Trying to exercise with our unpredictable schedule has been one of the biggest challenges for me of our full time travel. I posted back in January about my failure of an attempt at working out, and although things aren’t much better, I feel like I have a few more tricks up my sleeve.

We have some smaller equipment that we keep on hand – most of them purchased through Amazon at some point:

Jump Rope
5 lb weights
12 lb weights
Exercise Mat
Arm band for my phone
Exercise head phones
Foam Roller

I will still occasionally get on a road ride (like this short one back in Oregon near John Day), but in reality I have 30 minutes or less to get my workout in. So, I get creative. Most weeks I manage to get in 2-3 workouts, but when we are slammed busy driving, or hanging around friends/family, or just plain BUSY (lame excuse) that number dwindles significantly.

I find that when I do make time to regularly exercise I’m much happier and even eat healthier. Balancing travel planning, home schooling, grocery shopping, hiking, and everything else does present its challenges, but before we are done traveling I’m going to make it work! Here’s what I’m currently doing:

Workout DVD’s

I have a friend who is a Beach Body consultant (check out her Instagram feed for awesome tips & recipes!), and she introduced me to Shaun T’s Focus T25 series. I have both the Alpha & Beta and I really like them. I feel like I get a great workout in, and it just doesn’t take very long. Yes, I’m typically outside in the campground where everyone can see me, but I’ve just developed a thick skin. I’ll try and find some privacy, but its usually me, half of our outdoor mat, and my computer. Good times.

Since then, I’ve also purchased the PiYo series which I like, but not quite as much. I’ve just never been into Yoga, but its a good mix of Pilates and Yoga and I don’t get quite as sweaty while still working on muscle development.

Smart Phone Apps

When we hike, bike, or walk (and even sometimes when weight lifting) I’ll track with Endomondo (Android, iPhone). I know there are others out there, we just invested in a Pro account years ago and I love it so I haven’t found a reason to change.

Nike Training Club (iPhone, Android) – this one has its pros and some serious cons. Its a little confusing at first and I hate that once I start a 4 week program I’m stuck to it. It gets depressing when I want to do a workout on Tuesday instead of Sunday and it won’t count towards my total minutes.

To compensate I just pick workouts and fit them in when I can. Maybe it’s not “ideal” but at least its something. I also hate that if your phone crashes you can’t start back in the middle of a workout. Or maybe that’s a plus… “Look! I’m done 15 minutes early!” 🙂 I do like the workouts I’ve have completed and definitely feel sore the next day!

Better Diet

I loved it when my friend posted a Clean Eating Challenge on Instagram a few months ago. It was awesome! We’ve been really trying to eat simpler, healthy meals. Lots of fruits, veggies, and ditch the processed stuff. I no longer buy crackers, or processed snacks (except Z bars & ropes from Costco, but those are for hiking or driving days) and we stick to carrots, cucumber, broccoli and hummus. Yes, we still eat ice cream, candy, and other not good for you items, but we eat them LESS. It’s a start.

Shakeology is seriously my favorite meal replacement drink. We’ve done a lot of Costco Protein powder, but this stuff just works. I’m the only one that drinks it (because its so darn expensive) and I can tell when I’m not consistent. I find it even more important at helping me maintain my weight because my workouts are so inconsistent. If I just got on the ball, maybe my numbers would actually start to go down…. wouldn’t that be nice?

The Ideal Schedule

In an ideal world, I’d have an actual workout schedule instead of trying to fit it in whenever. I was thinking this last week it would go something like this:

Monday: Nike Training Club 30 minutes
Tuesday: T25
Wednesday: Run (even though I still HATE it)
Thursday: Nike Training Club
Friday: PiYo

Sounds good, right? We’ll see…. What’s your favorite way to work out?