Exercise for Truck Drivers

Exercise for Truck Drivers: Best Exercises While You’re on the Road

Long haul truck drivers have very important jobs that greatly impact the world’s economy. Because of the nature of the job, a trucker will often work long days, and often sleep at truck stops, or even in their truck, while on the road. In fact, sometimes a professional truck driver can be sedentary almost 23 hours per day. This, along with irregular schedules, limited access to healthy food, little physical activity and stress, can make it difficult to live a healthy lifestyle. It can also put drivers at a higher risk of health issues like heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and obesity. This is why it’s very important for truck drivers to find time to work out and eat well while on the road. Read on for more ideas and information about exercise for truck drivers!

How Do Truck Drivers Stay Fit?

While it might seem difficult given the amount of time truckers spend behind the wheel, it is possible to make a commitment to live a healthy and active lifestyle as a truck driver on the road. You can do this by planning ahead with a healthy snack and meal, and incorporating physical exercise into your daily routine. In order to avoid obesity and other health problems, drivers should aim to get regular exercise—at least 15 minutes every day. There are a number of workouts for truck drivers that can be done easily with little to no equipment. Making healthy choices like this can lead to a long and healthy life.

Stay Healthy on the Haul with these Workout Routines for Truck Drivers

It might seem challenging to find the time and space to complete a short workout routine every day, but it is very important for your health and happiness. There are plenty of workout routines for truck drivers that can be done with or without equipment, including some that can be done inside the truck cab using just your body weight like pushups, planks, sit-ups and tricep dips. Endurance-building exercises such as walking, jogging and running are very beneficial for strengthening the heart and lungs, helping you stay in shape and preventing weight gain. You can also use portable exercise equipment like dumbbells, kettlebells, a jump rope, a resistance band, a yoga mat or even a basketball to exercise when you have time while on the road. Some drivers even bring skateboards on the road to get exercise and explore new areas. Even doing stretches while in the driver’s seat such as shoulder shrugs and hand stretches can help you reduce stress and avoid injury.

Dumbbell Workouts for Truck Drivers

Dumbbells are a great example of portable exercise equipment. They are easy to carry with you, extremely versatile and you can pretty much work every muscle with them. Additionally, they can help improve cardiovascular fitness, increase blood flow circulation, burn calories and build muscle, while increasing endurance. Some great dumbbell exercises that you can do in your cab, or in the parking lot when you’re waiting for a load include dumbbell tricep extensions, bicep curls and dumbbell hammer curls. Dumbbell lunges or squats are a great option to do in parking lots when you are waiting for pick-ups or drop-offs. Dumbbells are a practical and effective way to stay fit on the road, whether you like to work out inside your cab or outside.

Kettlebell Workouts for Truck Drivers

A kettlebell is a great option for portable workout equipment, as it barely takes up any space at all. You can get these in weights from a few pounds up to 50 pounds. This tool is great to use in conjunction with leg exercises, twists or cardio movements. It’s also great for exercises like deadlifts, lunges, tricep extensions, and squats as it works slightly different muscles than regular dumbbells do. You can purchase kettlebells at places like Amazon, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart and keep them in your truck.

ITS Logistics driver Jason Rasner enjoys skateboarding around new places during his breaks and resets.

Endurance Exercises for Truck Drivers

If strength exercises aren’t your thing, aerobic exercise is a great way to stay in shape and gain stamina. Siphiwe Baleka, founder of Fitness Trucking, created a fitness and nutrition program specifically for truck drivers when he was a driver. Since then, he has developed various coaching programs and exercise routines for truck drivers to help them lose weight and reduce the associated costs of obesity. Baleka recommends exercising 15 minutes per day while maintaining 75 to 85 percent max heart rate. You can do this anywhere: in a truck stop parking lot, while you’re waiting to pick up a load, and more. Exercises like running, jumping jacks, jumping rope, pushups, lunges, planks and playing basketball are great for this, or you can even incorporate your dumbbells or kettlebells to really make it a full body workout. Doing a short endurance workout every day is beneficial for your health and your time. Coupling exercise with other habits like healthy eating (check out these ideas for healthy snacks for truck drivers) can help you live a long and healthy life.

Looking for a Truck Driving Job? Check Out Our Current Driver Opportunities

At ITS, we are always looking for qualified CDL A drivers to join our team! Our drivers get competitive benefits, a 401k option with company match, national healthcare coverage, generous home time, paid holidays, paid time off-and most importantly, respect. ITS drivers are more than just a number, they are part of our family.

We currently have terminals in Nevada, Southern California and Arizona, but we hire for lanes across the country. If you’re interested in joining the team, check out our current job openings and apply or contact us at (866) 303-2518 and one of our friendly recruiters will reach out to you within 24 hours.

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