How To Get A Great Workout Without Leaving Your RV
When traveling in an RV it can be difficult to get your heart rate up and exercise every day, especially if the weather is bad or you are uncomfortable exercising outside at an RV park. This simple plyometric workout routine requires no equipment and can be done in your RV living room. It’s a great way to stay fit and increase your endurance while traveling in your RV.
This workout is meant to be done intensely and with a focus on form. Do not rest between the six exercises listed below—instead, try to go from one exercise to the next as quickly as possible.
As always, use your own knowledge of your capabilities when performing this RV workout routine and listen to your body and breathing to avoid injury. Also, we highly recommend beginning with a stretching routine and some simple warmup movements such as jogging in place, arm circles or something similar.
1. High Knees
Begin by standing up straight. Be sure that your back is straight and your head is facing forward in a comfortable position. Start running in place with your knees coming up to ninety degrees. As you run in place, pump your arms to help movement and further the workout.
Do this exercise intensely for 30 seconds. If you don’t have a watch to time this, try counting each time your right leg comes up and double it to a count of 60 (you will be counting faster so 60 counts will equal roughly 30 seconds.)
Variation: March in place
Do a marching motion instead of a running motion, but continue to raise your knees up to ninety degrees and pump your arms. Do this for 30 seconds or to a 30 count, counting each time your right leg comes up.
2. Skater Jumps
Begin standing far to one side of your space facing forward with legs slightly bent, butt out and back straight. Bend your inside leg so that your foot raises off the ground and you’re balancing on your outside leg.
Jump sideways and land on your opposite leg a good distance from where you started. The leg you jumped off of should come behind you and lightly touch the floor to help you balance before jumping back across the floor to land on that leg again. Repeat this movement 15 times.
Variation: Side Lunges
Begin standing in the middle of your space facing forward with legs slightly bent, butt out and back straight. Lift your outside leg and extend it out a comfortable distance to the side.
Plant that foot and bend your knee to a ninety-degree angle. Keep your non-planted foot on the floor and straight. Rise up and come back to center. Repeat the movement going in the opposite direction with the opposite leg. Repeat this complete movement 15 times.
3. Shadow boxing
Begin standing straight facing forward with your legs shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. Bend your arms and raise your fists up comfortably in front of your chest. Do a punching motion out in front of you with your right fist (that is a jab). Then do a jab with your left fist. Right and then left again as fast as you can while keeping form.
Repeat these right and left jabs intensely for 30 seconds or for a 60 count, counting each time your right fist jabs.
Variation: Slow it down
For this variation, just do the motion slower and for either 30 seconds or a 30 count.
4. Jackknife crunches
Lay on your back and raise your legs up straight at a ninety-degree angle to the floor. Raise your arms up at a ninety-degree angle to the floor as well.
While keeping your neck straight (avoid touching your chin to your chest), contract your ab muscles so that your upper back raises off the floor and your fingertips reach up to your toes. Repeat this movement 30 times.
Variation: Basic crunches
Do the above motion, but instead of having your legs raised have them bent and firmly planted on the floor about shoulder-width apart. Also, bend your arms and place your fingertips behind your ears instead of up in the air. Repeat the movement 30 times.
5. Squat Jacks
Stand in the center of your space with your legs slightly inside shoulder width apart and knees bent at a 45-degree angle. Butt is out and back is straight. Arms are comfortably bent at ninety degrees and in front of your body.
Quickly jump both legs out to slightly outside shoulder width apart and then right back to the original position. The movement should be quick and small without a lot of vertical movement of the upper body. Repeat this movement for 30 seconds or for a 60 count, counting each time you bring your legs back in.
Variation: Standing Squats
Begin in the same position as above, but have your feet at shoulder width apart with your toes pointing slightly out. Squat down by bending your knees to ninety degrees and then raise back up to original position.
Be sure to keep your butt out, back straight and head facing forward during this entire movement. Repeat this movement for 30 seconds or for a 30 count, counting each time you raise up.
6. Burpees
Begin standing at the front of your space (you want maximum room behind you) with feet shoulder-width apart. Squat down so that your butt is lower than your knees and your hands touch the floor. Be sure to keep your back as straight as possible and your chin up with your head facing forward.
Next, put weight on your hands and jump your legs out behind you into a plank position. Be sure that your back is straight, not sagging, and your arms are straight with your neck now straight and eyes facing the floor. Immediately bring legs back up to the squat position and then do a fluid motion up to a standing position.
This entire motion should be fluid without stopping and resting in any of the positions.
Repeat this entire motion 10-15 times.
Variation: Walking Burpees
Begin standing in the same position as above. Squat down, put your hands on the floor, and instead of jumping your feet back, step back your right leg and then your left until you are in plank position. Next step your right leg up and then left leg up to original squat position and then stand up. Do not jump as above, simply stand up. Repeat this movement 10-15 times.
It should take you about 4 minutes to complete these six exercises. When you are done with your first round your heart rate should be up and you should be tired. If you’re not, you may want to increase the intensity.
At this point take sixty seconds for an active recovery time. This means that you should not just be standing there or worse bent over breathing fast and heavy, but instead do a slow jog in place while catching your breath. If you cannot time this break, I highly recommend counting it off or else it is likely that you will be dragging it out longer than 60 seconds. The point is to somewhat recover, but not let your heart rate go entirely back to normal.
Now repeat the entire round another four times. At the end of your fourth round, do a longer cooldown so that your heart rate comes gradually back down to normal. We highly recommend doing some cool down stretches at this point as well.
This workout will get you moving and your heart rate up without even having to step out of your RV. And now that you are feeling fit and healthy, you can get out your lawn chair and crack open a beer.
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