Exercising and tv as a Trucker

I doubt you'll have time for jogging and 2 hrs of TV each day unless you don't sleep much. Pick your priorities. Some days I only have time for the must-dos, like eating and showering. Jogging is important to me, so sometimes I will even set the alarm an hour earlier than I need to so I have time to pound some pavement. As for where I jog, out the truckstop and down the street. I try to find a back road with less traffic where possible, but I've gone jogging down the shoulder of big US highways when there was nothing else around. Some drivers just do laps around the parking lot. If that works for you, go for it. What it comes down to, if you really want to go jogging, you will find a way.

 

Most truckstops have showers. Your driving schedule will be somewhat determined by the customer, but usually you get some choice. Any TV in the truck will be your own, so if you want a one with a recorder, get one.

 

If you are in an area with decent reception, you might be able to watch the games. Otherwise, you can purchase and subscribe to that rediculously expensive satellite system for RV's and trucks. You are allowed to drive 11 hours out of a 14 hour work day. You can't just decide what time of day you drive, you have to plan because most loads have appointment times, so you have to adjust your schedule to get that freight there at the appointment time.

Definitely bring your dumbells (once you are solo) and any other small personal exercise equipment you can fit comfortably in the truck. Definitely jog. As soon as the truck goes in the shop, take off down the road for some exercise. MAKE time to get exercise, even if it means running around the truck stop (the diesel exhaust will get to you though).

Clubbing? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! No, you won't have much time to go clubbing unless you are in an area close enough to grab a cab to a club, and even then, if you go clubbing during your 10 hour break, let us all know where you are so we can make sure we aren't driving anywhere near you the next day.



You can find some truck stops that are near little bars and such, or a restaurant that serves, but I wouldn't make a habit of that and you must remember that alcohol and driving an 80,000lb vehicle do NOT mix (sort of like being a drunk commercial pilot, for example). Most folks leave the alchohol alone until they get some time off at home. You might want to do the same. My personal rule has always been 24 hours after the last drink before I turn that key and release the brakes.

 

The internet is a wonderful thing. You can find ways to get your games if you do a little research. Also many laptops now have HDMI out so you could plug it right into a tv if you want a larger screen. I wouldn't expect to be able to just pull over and watch your games and the idea of getting a tv signal going down the road without special equipment isn't likely. Learn bittorrent and you'll be set on the games, may have to wait a few hours maybe even a day to be able to download it another option is slingbox lets you pvr it at home and grab it over the net.

 

I disagree with the above in bold, but to each his own. The exercise is definitely important, and there is no excuse for anyone, including truck drivers, to not get enough of it.

Ask yourself this..... what are you going to tape the games from? If you are going to be recording from regular broadcast tv, you are pretty much only going to be able to do that if you are sitting still........ in which case you could just watch it live.

If you are running from say, Atlanta to Dallas, and you are trying to tape a game along the way, it's not happening. Once you get out of the Atlanta metro area, the digital signal is no more.

BTW, do you think you are going to be taping from ESPN? Cause like I said before, if you don't have that expensive RV satellite system on the truck (good luck getting a company to let you install it on the roof), you will not be picking up ESPN over the airwaves. Maybe subscribe to SiriusXM to be able to listen to the games as you are driving down the road or relaxing at a shipper/receiver/truckstop.

If TV is that important to you, you may want to get a job at home and sleep in your own bed in a house/apt with a DVR that is close to the clubs and bars. You are going to be horribly disappointed in a truck.

 

You can subscribe to get the game from MLB.com...I believe you can view it live or anytime, not sure but check it out. I will be doing it for my Yankee games.