48Packard's Crete thread....

Lordy...I just did it back in February, and already I can't remember! I'll try to lay it out....maybe someone else can fill in the enormous holes I'm going to leave!

I know they have you lift a crate with several weights onto shelves, one at about waist height and the other around shoulder height. They also have you walk across the room with a crate with said weights held waist-high. Schneider had us do something similar, but the weights vary from place to place.

Keep in mind that a lot of it is more technique and especially breath control. I'm hardly an athletic stud, and as long as I could remember to breath in a controlled manner, I was OK. Before I took the Schneider test, I actually practiced in my basement. I had a milk crate with books in it, making sure it was heavy enough to match and exceed anything Schneider would as me to do. I'd walk back and forth across the basement, focusing not on how many steps or "trips" I made, but specifically on my breathing.

I'm nearly 52 years old, 5'6" and every bit of 260 pounds when I did the physical for Crete. I think I've lost 10 pounds and 47 IQ points since then.

 

No one has contacted me about the "Critical Event" yesterday. So, I ain'a-gonna worry about it. I had one bobtailing in a light rain when I was with Schneider, and inside of 5 mins, there was a note on the QC to call my Driver manager. I did, told her where I was and that I was bobtailing, and her reply was "Oh...bobtailing. Well, be careful.". End of lecture.

I'm going to submit about 2700 this week. I've got another 800 I could submit right now from the load I delivered this afternoon, but I've got a "B" service due next week, and we all know how long those CAN take. So, I'm going to hold it until after the pay period cutoff at midnight tonight. I'm on a 540- miler right now that picks up in VA tomorrow at 1400 (yuck...), and goes to Murfreesboro, TN. I'll run that straight through, then be ready to go again late Sunday morning with about 1340 miles to start the week with. But I'm using the hours, and runnin' the miles now, so I'm where I was hoping to be all along.

And remember about the weight-lifting issue....a lot of it is technique, not mere physical strength.

 

Just recalled and found an excellent post about the physical (pre-work screen) at Crete. Hope this helps.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr.../158350-pre-work-screen-physical-fitness.html


Many, many thanks to 1only for this posting, though the original post is from 2011. It should still be valid and give a prospective hire a clear idea of what to expect.

 

OK...October 15th. Midway through the month, and I've got 6300 paid miles turned in. My month will end on the 26th (I'll be back on the 30th but may not submit anything until after November starts), but I'm still in great shape to hit 10k miles for the first time here. I'm on my second 34 in two weeks right now, spending it at Wilmer getting a PM "B" in the morning.