Improving posture behind the wheel

When my body starts aching, I do a couple of things, providing that I cannot stop right away to stretch out. I will wait for a straight stretch of road with light, or no traffic, and basically stand up without leaving my seat area. I can still see out the windshield, and can steer, etc. Is it the absolute most safest thing? No, probably not, but it's not reckless or anything. Straightening my legs out helps aid the blood flow back to the butt and back.

I also deep breathe, which seems to relax the tense muscles somewhat.

After time, you'll get used to the long driving times, and hopefully won't be uncomfortable then.

Maybe consider getting a dumb bell and park it next to the seat, when you get your own truck. Using the weight to exerise your body will also help in blood circulation.

EDIT: Just to be clear, when I say stand up, I mean I place my feet on either side of the pedals, on the doghouse and on the door post, then lift my butt off the seat while I straighten my legs. So I'm still over the seat and holding the wheel. I'm not actually getting out of the seat and like, walking over by the stick shift or anything, lol.

 

Sit straight, don't have seat layed back to much, don't hang over the wheel have your arm extended and your back against a straight seat. Your posture might even improve.

 

i am 6 5 also
i keep my seat all the way up and back straight
works for me
seat close to the wheel and as horizontal as wheel will go
everyone needs to find a position that is comfortable for them
when i was driving a KW 660 i couldnt see right out the ewindshield with seat too high
my knees always hurt
in this 700 it is just right

 

Glad someone made a topic about this I'm a recent grad and I'm 6'6. This is something I've always wondered about. Not to change topic but for you to tall guys how is sleeping ?

 

I don't know if it's just me, or others do this, but I recently discovered that one of the reasons I was getting a pain in the neck is because I had the bad habit of leaning forward when I was driving. I know that this is considered bad posture when standing, so I now consciously sit back and keep my head close to the head rest while driving.

My arms used to get tired when I first started driving. I'd drive for 3-4 hours and they'd get a bit tired in my forearms. Now I can drive 7-8 hours straight and my arms don't get tired. You build up stamina just like any other activity. But while you are, you might try raising one arm directly above your head, straight up, like you are reaching for the ceiling. Do this one arm at a time, obviously, while you are driving. And STRETCH it out. You'd be surprised how well this helps.

As for seat cushions, I'm a firm believer. I found one at Wally World for $20 and it really does help, not just my butt, but I don't get any back discomfort any longer. My brother bought me a "Drive" seat, one filled with gel, as a present. It worked really really well for the first week. Then it developed a leak and my butt got all wet. I haven't used it since. But I'm still thinking about writing the company about it to see if they could replace it.

 

I'm betting you have already tried this, but change the seat position once in a while. Raise it, lower it, change the tilt, change the angle of the back rest. Change the lumbar support, if you have that available.

 

You might wanna check out the auto dept at walmart.They have seat cushions.I imagine trk stops do too.But you being new,you're going to hurt for awhile,plan on a good 2 months.It just takes getting use to.

 

While I'm not tall (5' 9"), my legs are short and I have a long torso.

I've found that it is necessary to lower the seat so that my heels are firmly on the ground. I also spend about half the time leaning forward so my back is not against the back rest, with my butt out, so that I'm stretching my lower back. This helps a lot. Changing position frequently helps, just as it does with bicycle racers that use several positions for riding.

 

Not the way to drive.