• News
    • Industry Trends
    • Hot Markets
    • Weekly Top 10
    • Hospital Strikes
  • Career
    • Traveler Tips
    • First-Time Traveler
    • Ask The Expert
  • Reviews
    • Agency Reviews
      • Share Your Experience
    • Hospital Reviews
      • Share Your Experience
  • Network
    • Your Photos
    • Traveler Stories
    • Traveler Lifestyle
  • Resources
    • Find A Hospital
    • Compact Licensure Map
    • Licensing
    • Certifications
      • ANCC
      • AHA
    • Continuing Education
      • CEU Directory
      • Nurse.com
      • Relias Academy
      • Wild Iris Medical Education
      • WorldWideLearn
  • Find High-Paying Jobs
    • Search All Jobs
    • Connect With A Recruiter
    • Top Markets
    • Travel CST Salary By State
    • Travel Nursing Salary By State
  • About Us
HCT Today
SHARE YOUR STORY GET THE SCOOP

HCT Today Dedicated News Site For Healthcare Travelers

March 22, 2023
  • StaffDNA Career Profile Benefits
  • Career Profile Login
HCT Today
SHARE YOUR STORY

  • News
    • Industry Trends
    • Hot Markets
    • Weekly Top 10
    • Hospital Strikes
  • Career
    • Traveler Tips
    • First-Time Traveler
    • Ask The Expert
  • Reviews
    • Agency Reviews
      • Share Your Experience
    • Hospital Reviews
      • Share Your Experience
  • Network
    • Your Photos
    • Traveler Stories
    • Traveler Lifestyle
  • Resources
    • Find A Hospital
    • Compact Licensure Map
    • Licensing
    • Certifications
      • ANCC
      • AHA
    • Continuing Education
      • CEU Directory
      • Nurse.com
      • Relias Academy
      • Wild Iris Medical Education
      • WorldWideLearn
  • Find High-Paying Jobs
    • Search All Jobs
    • Connect With A Recruiter
    • Top Markets
    • Travel CST Salary By State
    • Travel Nursing Salary By State
  • About Us
First-Time Traveler Inspiration

Travel Tips: Low Impact Exercises for Nurses Starting a Workout Routine

admin@staffdna.comOctober 25, 20180 Views0

Fit Travel Life-Travel Nurse Blogger

By Alex McCoy, Contributing Writer, Owner of Fit Travel Life

As healthcare providers we often find ourselves having a hard time practicing what we preach. We know exercise and eating healthy are important but putting this knowledge into practice can be difficult. With long shifts, odd hours, and physically exhausting work, most nurses realize they have become far more deconditioned than they imagined.

This leads to a very tough cycle to break. You miss a few gym days, which turn into weeks, and finally, you are so discouraged that it is hard to even set foot back in a gym.

I recommend easing back into an exercise routine if you haven’t been to the gym in a while. Rather than committing to a five-day exercise plan, shoot for two or three days. If you are successful with this goal then expand from there. By setting small goals and achieving them, your sense of accomplishment will help build new habits and stick to them.

With the time constraints that come with shift work, it may be easier to start at home to remove the extra time it takes to drive to and from a gym. Luckily, there are some great bodyweight exercises that can be used to help you get back in shape, and they act as building blocks for a healthier lifestyle.

Lower Body

Lunges

via GIPHY

  • Lunges are great because they work a plethora of muscles in your legs. You can do them two ways: walking or stationary. For walking lunges, set a distance goal and lunge from one point to the next. Stationary lunges are a great option if you do not have a lot of room for movement.
  • Once you have built some strength here, you can progress to jumping lunges. Simply jump as you switch from one leg to the next, and land in the lunge position

Air Squats

via Gfycat

  • Squats are great for building core strength and lower body strength. Make sure to keep your feet slightly outside of shoulder width, keep your torso straight, and try to keep your heels from coming up off the ground.
  • If a basic squat is too difficult, use a chair or a bench and squat down to this surface. Try to find something that will make your thighs come to a parallel position at the bottom.

