Hello 2022! We hope you all had a great holiday season and are up for the best adventures yet. With every year comes new goals and ambitions. There is always more awareness around health in early January, and we’re here to give you a leg up (literally) on your wellness goals. Today we bring you our favorite and most effective workouts on the road. These are simple, require little to no equipment and can be done at your campground or in nature. Check out the exercises below.
Sumo Squat
How To:
- Stand with feet wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes slightly turned out.
- Push your hips back and squat down, keeping your chest up and knees out.
Tips:
- When you drop your seat, knees stack over ankles, spine is neutral with tailbone to the crown of your head making one line, core stays engaged the whole time.
- You can add dumbbells or kettlebells for extra weight, but if you don’t have them on hand, grab a couple water bottles or even canned goods from your RV kitchen.
- If you want to increase your heart rate, add a knee at the top of each sumo squat.
Benefits:
- Both regular and sumo squats will emphasize the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexors and calves, but sumo squats place a greater emphasis on the inner thigh adductors, which move your legs in toward your body and glutes. It’s a surprise core exercise too.
Carousel Horse
How To:
- Stand with your feet hip-distance apart.
- Step one leg back, bend your knees, and raise arms up. Hold.
- Drop arms down behind you, lifting your back leg up.
- Repeat.
Tips:
- The trick is to keep the back knee right under the hip. Engage your core, ground into front foot and feel the burn in the front leg glute.
- You can do pulses down, or one inch down, one inch up, etc.
- If you’re feeling knee pain in your back leg, lean forward with a long spine. This will take the pressure off the back knee and powers your front leg’s glutes even more.
Benefits:
- This posture will do an amazing job strengthening your lower body, as well as, your core. Your core works to help you maintain balance, which helps improve your stability and train your spine tall, supporting healthy posture.
Chair Pose
How To:
- Place your feet a little narrower than hip-distance apart.
- Place small medicine ball between your inner thighs.
- Bend your knees, whilst gripping the ball tight, keeping your core engaged.
- Lift your heels grounding into the balls of your feet.
Tips:
- Make sure your knees track over your middle toes as you sink your seat in this pose.
- Keep shoulders stacked over hips.
- Place palms together for added balance.
Benefits:
- Emphasis on inner thighs as you grip the ball, as well as your calves when you lift your heels off the ground. Pulse 3-5 seconds for additional burn in your hamstring and quadricep muscles.
Incline Chair
How To:
- Place your feet hip-width distance apart.
- Ground your feet by actively pushing down into the four corners of your feet (both sides of heel, big toe, little toe)
- Sink your seat, keeping core engaged.
- Squeeze ball between your palms while keeping your chest up.
Tips:
- Keep a neutral spine from your tailbone to the crown of your head by releasing your gaze about three feet in front of you.
- Firm your shoulder blades against the back, keeping a solid form.
- If you don’t have a ball, you can either keep your arms parallel, face palms inward or join the palms.
Benefits:
- This pose works the muscles of the arms and legs, but it also stimulates the diaphragm and heart while stretching your chest and shoulders.
Warrior III
How To:
- Stand with your feet hip-width distance apart.
- Step one leg back, moving into a modified lunge position.
- Stretch your arms back, keeping them parallel to the floor and parallel to each other.
- Lift your back leg, keeping your front leg straight and chest parallel with the ground below you.
Tips:
- Release the hip of the raised leg toward the floor until your two hip points are even and parallel to the floor. Keep them level.
- While balancing on one leg, keep your core engaged to maintain balance and stability. Don’t allow the torso to swing forward as you move into position.
- Try to stay in this position for at least 30 seconds. For added challenge, try for one minute.
Benefits:
- This pose strengthens the ankles and legs whilst toning the abdomen. It also improves your balance and posture with frequent practice and consistency.
Tree Pose – Balance Challenge
How To:
- Begin standing with your arms at your sides.
- Shift your weight to your right foot.
- Bend your left knee placing your foot either to your calf or inner thigh. Do not place on knee.
- Raise your arms up, rotating your palms inward to face each other.
Tips:
- For stability, fix your gaze gently on one, unmoving point in front of you.
- Focus on your breathing and then inhale as you extend your arms overhead, reaching your fingertips to the sky.
- If your shoulders are more flexible, you can press your palms together in prayer position, overhead.
Benefits:
- Tree pose improves your sense of balance and coordination. Regular practice will improve your focus and ability to concentrate. This pose also helps to remedy flat feet and is therapeutic for anyone that suffers from sciatica pain.
We hope the new year has you in great spirits and ready for 365 days of new adventure. If you’re ready to elevate your rig this year, check out Rec Van for all your adventure van needs.
