Work it Out: Best Exercises for Truck Drivers

A career behind the wheel doesn't mean an unhealthy lifestyle. Learn more abut staying healthy and fit as a trucker.

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ABCO Transportation
August 31, 2021
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You have to be in great shape to pass a DOT physical, but driving is a sedentary job. It would help if you got exercise when you can. It’s hard to stay fit and healthy on the road. The best exercises for truck drivers can offer a solution.

The best exercises for truck drivers include both cardio and strength training exercises like walking, jogging, and yoga to keep good health and help reduce stress.  Truckers may work for longer hours, sleep in the truck shops, and sometimes in their trucks while on the road. Moreover, a truck driver may be sedentary for up to 23 hours each day. 

This, coupled with irregular schedules, limited food access, and less exercise, can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. Let’s drive home some of the details about how truckers can stay healthy on the road. We’ll cover some tips for good health, as well as the best exercises for truckers. We’ve even found some apps you can use to help you stay fit as a fiddle as you conquer the open road.

How Do Truckers Stay Healthy?

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Like anyone else, truckers stay healthy with diet and exercise. It may seem almost impossible for truckers to exercise with the time they spend behind their wheels. With a CDC study suggesting 69% of truckers are obese, here are some choices for healthier living.

Eating Healthy

It can be challenging to eat healthy while on the road. With less access to a full kitchen and fresh groceries, preparing a healthy diet can be tricky. It is tempting to stop at the truck stop or diner due to the ease and convenience. Yet, these meals may be high in fat and calories. 

You can pre-plan and make smart decisions while on the road by creating your trucker recipe. This can include healthy snacks and meals like oat, low-fat yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, and cereal bars. You can also prepare your BBQ chicken, beef stew, and grilled chicken.

Another good thing to know: ABCO trucks are equipped with refrigerators, which makes story health food easy. 

Regular Exercise

Regular exercises are essential for every trucker. The best exercises for truck drivers provide a daily physical activity that you in the best physical shape while managing the side effects of a sedentary lifestyle for extended periods. Although this may apply to every driver, truckers need to pay particular attention to this. 

The job title may require you to sleep in your truck while on the road to fulfill job tasks. Trucking can easily cause drivers to take to an unhealthy lifestyle with junky bites and large caffeine consumption. Engaging in regular physical activity helps you stay happy and healthy during your long journeys. Therefore, you can leverage the best exercises for truck drives for the best results. 

Regular exercise comes with so many benefits. Getting your heart rate up and help you lose weight, build muscles, and even avoid concerns like heart disease over the long haul. As little as 15 minutes a day of regular exercise can be a step toward staying in shape. 

Stress-Reducing Activities

While driving is genuinely stressful, several activities can help truck drivers release stress. There is an additional complexity layer puzzling for many drivers. It can be a nightmare considering the need of road users, extreme temperatures, and road rules to obey. 

For the best stress management, you should eat healthy meals, move your body and spend some quality time with your family and friends when possible. It can be lonely to spend all day on the road. Interacting and assisting others throughout the day will give you the clear mind you need on the road.

Looking for more info about stress-reducing activities? We’ve put together a list of ways to manage truck driver stress on the road to help you stay cool, calm, and collected.

Get Regular Sleep

Sleep deprivation and fatigue are significant safety concerns. It would be best if you had sufficient sleep to maintain alertness on the job—early morning and late-night pose the most vulnerabilities for truck driving. 

At the same time, sleep deprivation may affect your mood, motor skills, and ability to focus. Irregular sleep for an extended period leads to diabetes, heart-related disease, hypertension, mood disorders, and weight gain. Therefore, you may consume less caffeine, move more and use the right mattress to enjoy your sleep.

Sleeping well on the road is essential to staying healthy AND staying safe. Sleep apnea is a serious problem for truck drivers. See if your snore means more and check out our post about sleep apnea and truckers.

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What Are Some of the Best Exercises for Truck Drivers?

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While finding the time and space for a short workout may seem challenging, it is vital for your health and happiness. There are several workout routines truckers can perform even without exercise equipment. The best exercise should help strengthen your heart and lungs, keep the best shape and avoid weight gain. That said, here are some of the best exercises for truck drivers. 

Circuit Training

An effective workout route that blends cardio and strength training can leave you looking forward to your following routine. As unbelievable as this may be, that's the good thing about circuit training. With circuit training, you will hit your several muscle groups through many exercises. 