Upper Body

Push Ups

via GIPHY

  • This movement can seem daunting, but there are lots of ways to scale push-ups! Do them on your knees if you cannot do a traditional mid-air. If this is too hard, mimic the movement of a push up while placing your hands on a wall.
  • Focus on keeping your elbows in close to your body and your core tight as you lower. If you are scaling the movement, really concentrate on slowly contracting your muscles as you go through the exercise.

Dips

Dips GIF from Dip GIFs

  • These can be done on a table, chair, couch, or even a park bench. Start by sitting upright on the object. Placing your hands outside of your hips, move your body slightly forward so your glutes are suspended in mid-air. Lower your arms to a 90-degree angle, and push until they are locked out.
  • Keeping your knees bent as if you are sitting will help make the movement easier. You can also do a higher surface if a chair is too difficult. Hug your elbows in close as you lower, and try to keep your shoulders and back straight.

Cardiovascular Movements

Jumping Jacks

via Gfycat

  • This old-school move can be great for helping build up some cardio endurance—especially if you don’t like to run (guilty over here!)
  • If you have joint issues and jumping is too intense, try doing one-legged jacks. Move your arms up above your head like in a jumping jack, but sidestep one foot out at a time. To get your heart rate up you will have to have some speed with this movement!

Box Step Ups

Box Step Up-travel nurse fitness

  • These are as simple as they sound. Start by choosing a surface that is stable. I like to use park benches, garden walls, or a nice sturdy kitchen chair. If you use a chair, I recommend butting it up next to a wall to keep it from scooting as you step up. Simply alternate legs stepping up onto the surface.
  • Scale these to your preferred level by lowering the height of the “box”. You could start as low as six inches if that is enough to get your heart rate up.

By rotating through these exercises, you can ease yourself back into working out without putting too much stress on your body. Start with small sets of five to ten reps, and repeat exercises as your strength and time allow.

The key to getting back into shape is to just get started. You truly can start anywhere, and be proud of yourself for making the effort. As you start to feel stronger and more comfortable with exercising, you can start to incorporate more complex movements or weight training. Online sources like Bodybuilding.com and YouTube have lots of examples of different exercises in case you are unsure of how to do a movement.

Set those small goals, conquer them, and keep the new habits coming! Don’t beat yourself up if you have a bad day or two. Keep making the effort and showing up, and you will see progress before you know it.

Alex McCoy currently works as a pediatric travel nurse. She has a passion for health and fitness, which led her to start Fit Travel Life in 2016. She travels with her husband, their cat, Autumn and their dog, Summer. She enjoys hiking, lifting weights, and trying the best local coffee and wine. 


Want to share your own advice, thoughts or stories on Healthcare Traveler Today? Learn more about our Contributing Writers program.

FitnessHealth And WellnessInspirationTravel AlliedTravel Nursing
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • Comment
  • SHARETravel Tips: Low Impact Exercises for Nurses Starting a Workout Routine
    • Pin
    • Share
    • Share
Previous ArticleNurses at 2 Arizona hospitals vote to join national union
Next ArticleTravel Healthcare Market: Winter Pre-Books Increase In Nevada
admin@staffdna.com

You may also like

Traveler Tips: Tackling the Summer Slowdown in Travel Nursing

5 Signs You Are Ready To Start A Travel Healthcare Career

Our Top 10 Favorite #NurseLife Tweets From The Past Week

Leave a Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Browse Topics

  • Agency Advice
  • Agency Reviews
  • Ask The Expert
  • Career
  • Compliance
  • Continuing Education
  • EMR Conversions
  • eNLC
  • Featured
  • First-Time Traveler
  • For A Laugh
  • Healthcare Roundup
  • Hot Markets
  • Housing
  • Industry Trends
  • Inspiration
  • Licensing
  • Market Data
  • News
  • Nurse Contributor
  • Recruiter Advice
  • Strikes
  • Take A Break
  • Taxes
  • Top 10
  • Traveler Tips
  • Uncategorized
  • VMS/MSP
  • Weekly Polls
  • Your Photos
  • Your Stories

More Stories

Ă—

Travel Healthcare Jobs: Market Healthy In April As Seasonal Shift Continues

It's not just the grass that's growing greener in April—recruiters and industry insiders say the job market is still quite hot...

