Exercising is an important habit to maintain. That’s probably why it’s so hard to keep consistent. Only about 24% of adults meet the federal exercise guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities each week. That’s less than a quarter of American adults getting the minimum amount of weekly exercise deemed to stay fit and healthy. For truckers, though, it’s much harder to maintain proper health. A national survey shows that 69% of long-haul truckers are obese.
However, it makes sense when you’re stuck inside a truck for 11 hours and aren’t able to move around when driving. You can’t exactly stop in the middle of the road to do some jumping jacks or squats. But that doesn’t mean that there is no time to exercise. Truckers do have between 2 to 5 hours available between work and sleep, and all a person needs is 30 minutes a day to exercise. It doesn’t need to be intense or exasperating, just enough to get your heart going, where you can talk a little while you work out.
The hardest step is always starting and sticking to something, but all you need to do is find something you can stick to and keep as a habit. Not something you just try for a day or two, I mean something that becomes a part of your life. Just as ingrained as brushing your teeth or getting dressed. You can read how to build on healthy habits here. The exercises provided don’t require any special equipment. All you need is yourself, knowledge, and the commitment to stick to it!
Walking and Running
A great exercise to start is walking! It literally needs no instruction on how to do it. Just walk in a wide or long area, and you’re set! But we aren’t talking about doing a slow meander. When starting, we want to walk at a quick pace that gets our heart pumping. Not so fast that you can’t talk, just brisk enough that it gets you slightly out of breath. You should be able to talk, but singing or shouting should be more difficult. Some phones can even measure your heart rate to check whether you’re exercising at an appropriate intensity.
You don’t really need anything beyond closed-toed sneakers, a small towel, water, and comfy clothes, but some extras can enhance your workout. First is a watch that can track your exercise and how your body is responding. There are all sorts of watches on the market that can track how you exercise, as well as other things like sleep and steps. Just make sure that you research what you want to get, as watches come with a wide variety of features, and some require subscriptions while others don’t.
Good shoes are another solid purchase for walking or running. There are all kinds of shoes designed for different reasons, whether it’s a more casual design for everyday use, something made for a sport like soccer or football, or running shoes that are designed for the wear and tear. Really, as long as it’s a closed-toed sneaker, that’s enough, but to enhance the experience, running shoes can make it more comfortable and better fit your body. Just make sure to research what you want and try on a few pairs in-store before you commit to a shoe.
Getting Into Calisthenics
Aerobic exercises like walking and running are essential, and you should do them for at least 150 minutes a week. With that, you can break it down into five 30-minute sessions each week. However, muscle-strengthening exercises should also be done at least twice a week. It’s important to do them so that your muscles stay fit and well cared for. There are all kinds of activities people come up with to strengthen their muscles, like lifting weights or using giant machines. The CDC even breaks down what counts as physical activity for different age groups so that people know what is appropriate for their age group.
However, you don’t necessarily need any extras, as calisthenics can be enough to do the job! Calisthenics are a form of exercise that uses your body to burn calories, create resistance, and work out your muscles, so little to no equipment is required. Things like pushups, lunges, squats, and planks are types of exercises that fall into calisthenics. These exercises only require comfy clothes and closed-toe shoes, a small towel, water, a wide enough space, and instructions on how to perform them properly.
There are plenty of calisthenic exercises available online. However, you want to ensure that whatever you start out with is not too intense and does not hurt your body. As mentioned, you don’t need additional equipment; however, some accessories can be very helpful. One great option is resistance bands, which are strong and flexible and come in varying resistance levels. They are super lightweight, easy to store and carry, and are often quite affordable.
Another valuable accessory is a pull-up bar. Exercises like push-ups and elbow lifts can help work out the chest and upper back, but a pull-up bar allows you to push your exercises further by doing dead lifts and pull-ups. Just make sure that whatever you look at fits appropriately in your cab and doesn’t damage the interior. Using strong and unmovable padding can help prevent damage.
Finding Balance in Yoga
Aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercises are recommended to maintain fitness. However, one variable that you don’t want to forget is balance. This is especially true as we get older, when we are more vulnerable to falls and injuries. By maintaining balance, we ensure better mobility and longer independence in our day-to-day lives.
Lots of activities can help maintain balance, but a great practice is doing yoga! Yoga utilizes deliberate, static poses that you hold to challenge your body. It not only helps improve and maintain balance but also strengthens your muscles and improves flexibility! There are many different levels of difficulty with yoga, just like any other exercise, so it’s crucial to find the correct poses to start out with so that you don’t overexert yourself.
Having comfy attire, a small towel, water, proper instructions, and a wide open space is enough to start out, but some accessories can be helpful. One is a roll-up exercise mat, which you can use to make your exercises more comfortable. They are great for making any area more comfortable to exercise in, so that your arms and legs don’t get achy or harmed by foreign objects like gravel. Also, having disinfecting wipes or spray to clean your mat or any other equipment helps a lot, so that it doesn’t get too grimy.
But whether it’s walking, calisthenics, yoga, or some other activity that gets you moving, remember that if you’re just starting, don’t push yourself too far. It’s important to challenge our bodies a little to improve our abilities, but it’s smart to go slow and steady. Build up strength and stamina over time. That way, we can prevent injuries and burnout as much as possible. Because at the end of the day, what matters is building a happy, healthy life, one step, lunge, or warrior pose at a time.
