Meet Prime Inc.'s 'Fitness Guru Of The Trucking Industry', Siphiwe Baleka
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Prime Driver Health & Fitness Hits the Road
Follow the Prime Transformation Program on the road with Coach Siphiwe Baleka and Prime Driver Gina McCane.
From nationally-recognized college swimmer to world traveler to rookie truck driver, fitness has always been Siphiwe Baleka's "thing". After retiring from a successful amateur swimming career that led to a state swimming championship, a spot on the Yale swimming team, and being named to the First Team All-Ivy League Swim Team, Baleka eventually found himself signing up for Prime Inc.'s Student Driver program in 2008.
Within 2 months, he found his weight had gone from his usual 140 lbs to 155 lbs, which doesn't really sound like a lot until you math it out and it becomes a 10% gain. Over the next 3 years, and realizing that nobody had come up with a workable fitness and nutrition plan targeted specifically at the estimated 86% of truck drivers who are overweight, Baleka, through trial and error, developed the Fitness Trucking program.
By 2011, Siphiwe had developed a system that brought him into peak physical condition. To test the results, he entered the US Masters Swimming 2011 Spring National Championships and won two events. During the remainder of the year, Siphiwe competed in eight sprint and Olympic distance triathlons, winning two of them. By this time, Siphiwe had become known as “The Fittest Driver in America.”
Implemented at Prime in 2012, Fitness Trucking's 13-Week Basic Program was an instant success.
By the end of the first year, 229 drivers applied for the program, 149 drivers enrolled and 61.7% completed the program. Their average weight loss was 20.3 lbs. in twelve weeks, or 1.6 lbs. per week. Siphiwe’s program was outperforming other programs like FitOrbit and Weight Watchers
How much exercise is enough? Well, if your body can handle, pretty much all you can get. Realizing that most drivers, if they're doing it right, are constantly pressed for time, it really takes a surprisingly small amount of time daily to get the exercise you need. It will really help if you can get put aside any feelings of self-consciousness when it comes to others watching you work out, as you'll see in the video Baleka gets in a pretty good 1-minute workout at the fuel island. Of course any fitness program should be coupled with a reasonable, balanced, diet.
The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:
Aerobic Exercise: At least 150 minutes of moderate activity (about 20 minutes a day), or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity (about 10 minutes a day).
Strength training: Work all major muscle groups twice a week, with enough weight or resistance to tire your muscles after 12-15 repetitions.
Another fun fact:
More From TruckingTruth:
TruckingTruth Wiki: Getting Exercise As A Truck Driver
Truck Driver's Career Guide: Stress, Health, & Exercise
From the Web:
Siphiwe Baleka Official Site
How much should the average adult exercise every day?
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.