Truckers face hours and hours behind the wheel of a very large vehicle. These guys get paid depending on the amount of miles they drive, so naturally they want to accumulate as many miles as possible. This means eating, drinking and sleeping in their truck. While this is not the ideal healthy environment, steps can be taken to decrease the weight gain, muscle loss, and fatigue associated with long cross-country road trips.
EATING HEALTHY
While the majority of food on the go is generally not nutritious, you can still eat healthfully if you try. Think about the food available. Foods high in protein such as beef jerky and nuts are readily available everywhere and are good for you. Also, finding an exit with a WalMart or major grocery store is seldom, but stock up on a few necessities such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole meats and cheeses, multi-grain breads, and even protein shakes and granola. Small coolers are a great investment.
Like most things in life, you have to find what works for you. Also, fast food places like Wendy’s are offering more and more healthy alternatives; with your burger you can opt for a side salad or baked potato instead of French fries. Two salads with grilled chicken and light vinaigrette will be much healthier that that double cheeseburger deluxe with fries. Also, remember that eating frequently in small amounts is better than eating large amounts seldom.
EXERCISE
Rest stops are found on a regular basis throughout the country and should be used to their maximum potential. Usually they are wide open and offer restroom facilities. By taking a 20 minute jog around the rest stop, you can increase your heart rate and metabolism. Also, frequent stretching of your calves, hamstrings, arms and neck are great for blood flow and to relieve road rage. Taking a brisk walk at the start of your day and after you eat is a great habit to get into.
If you feel up to it, take off a spare wheel from under your trailer and do some basic lifting. Put it down on the ground and hop on and off it in a clockwise motion for 3 minutes, then do it counterclockwise for another 3 minutes. Next, lean against your trailer at 45 degrees and do 100 diagonal push-ups. This will work your chest and triceps.
Invest in some stretching bands to tie up in your cab. At the start of your day, warm yourself up with a few sets of tricep push downs, bicep curls and leg extensions. The elastic bands are cheap and can provide some great resistance training necessary to build muscle.
MENTAL STIMULATION
Staring at the concrete can get boring after a while. You can listen to a baseball game, a football game or occupy yourself with an audio book about an interesting subject. There are a wide variety of audio books that help ease the mind and can take you on great mental adventures. Start off with authors such as Jack Canfield and Tony Robbins. They help uplift your spirit and are great confidence builders. Some may even be ambitious enough to learn a new language. There are audio books available that teach you Spanish, French, Italian, etc.
SLEEP
It is very important to get in as close to eight hours of sleep as you can. The body looses functionality if you do not get the proper amount of rest. Cutting down on caffeine, eating healthier and occasional exercise will help you sleep better. Taking melatonin can help as well. Ideally, you will not want to eat directly before bed as this promotes weight gain.
Quite honestly, being a trucker is all what you make of it. A healthy lifestyle can be incorporated into life on the road if you put fourth some effort.
About the author: Terry Harmon is a fitness instructor raised in a family of truck drivers. He worked on specific tips and exercises for other family members in the OTR business and even contributes content for truckertotrucker.com, an industry sales site giving individual buyers and sellers a place to purchase and list their personal trucks and trailers, by area, such as chicago truck sales.
8 Responses to “Fitness Concerns and Tips for OTR Truck Drivers”
Hmm.. come to think of it.. I guess they still have a stressful job too.. I can say that because I get tired in road trips even if I was not the one driving.. It’s really important to keep the body fit.. and no amount of salary can be traded for our health..
This is good advice. I can relate to this because I work on the computer all day, but I’m lucky because I can take a break whenever I want.
One other thing about taking a break to stretch and exercise is that it just feels good, and once you get into the routine of it, you really look forward to it.
Several studies have found that staying immobile for 4 hrs or more is very bad for your health, even if you do get some exercise.
Fitness concerns for OTR truck drivers are really true. Here you give good advice for that people. It is really important to body fit. because I am computer engineer and i am doing job all day I work on computer so there is need of fitness………..
I also work all day at a computer and for four hours straight too. I exercise right after but it’s not too strenuous of an exercise. Truckers really do have it bad though. Not being able to rest properly and not getting so much sleep. Not only that but they get cut off a lot on the road too!
This post is very important and every trucker should be delivered such kind of important content. Truckers have to be sound mentally and physically fit in order to avoid road accidents. Trucks are heavy vehicles which can create havoc on the lives of other people if not driven with great alertness.
These are basic tips for a healthy life often neglected and taken for granted by many. Because of the busy schedule, some won’t eat their breakfast and do not even have time to exercise. I like the simplicity of the post. Thanks for the tips!
Thank you all for your important comments! It kind of gives you a new found respect for all these truck drivers we see on the road every day!
Hi,
I’m ashamed to admit that I have found myself starting to nod off at the wheel. I have found that opening my windows will get me to a stop where I can get out for a rest and drink some coffee. That seems to work for me.
mike