RVer and fitness buff Sarah Reijonen exercises with the assistance of a palm tree and suspension trainer.
While traveling in an RV, getting a workout can be somewhat of a dubious challenge. This is especially true when you need to stretch and get ready for a round of golf.
If you’re lucky, the RV park offers a fitness center. If not, you can always devise your own workout routine. However, a creative way of preparing your body for a golf outing is by warming up with suspension trainers. There are a variety of elastic bands (aka suspension trainers) on the market. You use them to create resistance on a specific muscle group.
To better understand the benefits and to use suspension trainers, we spoke with Sarah Reijonen, an avid RVer, fitness buff, and novice golfer.
“Fitness is all about using what you have at your disposal,” says Reijonen. “It could be anything from a park bench or a kid’s outdoor jungle gym. Suspension training is my exercise tool of choice on the road. What`s more is it’s only the size of a cantaloupe when wrapped up in its travel pouch. I’ve strapped it to palm trees in the South Pacific and camper vans in New Zealand. They use one’s body weight to do all the exercises you would usually do with weights.”
Tether your suspension trainer to the RV for a workout.
Additionally, Reijonen suggested some specific stretches that would benefit golfers.
“Typically, if you are an avid golfer, the important muscles you need to stretch include your calves, hip flexors, back, and chest. Alternatively, it’s important to strengthen the abdominals. This provides more support to the back, the glutes, rotator cuff, and mid/lower trapezius muscles, which connect the neck and upper back.”
It`s Easy to Workout on The Road
Further, Reijonen shared that yoga poses provide a great stretch for the back, chest, and hip flexors. Downward dog helps open up the back, and at the same time stretching the calves. To stretch the chest, anchor one arm against the edge of a wall of your rig, then press into it to work the chest muscles.
While on the road, Reijonen explains she travels with her husband in a 40-foot, Sierra fifth wheel by Forest River, which provides the perfect amount of space for the couple. As a result, with a little creativity, the resistance bands can be used inside or outside of the RV to easily accommodate her fitness routine.
Rick Stedman is an avid golfer, RVer, and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. Rick writes a golf column, “The RV Golfer,” which is published every month in rvlife.com. He can be reached at rstedman@gmail.com.
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