Weightlifting while on the road?

I’ve done it before. My first year out on the road. I carried a folding bench and a set of dumbbells went up to about 100 pounds each. And some other odds and ends. Even had a pulley set up that I could hook up to The side of the trailer. I did cardio one day and weights the opposite day. Kept my diet extremely strict. Admittedly, didn’t quite get into shape that I could if I was going to the gym every day but pretty darn close. Now I don’t do much other than just walking a couple of times a week. reefer work and all the crazy hours I just don’t get proper sleep. But it can be done. There is a will. There is a way. It was much easier to work out consistently when I was doing dry van. Most of my loads were drop and hook and wide-open delivery times. So I was getting consistent sleep.

 

@High Stepper I’m sure you have some ideas?

 

I’ll add to this thread because this is something that was important to me when I first got into trucking. So I can save y’all some time.
1. if you want to stay in shape on the road, you gotta start with your diet. Even if you work in an office at a desk, you’re still gonna burn about 1500 cal more per day than you would as a truck driver. Because you’re going to get up and walk around and just move. You don’t do that in a truck. so it’s extra important if you want to stay lean, you really gotta watch your diet.
2. Don’t try to join some gym like 24 hour fitness or planet fitness thinking because they have locations nationwide You will use them. If you have a dedicated route that you run, perhaps. Because you can map out your stops and plan accordingly. But if you drive OTR all over the place? Forget about it it ain’t happening. You’ll use it maybe twice a year.

3. Bring what you can on the truck. Stuff that folds down. You can do most every body part with a folding bench and a set of adjustable dumbbells. It doesn’t take up much room. Do extra cardio, lots of walking.
4. Invest in a power cage and weight set a power cage that has a pulley system built into it and keep this at your home. The minute you pull in for home time, over the next three days get your weight training in. Get those muscle groups that you couldn’t get out on the road because all you had was dumbbells.

5. Don’t care what other drivers think when they see you out beside your truck working out. Some of them might poke fun that you or whatever but it’s all good. At the end of the day they’re probably thinking they should be doing the same thing. That’s the honest truth. I’ve given lots of advice to drivers that walked up to me and started chatting while I was working out. Most just don’t think it can be done on the road. Once you drag your stuff out and start working out a few times beside your truck, you forget about what others might think. Just do your thing and don’t worry about it.

99% of truck drivers are constantly dehydrated. We don’t drink enough fluid because we don’t want to stop to pee. Learn how to pee while you’re driving. This way you can consume adequate fluid intake and stay hydrated. This will prevent injuries, help lower your blood pressure and everything else.

you can stay fit living out on the road. It’s just twice as hard. You got to really want it or it won’t happen. The first year I was out when I stayed in really good shape, I would drag my bench out and my dumbbells when it was -5° out. All bundled up and yes I did a work out. I would go for long walks, and hikes and subzero temperatures. I just don’t have that kind of dedication anymore but I would like to find it again.

 

Excellent post. The most important thing to remember is that you cannot outtrain a bad diet. Then any sort of activity outside the truck helps. Heavier, unfit drivers, should not be discouraged and intimidated by whatever someone else might think, they should start moving around more, set goals, like those smartphone steps or minutes of activity. Start slow, 3000-4000 steps a day, build up on that. When you see your daily goals reached, you will feel rewarded and even more motivated, your comfort food cravings should decrease too. All it takes to start is to do steps while waiting at the dock.

 

I tried dumbbells in my bunk when there was downtime. However, these isn't much downtime and as a O/o you have to generate money when you can. On a 4 day trip, i train at the gym 3 days in a row. Or 2 day workout on a 5 day trip. 90% better results when training at a proper fitness gym with universal equipment and free weights.