Fitness & Nutrition for Truckers

I find that walking is a great way to stay fit. I second about not drinking sodas alot as I used to eat alot of junk and am now diabetic but I hope to get off my medication soon as I am getting in better shape and eating healthier.

There are excercise equipment you can bring with you that I have seen that use resistance straps instead of weights but I don't know where to get them. Good old fashion situps in the bunk and push ups require no equipment at all.

If you can cook in your truck and have a way to store fresh produce, that is the best way to go.

 

Ditto on meistreguy post..

I or I should say the wife cooks all my meals and puts them in the freezer plus cuts up veggies to snack on. No soda or sweets and moderate excessive when you can. You should be able to maintain your current condition assuming your in a shape other than round. Just starting out it will be hard to find the time or the place to work on healthy living but it can be done. Good luck.

 

Get a TA location guide as some have a fitness room . I am a bit of a fatty so I am trying to get more walking in and trying to eat healthier foods. I find the biggest hurdle to overcome is to get motivated at the end of a shift to exercise. I can get the healthy eating ok as I have a cooler and stop at grocery stores but I find it hard to motivate myself to exercise . I was thinking of maybe starting a thread in the driver health section were drivers trying to stay fit could post there pedometer results for each day. If we did something like that it would be a fun way to motivate each other. I have an app on my IPhone that works as a pedometer I am going to start that today so if anyone's interested check it out over in the driver health section.

 

I had a heart attack back n April,what I have learned like everyone said on this thread is to get motivated and do it..I would recommend getting a kettlebell and YouTube it.its great way to stay fit while enhancing muscles and cardio..if u can get out of truck every 4hrs and take a 10min wlk..when u stop for your 10hr break than use kettlebell for 15mins...health is wealth

 

Situps, Pushups (you can do inclined off your bunk if your arms are in rough shape or you weigh a metric ton like some of us...) leg lifts, torso twists, walking the exterior of a truck stop, yoga, isometric exercises, jogging if you can move that fast without diving for the nearest burger...

There are so many ways to exercise without a lick of equipment it's not even funny. I think most drivers have to buy equipment to work out because then they say "Hey, I spent good money on these, I have to use them!" and so the excuse list vanishes.

One of the biggest suggestions I can make is - exercise about two hours before bed, eat a good healthy light meal (protein packed is best after a workout) and grab your shower to let your muscles relax in the heat. By the time you get back to the truck, the worst mattress will feel like a fluffy cloud and the next thing you will hear is the sound of your alarm clock telling you that you've just had an awesome night's sleep.

Your mileage may vary. See dealer for details.

 

Wallyworld...any grocery store really...sometimes a quick peek in Google maps (nearby search groceries) can find you a lot.

Yoga and meditation work well for driving to help with focus and balance. Take five minutes to do one pose when you have time - it can make a big difference.

 

Great thread guys. I do pretty well with eating healthy if I could get rid off my sweet tooth I would do even better. One thing nobody has mentioned so far is stretching. There are lots of stretches out there to help with tight muscles. We do sit a lot and most of us have not the best posture or sit correctly. I try to do a serious of stretches I was shown by an athletic trainer to help my lower back. Most lower back pain is related to tight muscles and there is nothing wrong with peoples backs. I try to do them during the day or right befor I go to bed. It really helps and i have a lot less back issues. Also watch your posture. I have a tendency to slouch and I just have to remind myself to sit properly after awhile. I will follow you guys and see what else I can learn and pick up.

 

Stretching is really great but I'm going to take a wild stab that you haven't really tried yoga. It's primarily stretching various parts of the body through different positions. There's one pose that will work over your entire back - it's intense...and it's one of the easier postions to learn.

Now, I don't recommend advanced yoga (Because some of those moves frankly scare me - I might want to have kids one day, ya know?), but the beginner stuff (or there's even a video/book that's yoga for fat people) is really good and makes a world of difference. However, if you don't know yoga or it's just not your thing, good old fashioned stretching exercises can make a world of difference. Heck, if you're looking for a way to start losing weight with activity but you're too heavy for 99% of the stuff out there, just doing a deep 20 minute stretching session is a great way to begin getting the circulation back as well as muscle flexibility and strength.

As someone who's been obese and is coming back down in weight, I can tell you it's never too late to start - unless you're already dead. Improve your eating habits, exercise and get your rest. Those three things alone can change your whole life. And if you don't know how to improve your eating habits, here's a tip - Focus on high protein, moderate carbs and moderate fat. The main things to avoid are simply the "S's" - Sugar, Salt and Starch.

Sugar and Salt create a downward spiral of eating frenzy. Your body will always want the opposite. Have a lot of sugar and you're going to want a lot of salt - and vice versa. So tone down both and the cravings will go away. I suggest monitoring what you eat/drink for a few weeks.

After that time period, look at how many sodas you have a day, how many bags of chips/pretzels/other salty treats. Drop that number by 25%. If you have 4 sodas a day, only have 3 from now on. Same with salt items. Next month, re-evaluate and cut the amount by another chunk. Get it down to the point where one soda lasts you the whole day because you only have sips of it as you go. By that point, you can toss the soda and focus on the number one replacement - water.

Salt is a little trickier because everyone loves snacks and those usually only come in two varieties - salty and sweet (I wonder why the industry would do that...huh.) but if you go for lower salt items (it's not hard, look at the sodium content for the whole bag - don't go with "oh, this one says X per serving and this one is Y per serving" because you KNOW you're going to munch down the whole bag so be prepared for the sodium shock) your body will crave less salt and less sugar at the same time.

Starch is pretty simple - it'll turn to sugar and get stored as fat. It's just like sugar in this regard, it's bad for you and it'll get you craving salt. (Ever wonder why potato chips are so darned addictive?)

Keep drinking your water instead of soda and you'll probably start losing weight just from the water retention leaving your system.

Speaking of which, some people ask "how much is 'enough' water?" and here's a simple answer. Now I'm not trying to be crude, but if your pee comes out any darker than the lightest pastel yellow, you haven't had ENOUGH yet. The darker your urine, the more your kidneys are working overtime to process impurities without enough of what they need to do their job - water. Light colored urine = happy kidneys and that will make for a healthier you.

Good grief, look at me ramble on. Well, if anyone has any other advice they want, just ask, I'm sure I'll start rambling on in no time!

Until then, keep it between the lines.