How to Stay Fit on a Road Trip!

14 Sep

If you’re anything like me and trying to be healthiest version of you, then it might be a good idea to think about ways to stay fit on a road trip! In my post about staying healthy on a road trip. I talked about how I prepared for my trip from Cincinnati, Ohio to Pella, Iowa and what I ate on the drive to give my body the nutrients it needed. In this post, you’ll see recommendations for how to stay fit on a road trip!

How to Stay Fit on a Road trip, Fitness, Road Trip,

The most important fitness tip I can give on a road trip is to take advantage of the break times you have at gas stations! I made sure to stretch each part of my body with standing stretches before we hit the road again.

You might feel a little weird stretching it out in front of total strangers, but my philosophy is you are doing what your body NEEDS. Also, you’ll be in middle of nowhere, so it’s not like you’ll even see those same people again, right?

Stretches

I would recommend doing these series of targeted body stretches for about 15 seconds:

1. Full Body

First, start with a full body stretch. Stand with your feet hip-with distance apart and bring your arms above your head parallel to each other.
With control, bring your hands back behind you with a slight back bend. Only enough to get a good stretch in your abs.

2. Neck

Next, straighten yourself back to standing and stretch out your neck! Gently roll your neck clockwise a few rotations and switch to the other direction.
Then lean your head to the left and bring your left hand to your head and GENTLY pull down so you feel a good stretch in your neck. Repeat on right side.

3. Shoulders/Arms

After that, stretch your shoulders and upper arms with a cross body stretch. Swing your left arm over to the right side and place your left arm in the crook of your right arm.
Use your right arm to GENTLY pull your left arm away from your body. Repeat on right side.

4. Arms

Don’t forget about your triceps! Bring your left arm up and drop your hand behind your shoulder, then place your right hand on your left elbow and GENTLY use your right hand to pull your left elbow straight behind you.

5. Chest

Now, take your hands behind your body with your fingers interlaced and try to pull you hands away your body.
You should feel this in the front of your shoulders through your sternum (the bone in the center of your chest).

6. Obliques/Abs

Don’t forget about your sides (obliques)! Bring your hands together and with straight arms above your head. Imagining you are pointing your fingers over to the left side, feeling a deep stretch in your right side body. After 15 seconds repeat on the opposite side.

7. Hips

Now move down to your hips with a figure four stretch. Standing on your right leg, bring your left foot over your right knee with your standing knee slightly bent.
If you feel stiff and already feel a deep stretch, then stay there. If you are needing a deeper stretch bend your standing knee a little more. Repeat on opposite side.

8. Quadriceps (Legs)

Putting your weight on your right leg again, get a stretch in your Quadriceps by grabbing your left ankle with your left hand.
This may be a deep enough stretch for you, if so, stay in this stretch! If you need a deeper stretch pull your ankle closer to your body OR start to kick the weight of your leg into your hand while leaning against a wall (or the gas pump!). Repeat on right side.

9. Thighs (Legs)

Continuing with your legs find the closest wheel stop (the concrete thing at the front of the parking spot) and stretch the back of your thighs out.
Lift your toes and the balls of your left foot on the wheel stop and with a straight leg hinge forward at the hips until you feel the desired amount of stretch. Repeat on the opposite side.

10. Calves (Legs)

Last but not least, your calves! This will stretch the backs of your lower legs out.
Bring your left leg forward on the ground with a bend. Keep your right leg straight with all of your right foot firmly planted behind you. Stand facing a wall (or gas pump) and pretend to push the wall away from you. Repeat on opposite side.

Cardio Bursts

Now that you’ve got a good stretch, I would recommend doing a small cardio burst to kickstart your metabolism! When you eat your protein filled snacks you packed, you’ll be a lean, mean digesting machine!

Here’s a few different standing cardio bursts you can do anywhere before you start driving again:

10 jumping jacks

10 high knees

10 knee drives on each side (quickly drive your kneecap up in between your bent arms. And BONUS you’ll feel the burn in your hips, too)

Where is your next trip planned? How do you stay fit on a road trip; Do you have any routines you like to do on a drive? Let me know in the comments!

“I was in constant Fear and Worry”

Because of my mindset, I was attracted to jobs that took advantage of me & I couldn’t set boundaries. Before I started with Monica, I was in constant fear and worry. I was scared to make any decisions to make my life better because I'm not from the US and I didn't feel like I could say yes to opportunities. Now, I'm not worried about money all the time and I left my boss to start my own thing. Before our calls, I was worried about how working with her would go. I've worked with other people before, but it was so impersonal. I felt like there was no connection and that I wasn't seen. Working with Monica, I always felt like she was listening. My favorite part was the constant email contact. It was so nice to email her anytime I had questions, when I was worried about something in my life, or when I just wanted to talk. I would recommend Monica to anyone who is struggling with changing their mindset because I actually got something out of working with her. She'll be there for you when you need her.

Ariane V.
NYC

2019-06-10T09:07:43-04:00

Ariane V.
NYC

Because of my mindset, I was attracted to jobs that took advantage of me & I couldn’t set boundaries. Before I started with Monica, I was in constant fear and worry. I was scared to make any decisions to make my life better because I'm not from the US and I didn't feel like I could say yes to opportunities. Now, I'm not worried about money all the time and I left my boss to start my own thing. Before our calls, I was worried about how working with her would go. I've worked with other people before, but it was so impersonal. I felt like there was no connection and that I wasn't seen. Working with Monica, I always felt like she was listening. My favorite part was the constant email contact. It was so nice to email her anytime I had questions, when I was worried about something in my life, or when I just wanted to talk. I would recommend Monica to anyone who is struggling with changing their mindset because I actually got something out of working with her. She'll be there for you when you need her.

