Your fitness routine is one of the many things you’ll sacrifice to live out of a backpack. Fortunately, you’ll discover something that gym teachers and drill sergeants have known all along: a health club full of fancy equipment isn’t necessary to get in shape and stay that way.
Cardio
Most backpackers have no trouble getting enough cardiovascular exercise, since they’re often on their feet exploring a new city. Get your heart rate up by adding in some morning jogs or running some stairs and you’ll be set.
Strength Training
Gyms are convenient, not necessary. Pretty much every exercise you can do in a gym can also be performed with minimal or no equipment by simply using your bodyweight. Bodyweight exercises are called calisthenics, and they’ve honed men into soldiers in military training for years. Here are the four of the best:
The Push Up
You’ll Need: a level space
Do It: Lie face-down on the floor with your hands flat and slightly wider than your shoulders. Keeping your back straight, push your body up until your arms are fully extended. From there, lower your body until your chest nearly touches the ground. Repeat. Then repeat again.
Works: chest, triceps, shoulders, core
Mimics: bench press, triceps extension
Variations: Nearly infinite. Try varying your hand placement, elevating your feet, using one hand or wearing your backpack
The Underhand Pull Up
You”ll Need: A sturdy horizontal bar (construction scaffolding, playground equipment, a tree branch-get creative)
Do it: Hang from the bar with your palms facing you, then pull yourself up until the bar reaches your shoulders. Lower yourself until your arms are straight (allthewaaaay), then repeat.
Works: Biceps
Mimics: Biceps Curls
Variations: Wide Grip, Narrow Grip, weighted (with your pack, of course).
The Overhand Pull Up
You”ll Need: the same horizontal bar
Do It: It’s just like the underhand pull-up above, only with your palms facing away from you. Fine… it’s probably a little harder.
Works: latissimus, back and shoulder muscles
Mimics: Lat pull-downs
Variations: Wide Grip, Narrow Grip, weighted
The Pistol Squat
You’ll need: a level space
Do it: Imagine sitting down in an invisible chair, then getting up again. Now imagine the same motion with one leg kept straight out in front of you. Got it? Repeat.
Works: quads, glutes, hamstrings, core
Mimics: squats
Variations: weighted
Got any tips for staying in shape while traveling? Please share them below!
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Totally bookmarking this one. One thing makes me panic about being a RTW traveller is not having a gym to frequent after being so dedicated to it for nearly 2 years.
Me too, Candice! I think maintaining your level of fitness on the road just requires a little creativity. But ask me in six months….
I’ve been traveling nearly 10 weeks and am starting to panic about my plans for the Inca trail in October as I haven’t been working out at all.
This is a great post and I’m going to try to start incorporating some of this.
I thought I was smart for bringing a jump rope with me for 7 months of traveling in Oz/NZ/SE Asia. I think I used it twice! But the good news was I was among tons of good hiking, so I tried to do that as often as possible. I find I rely a lot on just walking–everywhere–for exercise while traveling, but I’d imagine a small commitment to the occasional push-up/squat/crunch would go a long way!
I think you’ll be fine, Ayngelina. To prepare, you could make sure you’re walking for most of the day- which you’re probably doing if you’re traveling! Good Luck!
A jump rope, Laura? You know, I thought about packing a resistance band for strength training… I was like “yeah, I’ll probably use that all of three times.”
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