As a truck driver, you need to take certain steps to maintain your physical health and ensure your muscles don't atrophy due to long hours behind the wheel.
While you might not always have time to hit the gym, nor have a gym membership for the club closest to you, you can perform several on-the-go exercises with minimum equipment.
Why Do Truck Drivers Need To Exercise?
Truck drivers need to exercise because it’s an integral part of overall health. It’s a good idea to exercise around 30 minutes per day if you want to avoid gaining weight and feel good every day.
Regular exercise is even more important for truckers because they spend many hours behind the wheels of their vehicles. Sitting down for too long is never good for your body. It can lead to poor cardiovascular health, blood clotting, and even ulcers.
By exercising regularly, you'll see better overall health results in the long term, plus minimize the likelihood that you experience any major health problems as you get older. On top of that, exercising each day can do wonders for your mental health.
It's easy to feel cooped up as a carrier, especially in winter or if you drive at night. Exercising daily may make you feel emotionally better and happier with your job.
What Are the Best Exercises for Truck Drivers?
There are lots of excellent exercises for truck drivers that they can perform on the go or even just by hopping outside their truck cabins for a few minutes.
Let’s break down three types of exercises truck drivers can do daily.
Dumbbell Exercises
First up are dumbbell exercises. Dumbbell exercises benefit truck drivers because they don’t require equipment that takes up a lot of storage space. A basic set of dumbbells, even heavy ones, can sit in your cabin or near where you sleep.
Also note that your dumbbells don’t have to be particularly large or heavy, assuming you don’t want to build muscle but maintain your muscle mass and overall health. Try to purchase a set of dumbbells ranging in weight from 20 pounds to 60 pounds (or more, depending on your preferences).
Some good dumbbell exercises include:
- Arm curls for building up bicep strength and stretching out your arms
- Squats, in which you hold one dumbbell near your core and squat down for five to 10 reps or repetitions. Squats are good for building leg strength and working out tension in your leg muscles
- Russian twists, where you sit on the ground while keeping your legs elevated and your back bent. Move a dumbbell from side to side to work your abs.
Note that kettlebell exercises can also work when at a truck stop or taking a break from your truck driving duties. A good truck driver workout lets you reach a healthy lifestyle, not one that requires the most expensive or heaviest exercise equipment.
Resistance Exercises
Resistance exercises are also excellent choices. They utilize resistance bands or your own body weight, which are good alternatives to dumbbells and other weights since they are very easy to store yet still allow you to maximize your muscle growth and exercise strenuousness.
Some of the best resistance exercises to try include:
- Bicep curls, but with a resistance band instead of dumbbells
- Triceps overhead reps with a resistance band, which are ideal for stretching and strengthening your muscles
- Push-ups
- Tricep dips, where you dip your body down while using your triceps as leverage
- Sit-ups or crunches
- Trunk side bends, where you lean your trunk from side to side while reaching your fingertips toward your calf muscles
With a resistance band, you can also get a little extra cardio exercise by performing jumping jacks. Do 50 to 100 reps or jumping jacks to get your heart rate up and burn a bit of excess energy.
Stretching Exercises
Last of our stretching exercises, which don’t require any tools: just the space outside your truck. These stretching exercises will be great for improving the health of your lower back, unclenching your leg muscles, and helping you stay flexible and limber even after many hours behind the wheel.
Try these stretching exercises:
- Lunges, where you lunge forward while bending your knees to stretch your leg muscles and glute
- Neck stretches, where you put one hand on one side of your neck and stretch the other out around 90° while leaning your head to the opposite side
- Front bends, where you put your hands on your hips and behind your back, then lean forward and hold the position for five to 10 seconds. This can help your lower back if it feels tight or fatigued
What Are Other Ways Truck Drivers Can Stay Healthy?
Aside from trying the exercises described above, truck drivers can stay healthy by practicing other good lifestyle habits while driving through their freight lanes.
For starters, make sure that you eat healthy food whenever possible. Stay away from eating fast food more than once or twice per week. Instead, pack or make your own food (if possible) or pick healthy foods from rest stops, such as salads, yogurt, and more.
You are what you eat, so make sure you eat good things to feel better and have the energy to complete the above exercises. Healthy snacks can reduce blood pressure, lead to weight loss, and even help build muscle in the upper and lower body.
In addition, you'll be better off if you try to drive in the daylight. This isn't always possible depending on your schedule, but avoiding nighttime driving will help your circadian rhythm stay consistent, allowing you to get more consistent, higher-quality sleep.
Speaking of sleep, don't forget to get a solid eight hours every night. Driving can be physically tough, even if it doesn't require a lot of motion. On top of that, you are legally required to get enough sleep to drive safely, so don’t skip this wellness tip.
The Bottom Line
All in all, you can do plenty of exercises as a truck driver to maintain your physical wellness. Staying healthy is key to enjoying your work and life — do some of these exercises every day to stave off the unhealthiness of sitting in a truck for long hours!
At RPM, we’re committed to helping carriers like you maximize their careers. Contact us today to learn more.
Sources:
How much physical activity do adults need? | CDC.gov
What is resistance training? | Trek Education
Summary of Hours of Service Regulations | FMCSA
