HOME
Quote of the Day
“For myself, I am an optimist. … It does not seem to be much use being anything else!”
-- Sir Winston Churchill
|
|
Drivers Sound Off
Driving over-the road and staying healthy and fit are not always compatible. The nature of the job (sitting behind the wheel of a big rig for hours at a time, living on the road, eating fast food, etc.) makes it difficult for even the most dedicated of individuals to stay in shape. With that in mind, Driver HEALTH magazine recently asked a handful of truckers the following question:
How do you stay healthy on the road?
Here are some of the replies:
 |
Tom McCullough, 59, Shepherdsville, KY
Professional driving experience: 30 years
“At our company and in the division I’m in, we fingerprint our own freight. When you load 1,400 cases a night, that’s all the exercise you’re going to need. That’s about 40,000 pounds. I’m heavy now because I stopped handling the freight a couple of years ago, but when I did all of that loading, I was in pretty good shape.”
|
 |
Gary Baldwin, 49, Clearfield, PA
Professional driving experience: 24 years
“When I wasn’t in the truck, I was in better shape. But since I’m back in the truck, sitting, 18 hours a day, well, you see what happens. Now it seems like the only time I’m not in the truck, I’m eating or sleeping. The only time I get any exercise is on the weekend. How do you stay in shape on the road? I don’t know.”
|
 |
Lorinda Fletcher, 38, Mount Vernon, KY
Professional driving experience: 5 years
“We have a membership at the YMCA and we run dedicated, so when we get to Virginia, we work out at the Y there. That has helped tremendously. You’re limited to how many times you can visit another Y, but they’re lenient, especially when they find out you’re a truck driver. Working out makes me feel much better, and I’ve lost about 43 pounds. I’ve changed my diet to healthier snacks like fruits and vegetables and non-processed food.”
|
 |
Kevin Fletcher, 52, Mount Vernon, KY
Professional driving experience: 5 years
“Like my wife says, we have the YMCA membership and we take advantage of that several times a week. I’m not eating as healthy as she is, but I’m doing better because she buys the snacks. I guess you could say I’m being forced to eat healthier.” |
| |
|
|
|
David Noe, 71, Star Valley, AZ
Professional driving experience: 1 year
“I swim every chance I get. I lift some weights. I exercise every muscle group. My advice is to get out of your damn truck and walk. I look at some of these truck drivers and they’re lucky they all don’t have diabetes with a belly half as big as they are. They know they’re overweight and they just don’t know how to deal with it. It’s not my job to tell them how to deal with it. I deal with it by walking. Sometimes I’ll get out and walk two-and-a-half miles down the highway, turn around and walk two-and-a-half miles back to the truck. I try to walk two hours a day.”
|
Return to Homepage
|