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I Learned How to Say No and Set Boundaries

I was hesitant before I started with Monica because I didn't know if she was there because she wanted to help or just to be paid. But, I could tell she was actually listening. Throughout our conversations, I felt like she was genuinely invested in our time together. When I disclosed personal events that happened in my life, her response was so genuine and respectful. To me, that's a testament to someone who takes what they do seriously. I loved how she asked thought-provoking questions. She did a good job of not accepting my surface-level answers and making me go deeper. When I started with Monica, I thought my main goals were to be more organized and check off more boxes. By the end of our time, I found it was more important to be mindful of my needs and prioritizing what was actually important in my life. I appreciate all of her questions and helping me organize my own thought process. Since working with her, I've learned to say no and set boundaries for myself. It's ok to say no to even family and to put my own needs first.

Bradie R.

California

2019-06-26T14:22:10-04:00

Bradie R.

California

I was hesitant before I started with Monica because I didn't know if she was there because she wanted to help or just to be paid. But, I could tell she was actually listening. Throughout our conversations, I felt like she was genuinely invested in our time together. When I disclosed personal events that happened in my life, her response was so genuine and respectful. To me, that's a testament to someone who takes what they do seriously. I loved how she asked thought-provoking questions. She did a good job of not accepting my surface-level answers and making me go deeper. When I started with Monica, I thought my main goals were to be more organized and check off more boxes. By the end of our time, I found it was more important to be mindful of my needs and prioritizing what was actually important in my life. I appreciate all of her questions and helping me organize my own thought process. Since working with her, I've learned to say no and set boundaries for myself. It's ok to say no to even family and to put my own needs first.

https://monicafrederick.com/testimonials/i-learned-how-to-say-no-and-set-boundaries/

“I was blocked for years”

For most of my life, my focus has been solely on weight loss. how superficial my issue with my weight really was. She reminded me of how much control over my life (and future) I actually have. If we had only focused on my weight loss, I'd still be stuck. She helped me realize the weight loss was a distraction that kept me from working on my dreams. My biggest transformational session came when she asked me to define who I was. I labeled myself as inconsistent, among other negative things, because of my many weight loss attempts and failures, but she helped me see that though I hadn’t been consistent at weight loss, I had been consistent in many other areas of my life. And I could transition that to weight loss, given I change my motives. She pointed out that weight loss, though it consumed most of my thoughts, was a very small part of my life. Monica helped me to look internally past the external surface stuff, to what was really important. She took the time to truly get to know my story and identify what was valuable. I was so familiar with my story that I was only able to see the places where I “could have, should have, would have” done something better. She took the time to hear everything and pulled out the positive aspects that I’d so easily overlooked. Instead of letting me continue to believe what I'd been telling myself for decades, she helped me construct new and positive things to say to myself that was closer to the truth. I wasn’t just a dollar, a client or a review to her. I could tell that she actually wanted to help. I felt like Monica honestly cared about me. I could hear the excitement in her voice when I would report my progress each week which proved that she was just as excited about what I was doing. She has a saying, “Rising tides lift all boats,” and I now use that saying too. I’ve grown so much from our session, and I would definitely recommend working with her to anyone who’s stuck. I was blocked for years. I know which way is up now when I didn’t even know there WAS an up. I was so unhappy and stuck in the beginning, that I didn’t think she could help or should take me on as a client. But she was up for the challenge, and I’m so glad that she was. She brought me out of a very dark place and reintroduced me to life. I’m living intentionally now. I have purpose. So, if you’re wondering if this can actually help, let me assure you that it can. And I know that you can be better because I’ve taken the same journey. As long as you’re ready to do some work and take charge of your life, she can help get you there. She won’t fix your life for you, but she will definitely show you how you can improve it. I promise you won’t regret it.

Kim

Missouri

2019-10-14T19:39:38-04:00

Kim

Missouri

For most of my life, my focus has been solely on weight loss. how superficial my issue with my weight really was. She reminded me of how much control over my life (and future) I actually have. If we had only focused on my weight loss, I'd still be stuck. She helped me realize the weight loss was a distraction that kept me from working on my dreams. My biggest transformational session came when she asked me to define who I was. I labeled myself as inconsistent, among other negative things, because of my many weight loss attempts and failures, but she helped me see that though I hadn’t been consistent at weight loss, I had been consistent in many other areas of my life. And I could transition that to weight loss, given I change my motives. She pointed out that weight loss, though it consumed most of my thoughts, was a very small part of my life. Monica helped me to look internally past the external surface stuff, to what was really important. She took the time to truly get to know my story and identify what was valuable. I was so familiar with my story that I was only able to see the places where I “could have, should have, would have” done something better. She took the time to hear everything and pulled out the positive aspects that I’d so easily overlooked. Instead of letting me continue to believe what I'd been telling myself for decades, she helped me construct new and positive things to say to myself that was closer to the truth. I wasn’t just a dollar, a client or a review to her. I could tell that she actually wanted to help. I felt like Monica honestly cared about me. I could hear...

https://monicafrederick.com/testimonials/i-was-blocked-for-years/

Why You Should Visit Pella , Iowa! »

How to Stay Fit on a Road Trip!