Exercise Opportunities?

Here in Sacramento, there is a relatively new (<5 years since grand opening?) 24 hour fitness that is freeway close, has a large parking lot, and a super Walmart in the same center. I often see trucks parked in the lot in the morning hours and have spoken with a few operators who use this as at least a meal break on their run to hit the gym, shower, then hit Walmart for supplies and extra cash; some companies have terminals within 30 minutes of the location and it makes it easy enough to pick up a load, then drive for the 30-45 minutes before stopping.

 

I was just thinking that this would be a great opportunity for a 24 hour fitness, Crossfit, Crunch Gym, Bally's, etc..... to open smaller than normal clubs (in the case of Crossfit, Boxes) at terminals operated by companies for the use of their drivers. They could be minimally staffed with trainers, maintenance, and housekeeping personnel and used by the companies as a paid employee benefit for health care.

 

The majority of Mega carriers have workout area's already on location that are free for employee's....

Prime has a very nice set up at the Springfield,MO headquarters

Conway truckload has a decent workout area at the Joplin,MO HQ along with smaller workout area's at the other terminal's they have

 

I've driven truck for 3 years and have wrestled with this issue the whole time. There are definitely exercise opportunities, but sometimes it's hard to control other factors (e.g. motivation level, available free time, weather, etc.) that actually determine whether or not I exercise.

For me, the acceptable inconvenience of exercise depends on my motivation level. So if I'm highly motivated (for example, if I'll be attending a friend's wedding in a few weeks, and want to look good) I can push through inconveniences (e.g. it's raining or windy or cold or I'm tired, etc.). But when my motivation wanes then the exercise opportunity has to be almost perfect before I will take it. So I've had to learn how to make exercising as convenient as possible.

I tried carrying dumbbells in the truck, but it was a hassle to lug them in and out (there's not enough room to use them comfortably inside the truck). It sounds like a minor inconvenience, but it was enough to stop me from using them. So I tried to find something better. I started doing lots of bodyweight exercises (pushups, dips, etc.). They work well when I'm highly motivated, but it gets annoying trying to find good places to work out (certain rest areas are good; some of our terminals; but it's hard to find good places, and weather is a factor). I recently found a device that I really like - it's small, portable, and I can get a great upper-body workout from it, even inside the truck. It's called a Power Twister. I'm also looking into (but haven't yet bought) an IsoBow, Portable Isometric Trainer, Steelbow, and even something simple like Pushup Bars. I'm looking for stuff that: (1) is small and portable, (2) will let me work out even inside the truck (to avoid weather), (3) is relatively inexpensive, and (4) I can get a high-intensity workout from (because I don't always have 90 minutes to work out, I need something I can use for 30 minutes and still get benefits).

As for walking or just getting some mild cardio, there are plenty of opportunities, you just have to take them. I love walking, my motivation is never so low that I won't go for a walk. If it's raining or cold/windy and my trailer is empty I'll walk around in there (or in another empty in our yard).

A topic closely related to exercise is healthy eating, which can also be a challenge, but there are plenty of other threads about that already.

 

Yesterday i was stuck at that shipper in bakersfield forever( i made a thread about it) and decided to get some cardio in + grab a bite to eat. So naturally i bust out my longboard and hit the road. They called me when i was at a resturaunt letting me know my paperwork was ready. I was already a good 2 miles away so i burned off those two miles quickly and hurried back because i wanted to leave that neighborhood. So i enter the shipping office with my board in one hand and sweat dripping from head to toe. One of the workers said "did...did you just come back from riding that skateboard?" I told them yes and this girl said "oh my". They were stunned they couldnt believe it. Its as if they have never seen such movement coming from a trucker or something. So they gave me my paperwork and i just said "i dont want to end up like some of these truck drivers.." And walked out. They all laughed.

 

A friend of mine told me she is a member of Planet Fitness and she can find their gyms anywhere she goes. She Google search them at the locations where she is and call to make sure they have parking for a big truck and they do... She said they are open 24 hrs till the weekend and some hrs during the weekend.

 

Let me ask this question: If a national chain club like Bally's, 24 Hour Fitness, Crunch, PlanetFitness, Fitness Anytime, Crossfit, etc., were to enter into an agreement with the company you drive for to allow them to build a club either on or near the company's terminals... AND either make a special membership offer to employees, or the company getting it set up so they pay for you as the employee to use the facilities at the terminals (you would need to pay a reasonable extra to add the ability for you to use all clubs or add family members); WOULD YOU USE IT?

What chain truck stops would you like to see gyms open up at so you can use the facilities while on the road, time allowing? Would you be inclined to use the facilities at the start or end of your day's drive?

 

You don't need a gym to stay in shape. You really don't need any equipment at all. I think the issue with having gyms open up at the truck stop would be cleanliness or the lack thereof.

 

Whenever a club opens up a location, they staff it with trainers, maintenance, and custodial type people to maintain them; so the cleanliness aspect is taken care of. Years ago, Bally's Total Fitness had an issue with cleanliness standards, or lack thereof; companywide. I dropped my membership at about the time that news of this came out, but it is not why I dropped it. I dropped it because they violated federal law when they started collection procedures on military members who were transferred, deployed, or otherwise moved more than 50 miles away from the nearest facility.