, but I sure can look better than I do now.”
I decided to hire her nutritionist, join a gym, and see what I could do.
To make a long story short, I have lost 14% body fat since our last RV trip.
I did it through sound eating principles, consistent training, and lots and lots of Zumba.
It took me a long time and a lot of dedication.
After all those months of hard work, there was no way I wanted to let it go on this trip.
And if there’s one thing I know about traveling, it’s easy to let it go!
The feeling of entitlement and the ever present phrase, “I’m on vacation,”
make it simple to overeat, skip meals and workouts, and eat things I would never put into my mouth at home.
Doing that for a weekend away is one thing, but three weeks?
Might as well just pick up the fat and glue it to my body.
I had to be prepared for snack bars, ice cream counters, candy stores,
soda in the fridge, cafes, coffee breaks, restaurants, limited menus, bread on the table,
wine lists, cocktail parties, dinner at friends’ houses, unpredictable schedules, hours and hours between meals.
I had to be prepared for the fact that my schedule wasn’t my own,
that eating every three hours might not always happen,
that there were four other other people to consider, all day, every day.
Especially since those four people are all male, with big appetites, who are all “on vacation.”
I knew eating clean would be a challenge, but it was completely doable.
I could cook ahead, put family and individual meals in the freezer, and stock the fridge with healthy snacks.
I prepared turkey meatloaf, lean chili, marinated chicken, Chilean sea bass, and lean burger patties ahead of time.
I doubled up all the recipes to give us extra meals and leftovers.
I packed Greek yogurt, fruit, veggies, salad, high protein cereal, and skim milk.
I made batches of chocolate protein pudding and lean chicken salad.
I packed my protein powder, frozen fruit and trusty Magic Bullet for smoothies on the road.
I brought my sugar free French Vanilla Coffeemate and stevia.
I planned and planned, preparing ahead for emergencies, even buying protein bars, which I only eat in the tightest pinches.
I bought individual packets of fat free mayo and fat free ranch for last ditch efforts at meals out.
Once I had my nutritional plan as solid as possible, I turned my mind to training.
How on earth would I ever stay in shape cooped up for three weeks in an RV?
I knew I could find ways to get cardio in, anyone can strap on shoes and go for a walk or run
, but how to keep my muscles strong baffled me.
No gym, no weights, no space!
I found a resistance band with handles attached and figured it was better than nothing.
But what to attach it to? I knew I could do squats, bicep curls, side steps, shoulder raises, and a few others using my feet,
but what about for chest and back? What on the RV would be sturdy enough?
Finally I figured out that the refrigerator was the strongest thing in the RV,
so I looped it around the top. It worked!
I was able to get a great chest and back workout.
A few other tricks I discovered:
Using the bed as a stability ball for my back leg on Bulgarian split squats,
using the steps of the RV for calf raises,
using the picnic table found at every campsite for step ups,
inverted pushups, and an inventive lat row,
and using the roll bar of our Jeep we were towing for working on my pull ups.
You’ve gotta want it.
You’ve gotta need it.
Determination, dedication,
& a little creativity go a loooooong way!
Thank you Monica for this awesome guest post
& being so #FitFluential ! you rock lady!
Her twitter is @mgauntt1 !!