There are several benefits for circuit training, including killing boredom, burning calories, and enhancing muscle gain. However, don't make it too easy and keep the exercise simple. Before beginning, decide what you want and design your circuit training to help you achieve it, as it is excellent and constructive with endless design.

Looking for a place to work up a circuit training sweat? Many truck stops have gyms just for driver exercise. 

Walking or Jogging

Walking, jogging, and running are excellent physical activities to include in your exercise routine. Fortunately, running shoes don't cost so much. You have to time yourself and go for a few laps in a good area without traffic. Running is an excellent trucker activity to condition your body. 

While it is impossible to leave your gear on for a run or jog, nothing should stop you from a few exercises and stretches. Some physical activities may include lunges, triceps, dips, planks, squats. Keep it simple and add some variation to it.

Consider doing a few laps around the perimeter at your next truck stop or rest stop visit. This can break the monotony of sitting for long periods of time and makes for one f the easiest truck driver workouts.

Yoga

Truck driving can take a toll on your body. Statistics show that 12% of truck drivers fall asleep when driving, causing 87% of road accidents. What’s worse, truck drivers face health and mental problems.

 But have you considered yoga? Not so many have considered the significant benefit yoga can offer the transport industry and beyond. While truck driving can be tiring, you can afford 3-5 minutes to focus on relieving your pain and aches linked with driving and sitting. Yoga is for everyone looking to improve flexibility, strengthen their muscles with just bodyweight, aid in spine realigning, and improve blood pressure. 

Are There Apps to Help Truckers Stay Fit?

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Truckers spend so much time on the road and have less time to manage several other things simultaneously. More so, truckers are always on the lookout for the best routes to reach their destination, get food and fuel while on the road. Fortunately, there are helpful apps for truck drivers.

Rolling Strong

Rolling Strong is a personalized app that helps truck drivers reach their goals by offering the tools and support truckers require to stay on track. The app is helpful to get you healthy, maintain fitness and stay connected on the road. 

Rolling Strong helps truckers achieve their goals such as improved health, staying motivated, connecting with other drivers and RS coaches. Moreover, it offers a one-on-one mentoring program with expert coaches. Finding a good, healthy meal can be a challenge for most drivers. However, rolling strong helps guide road users, particularly truckers, to nearby restaurants while offering the most nutritious meals.

Healthy Out

Healthy Out is your go-to app if you are looking for a quick way to find and order a healthy meal across the country. It is normal to want to break the routine of packing your lunch or eating in your truck. 

Fortunately, Healthy Out helps you find your dishes using nutritional tags such as paleo and healthy heart. You have to enter your zip code and choose whether you'll sit in or carry it out, together with some combination of a few requirements. Restaurants nearby will show your specific nutritional requirement during your search.

Sleep Cycle

While some people can feel refreshed after just a few hours of sleep, it is common to see others still dragging after 8 hours of sleep. As a result, it can be tricky to determine how much sleep you need to restore and energize your body. 

That is where the Sleep Cycle comes in. Sleep Cycle is a smart alarm clock and tracker app designed to analyze your sleep pattern and wake you in your best state to improve your sleep and overall health. A US study has proposed that around 70% of Americans feel their cognitive function is affected by sleep deprivation, making it imperative to prioritize your resting period.

Get Healthy on the Road with ABCO Transportation

Proper road rage management, keeping your cool, and playing it safe are the essentials drivers, and truckers need today. While road rage is absolute, there are two sides to it. You may set off another trucker or suffer from road rage when driving. 

However, it is vital to know how to handle your road rage and keep your cool behind the wheel. Although life on the road has many benefits, some flipsides pose significant health concerns for truckers. The best exercises for truck drivers are one way to avoid ongoing health concerns and stay fit and happy.

ABCO Transportation has driver health and wellness as a top priority, with statistics suggesting that most truckers are nowhere close to being in a good health state. Fortunately, ABCO transportation has the tools and resources to inspire and encourage you to stay in the best of shape. Truck drivers require reliable health tips and resources, which can be challenging to find. 

Yet if you are a truck driver, it is essential to find ways to care for yourself properly. Your health isn't only good for you but other road users. With particular respect for driver health and wellbeing, ABCO offers an excellent platform for everything that matters in your driving life – better treatment, pay, and care. 

What are you waiting for? Fill out our truck driver jobs application and get rolling with ABCO.

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