During our trip with the motorhome, we think it is important to meet our health to think and to keep moving. Healthy cooking and eating are also part of this, but exercise and sports also play a role in this. We would like to share some inspiration to get and stay fit during the camper life!
Also read: Traveling with a motorhome (1) | Traveling indefinitely: introduce yourself!
Also read: Traveling with a motorhome (2) | Selling a house and looking for a motorhome
Also read: Traveling with a motorhome (3) | Camper bought + features and upgrades
Also read: Traveling with a motorhome (4) | Camper insurance full-time living and travel
Also read: Traveling with a motorhome (5) | Final preparations and departure
Also read: Traveling with a motorhome (6) | Experiences and tips for motorhome travelers
Walking/hiking
Something you can do (almost) anywhere is take a walk/hike. This can be a half hour walk, just a round, but you can also go into the mountains and make a good hike.
It's useful to good walking shoes to attract. Good shoes can prevent injuries, provide better grip and of course it runs fine! We have good walking shoes and also (walking) sandals from Teva. We do not wear the Tevas during a walk in the mountains, because we prefer closed shoes for safety and also have more grip with these shoes.
A tool that we regularly use while hiking are walking sticks. Walking sticks provide balance and balance. They relieve a part of your body while walking. We have walking stalk that are retractable, so they take up little space in the camper.
In our backpack there is a special compartment for a water bladder. Our water bag has a capacity of 2 liters and is of the brand 'Platypus Big Zip'. By means of a tube that is in the water bag and comes out of your backpack, you can easily drink water while hiking without having to take a bottle of water from your backpack. We think it's a fantastic invention!
You can take a walk on your gut feeling, but you can also use routes that are indicated by signs along the road or use apps that indicate routes. Some examples of apps you can use are: Komoot, all trails en Wikiloc.
Also read: Attention hikers: These are the 8 most beautiful hikes in the world!
Bikes
If you have (sports) bikes with the camper, a round of cycling can also provide the necessary exercise. An additional advantage is that you can see more of an environment by bike in a short period of time.
In The Netherlands we are spoiled for good bike paths. They don't know bike paths everywhere Europe, so being extra alert is not a luxury. If you don't have bicycles with you, renting a bicycle/mountain bike might also be fun to do?
Sports in a playground
Sometimes you will find certain sports equipment in a playground with which you can do a lot of sports exercises. Allow creativity and think about what you can do with the device. Maybe you can climb into it, pull yourself up on a beam, hang your legs from a device and lift yourself up with your abs. In short, be creative!
Sometimes real sports equipment has been placed in a playground or park. In that case, it might be (even) easier to do a workout! Fitness elastics are perfect for this. Bring a bottle of water, maybe turn on some music, zero your mind and enjoy some exercise!
Badminton
We also have one badminton set with us. Who doesn't know it from back in the day at the campsite? Badminton, tapping the shuttle back and forth as much as possible without letting it hit the ground. You can quietly tap over, but also challenge each other a bit and move back and forth more. It is up to you!
Swimming
Swim trunks, bathing suit or bikini and enjoy the pool, lake or sea!
In Austria we were on a motorhome with a municipal swimming pool next to it. In addition to having a relaxing afternoon on the sunbathing lawn, we also swam laps at a pace. Swimming is good for many muscles in your body. You can get super fit! An additional advantage, we could shower at the pool afterwards and get back into the camper nice and clean!
Using your own body weight
There are a lot of sports exercises that you can do if you use your own body and weight. Exercises that many people are familiar with are abdominal exercises, push-ups, planks, lunges, etc. Are you two? Take the other person on your back and go squat! In addition to all these exercises, there is much more you can do. Here too, a little creativity works wonders.
Do you have two bottles of water nearby? Use them as weights! You can also use a bucket (or two) for this, or maybe there are stones nearby?
At our bed in the camper we can push ourselves. This way we can even exercise in the camper (in bad weather). Okay, we're not going to do jumping rope inside, but some leg exercises and training abs is no problem. One person on the floor at a time, that is, because of course there is limited space! Getting/staying fit is therefore possible indoors and outdoors, with good and bad weather.
Sports gear in the camper
We have taken a number of sports equipment with us in our camper. We have two sports mats, a bag with fitness elastics and an skipping rope along. It weighs next to nothing and doesn't take up a lot of space.
De sports mats we use it to sit and/or lie on, to train our abs and we can do a lot of other exercises on it. It's nice to have a bit of a soft surface.
De elastics that we have with us, we really find a solution! By means of the elastic bands and your own body weight you can still train without using a gym. You do need a door, tree or something to attach the elastics to, but there is always something nearby.
A skipping rope goes without saying, it weighs nothing, takes up little space and jumping rope is very good for you!
So you can see that you can still stay fit with few materials! In addition to the above ideas, there is of course more to do in the field of exercise and sports, have fun!
Also read: Traveling with a motorhome (1) | Traveling indefinitely: introduce yourself!
Also read: Traveling with a motorhome (2) | Selling a house and looking for a motorhome
Also read: Traveling with a motorhome (3) | Camper bought + features and upgrades
Also read: Traveling with a motorhome (4) | Camper insurance full-time living and travel
Also read: Traveling with a motorhome (5) | Final preparations and departure
Also read: Traveling with a motorhome (6) | Experiences and tips for motorhome travelers