Travelers

Bichon Frise-car-best travel dog breeds

10 Best Travel Dog Breeds For Healthcare Professionals

July 19, 2018
New Jersey State House-Trenton-new jersey compact nurse license

New Jersey Compact Nurse License Bill Passes Senate

February 26, 2019
travel healthcare jobs colorado-rocky mountains-trail

CHOOSING A TRAVEL NURSE ASSIGNMENT

September 22, 2022

Industry News

2023 written in sand

Top 10 Highest-Paying Travel Healthcare Jobs Dec 26-30

December 30, 2022
job search-travel healthcare jobs jan 7

Top 10 Highest-Paying Travel Healthcare Jobs Jan 2-6

January 4, 2023
palm springs-california-travel healthcare jobs jan 14

Top 10 Highest-Paying Travel Healthcare Jobs Jan 9-13

January 10, 2023

Traveler Photos

ER RN, Gabi M., exploring Waterhole Canyon
RN, Tammie T. & friends in Atlanta
RN, May D., checking out the ripening grapes at the Carneros della Notte winery in California.
Valysa and Valynda, RNs and sisters, enjoying the sights around Texarkana.
RN, Amanda M., taking in the sights at the Grand Canyon.
RN, Amanda M., taking in the sights at the Grand Canyon.
Valysa and Valynda, RNs and sisters, enjoying the sights around Texarkana.
ER RN, Gabi M., exploring Waterhole Canyon
RN, Amanda M., taking in the sights at the Grand Canyon.
Copyright © 2021 StaffDNA. All Rights Reserved.

Helpful news, travel tips, expert advice and online resources—delivered straight to your inbox once a week.

“Get The Scoop” on the travel healthcare industry with HCT Today.

Learn More

Agency Review

    HCT Today wants to know what healthcare professionals think about their travel agencies. Below are 15 questions covering Recruiting and Accounting & Customer Service. This survey will take two minutes. You will either be asked a yes/no question or a scale with 0 being poor and 5 being excellent. All submissions will remain anonymous.







    Recruiting

    0 = Poor & 5 = Excellent



    YesNo


    YesNo


    YesNoN/A



    Accounting & Customer Service

    0 = Poor & 5 = Excellent




    Overall Agency Score





    Photo of The Month Contest



      By clicking submit you are agreeing to the Photo Contest Terms and Conditions.

      We Want To Hear From You

        We want to hear your stories, feedback, suggestions or tips! Have an insider tip on upcoming strikes or EMR conversions at your hospital? Let us know! Interested in contributing a story or sharing your experience to help other traveling professionals? We want to hear it!




        You may optionally provide contact information below. Including this information helps our team reach out should we need more information regarding your submission. This information will not be shared with third parties.


        NoYes






        Unless you have chosen to remain anonymous, by submitting this form you give Healthcare Traveler Today permission to contact you for details regarding your submission. You also give permission for HCT Today to share your information on HCTToday.com. We will never publish your contact information. For questions, email hcttoday@staffdna.com or call 469-429-6608

        Hospital Review


          Healthcare Traveler Today is collecting hospital reviews from nurses nationwide to get a better idea of what it's like working in specific facilities. We want to hear from you! Share your experience by completing the form below. All reviews remain anonymous.










          YesNo


          YesNo


          YesNo


          YesNo



          YesNo



          RNNOLPNCNAOther




          By submitting this form you give Healthcare Traveler Today permission to contact you for details regarding your submission. You also give Healthcare Traveler Today permission to share this information on the HCTToday.com site. For questions, email hcttoday@staffdna.com or call 469-429-6608.