Trucker's Lifestyle Question 1: Health And Fitness
Topic 29381 | Page 1
As a new driver it will tough doing all this along with learning your job and everything that goes with it. You will be exhausted after only 6 hours some days.
Healthy eating is the biggest thing to a healthy lifestyle out here or at home.
Hey Kal welcome!
I am in my second week of company sponsored training , and my first week OTR with my trainer. I was also in the fitness industry for ten years prior to this.
Just from what I’ve seen over the last five days, I can tell you that hitting the gym 3 times a week as an over the road driver isn’t going to happen. I formerly worked out five days a week, sometimes more, sometimes less, but I was prepared for this. On Monday I got in a free weight workout at the Prime terminal in Springfield, MO, and then I’ve managed to put on my reflector vest and go for runs from truck stop parking lots — only twice. I was going to this morning, but the lot in Maine was iced over and I didn’t want to risk breaking my ankle. Outside of a terminal, I have not seen any fitness facilities at any truck stop we have been to.
I’ve just assumed I’m going to gain a little flab during my 2 - 3 months of training and made peace with it. Once I upgrade and go solo, my plan is to bring my kettlebells on board (one 20kg and one 24kg). They’re lightweight, versatile, can be used for total body every time, and stow away neatly.
I would agree with Packrat: nothing is more important than nutrition for your health OTR. For workouts, your best bet will be calisthenics, kettlebells, and occasional runs. Taking an Uber from the truckstop to anytime fitness 3 times a week just isn’t a reality.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Over The Road:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Company Sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
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.
No
Yes
Yes
Improvise
You'll have places waiting to load/unload - sometimes waiting for hours. You HAVE TO BE OFF DUTY for 10 hours a day - so there's that.
TA & Pilot have been adding gyms in some locations - google is your friend.
But as Pack says - truck driving is exhausting. This isn't a "leisurely cruise" down the beach. The "hyper-awareness" and stress that goes along with the job, can be (is) wearing.
Watching what you stick in your belly is the most important thing you can do - especially since you aren't in a position to burn off extra calories on a predictable basis.
Rick
I agree with Rick an pack when you go solo your gonna have a lot of things goin on with checking mirrors traffic estimating eta worrying about your clock where am I gonna park why are the truck stops full etc etc and your gonna be tired from it and doing push ups in a truck stop parking lot isn’t uhh sanitary lol I had a price of 3/4 inch ply wood cut to put on my bunk so I could do push ups and crunches there and I’ve got kettle bells also try to park all laps when I’m able and I do jumping jacks when fueling I rarely sleep all 10 hrs so I don’t alert up early work out shower hit the road eating right and trying to stay hydrated is a chore out here drink to much water and you’ll be pulling over all the time but you’ll figure out a system good luck
No
Yes
Yes
Improvise
You'll have places waiting to load/unload - sometimes waiting for hours. You HAVE TO BE OFF DUTY for 10 hours a day - so there's that.
TA & Pilot have been adding gyms in some locations - google is your friend.
But as Pack says - truck driving is exhausting. This isn't a "leisurely cruise" down the beach. The "hyper-awareness" and stress that goes along with the job, can be (is) wearing.
Watching what you stick in your belly is the most important thing you can do - especially since you aren't in a position to burn off extra calories on a predictable basis.
Rick
Many of thr truck stop gyms are closed due to covid. However, I know plenty of drivers with folding bikes and weights...even weight benches on the truck.
If you watch Prime's Youtube channel there is a playlist called "Driver Health and Fitness"
We have dieticians and professional fitness instructors as well as nurses to help. The videos have examples of exercises to do in the trucks.
Hi! First poster also, and a Swift driver. IMO you should forget about the gym, as the logistics are too difficult, and just buy some weights or resistance bands. You can also do pushups, dips, and crunches inside the truck. Of course, you will want to explore each new stop, so cardio will come naturally.
But Swift specific, you will have plenty of time to exercise. It's mostly drop and hook , with open windows...meaning pick up and deliver when it's convenient for you. They give you control over your schedule...to an extent...so its gonna be quite easy to find workout time.
Good luck to ya!
Hello and thanks to everyone who takes the time to reply. I am getting into trucking, most likely with Swift, this year. Dedicating all my time to my job and living out of my truck is not a problem for me. There are a few things I want to know about, however, in order to align my expectations with the reality of doing this job. I have many questions, but I'm going to just ask about one topic at a time to keep things simple and understandable.
Being physically healthy is important to me. I've always been into working out at a gym, training at home and running. You'll have to forgive me if my questions seems stupid, but I just don't know, so here it goes.
- Is getting to a gym 3 times a week a realistic expectation?
- Is cutting out 30 - 60 minutes a day to lift weights that I have with me at anywhere my truck may be stopped along with doing calisthenics (body weight exercises) a realistic expectation?
- Is cutting 30 - 60 minutes out of my day to go on a run a realistic expectation? What should I expect? Can I even leave my truck to do something like this?
- Are there things like pullup bars, parallel bars and park workout equipment at places you normally stop?
- How do you stay fit as a an OTR driver?
Thanks
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Drop And Hook:
Drop and hook means the driver will drop one trailer and hook to another one.
In order to speed up the pickup and delivery process a driver may be instructed to drop their empty trailer and hook to one that is already loaded, or drop their loaded trailer and hook to one that is already empty. That way the driver will not have to wait for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded.
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Hello and thanks to everyone who takes the time to reply. I am getting into trucking, most likely with Swift, this year. Dedicating all my time to my job and living out of my truck is not a problem for me. There are a few things I want to know about, however, in order to align my expectations with the reality of doing this job. I have many questions, but I'm going to just ask about one topic at a time to keep things simple and understandable.
Being physically healthy is important to me. I've always been into working out at a gym, training at home and running. You'll have to forgive me if my questions seems stupid, but I just don't know, so here it goes.
- Is getting to a gym 3 times a week a realistic expectation?
- Is cutting out 30 - 60 minutes a day to lift weights that I have with me at anywhere my truck may be stopped along with doing calisthenics (body weight exercises) a realistic expectation?
- Is cutting 30 - 60 minutes out of my day to go on a run a realistic expectation? What should I expect? Can I even leave my truck to do something like this?
- Are there things like pullup bars, parallel bars and park workout equipment at places you normally stop?
- How do you stay fit as a an OTR driver?
Thanks
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.