9 Simple PASSENGER Exercises To Do On a Long Roadtrip.

Hey everyone.  I know it has been a few days since I made a post but being summer time, I'm sure you all understand how crazy schedules get.  We had my son's 2nd birthday party on the 5th, then I had a busy 3 days getting a kid ready for camp and the rest of us ready to go visit family in Pennsylvania.   

Plus, I had this post in mind but I wanted to try out some thing before I put tips out there for the world to see.  It is at LEAST a 9 and a half hour drive to PA and that almost kills an entire day by the time you get everything packed, travel, get home, unpack, get kids settled, blah, blah, blah.  So I though maybe I would try some exercises in the car.  I had heard and read about a few but I wanted to try them out first.   These are the ones that I found the most effective and kept me from getting too stiff and lazy.  As a general disclaimer, let me point out that some of these should not be done if you are the driver.  Most people are smart enough to figure if they can do something as the driver or not.  If you dont know the difference, maybe you shouldn't be driving to begin with. 

1. Stop every couple hours to walk around.  I know, this one is not actually done in the car but is still essential and can help with all the other exercises as well as help with simple ailments like stiffness and muscle aches to even more severe concerns like blood clots.  Now I dont normally take long road trips by myself.  My husband and I usually trade off driving.  I like to go about 2 hours, get out and walk for about 5-10 minutes around a rest area, then trade seats.  It actually helped that we had the baby with use because we needed to stop often for him and boy was he ready to run and cut loose when let out of that car seat.  Chasing him was good for me too.  BTW- I am in no way suggesting you take a baby on a road trip just so you can chase him at rest areas.  Its not a pleasant experience in general.  
2. Core Tighten.  Sit up straight and pull the belly button toward the spine.  The abdominal muscles should automatically tighten but you can engage them further.  It should feel like your belly button is trying to touch the spine. Hold for 30 seconds.  Do 3-5 reps.  This one is relatively safe to do if you are driving. 
3. Bicep Curls.  If you have the ability to bring a small set of dumbbells with you, do it!  If you dont have any dumbbells then buy 2 bottles of water at the rest area you just stopped at to walk around.   Use them as weights to do seated bicep curls.  You can choose alternating, reciprocating or just one arm at a time.  Do 3-5 sets of 10 reps each.  I suppose this could be done while driving if you did one arm at a time but for safety reasons, I"m not recommending it.  
4. Bend Over Row.  If you are going to have those weights or water bottles handy for bicep curls, use them in a bent over row.  Just bend over your knees in the seat with the weights toward the floor.  Raise the elbows bringing the weights toward the armpits and squeezing the muscles between your shoulders.  DON'T do this one while driving.   Do 3-5 sets of 10 Reps each.
5. Leg raises.  This one may not work for every trip or for every car.  I had the ability to push my seat all the way back and had enough room to straighten my legs out a little so it worked well for me.  You can put hand down beside you on the seat or behind you grabbing the headrest.  They will actually work two different areas of the abs.  Hand down gets deep in the lower abs while putting your hands up will tight up the upper abs as well.  Straighten out your legs then try to lift them up as high as you can while keeping the feel together.  This one is a toughy,  especially for those mamas who dont have the abs like they used too. Great core work though.  Do 3-5 sets of 10 Reps each.
6. Thigh Squeeze.  This one is good for those inner thighs.  You can easliy use that bottle fo water you had earlier.  If not then your fist will also work.  Place bottle (or fist) between the knees and squeeze together as hard as possible for 10 seconds then release.  Try to increase the time each time you do it and just see how long you can hold the squeeze.  If you can work your way up to 30 seconds then try 3-5 sets of 30 second holds. 
7. Knees up.  This is similar to leg raises but do it with the knees bent.  The trick is to raise them up to the chest and back down but dont put them back on the floor.  Lower until they are only a couple inches from the floor then raise again.  Do 3-5 sets of 10 Reps each.
8. Calf & Toe Raises.  With feet flat on the floor, lift the heels and tightening the calves, hold for about 5 seconds then lower the heels and bring the toes and ball of your foot off the floor, essentially rocking back on the heels.  Hold that for 5 seconds then lower.  Do 3-5 set of 10 reps each.  One rep is lifting heels then lifting toes.  
9. Stretch in the car.  Most people tend to do this anyway when on long trips but doing the right stretches can help ease aches and pains as well as toning and tightening. 

• Neck: Sit up straight and lower left ear to left shoulder.  Hold for 20 seconds then switch to the other side.
• Arm Across: Pull left arm across the chest with the right arm.  Hold for 20 seconds then switch sides pulling the right arm across the chest with the left arm.
• Tricep Stretch: Place left hand behind the head with the elbow in the air.  With the right arm, push the arm down toward the small of the back reading that direction with the left hand.  Hold for 20 seconds then switch sides.  
• wist stretch.  Put feet firmly on the ground and twist only the upper body to twist to one side.  Use the seat to pull yourself further around stretching the lower back  and even a little in the chest muscles.  Hold for 20 seconds then turn and twist to the other side. 
• Dashboard Leg Stretch: If you have the ability, put feel on the dashboard straight out.  In some cars, this alone will give you a good stretch.  If you can, try to touch your toes.  You can also try hip flexor variations in this position by placing one foot on the dash with your knew at 90 degrees. Then bring the opposite foot on top of the knew so that it is between your chest and top of the bent leg.  It is almost like doing Prayer Hands but sitting in the car.  Feels great.

There are lots of other things out there that can be done in a car.  These are just the ones I prefer.  They seem to work for just about any trip we go on and some can even work when flying.  If you know of any other good exercises to try in the car, PLEASE, share in the comments below.  I would love to try them and give feedback.  I have two more road trips coming up this summer.