Staying Fit On The Road: 10 Best Exercises for Truck Drivers
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Jan 18, 2023
Exercises for truck drivers that are effective and convenient for life on the road are crucial to truckers' overall health and wellness.
When you're living your life behind the wheel, mental and physical health can take the back seat. Whether your long haul is several days or a few weeks, getting (or staying) in shape and maintaining your mental health can feel incredibly challenging and, for some, totally impossible.
Sure, finding the time to exercise and take care of your health at home can feel challenging. But being away from home and sitting behind the wheel for hours on end can make exercising regularly even more tricky.
The lifestyle of a truck driver typically leans towards sedentary — it just comes with the territory. Having a steady workout routine that you're dedicated to and that meets your needs and lifestyle is critical if you want to maintain a long-term, healthy life as a truck driver.
Thankfully, truckers don't need a gym membership or tons of equipment to make their health and physique a priority or to meet their health goals. There are countless truck driver exercises and ways to work out when traveling, and today, we're filling you in on all the sweaty details.
Continue scrolling to learn more.
10 Effective Exercises for Truck Drivers
Yes, we know that there's only so much space in your truck cab, but keep in mind there's no reason you need to do your workouts from inside your semi. Get outside and enjoy the fresh air while you sweat it out. If the weather isn't great, train indoors and take advantage of truck stops or your semi-cab. Here are ten of our favorite truck driver exercises you can do on the road:- Walking or Running — One of the best exercises you can do, especially for those with a sedentary lifestyle, is to walk or run for 30 minutes every day. A simple 30-minute walk every day can burn between 200 and 300 calories, improve digestion, and boost your metabolism. It also helps to strengthen muscles and bones, increase immunity, boost energy levels, and improve mood, sleep, and circulation.
- Tricep Dips — Tricep dips are good for working the backs of your upper arms but require a chair or step. The running bar or sidestep on your semi's cab is perfect!
- Step-Ups — Step-ups are a great form of cardio and strength training exercise. Use good posture to step up with one foot, bring the other foot up and step back down repeatedly for one to three minutes, then switch feet to feel the burn. You can also use the semi's running bar or sidestep.
- Squats — Whether you're doing standard squats, side squats, sumo squats, or any other iteration of squats, you can get a decent thigh, calf, and glute workout from anywhere, with no equipment, in a small amount of space.
- Planks — Planking is a great way to exercise your core. It also supports ideal posture and improves balance while strengthening the hamstrings and glute muscles. Start by planking on your knees and elbows, move up to your toes and elbows, then graduate to extending your arms and planking on your hands and toes. You can alternate bending your knees, switching hands, and doing hip dip side planks to increase difficulty.
- Crunches — Crunches are probably the most popular way to target your abdominal muscles and a great way to work out when traveling. The cool thing about crunches is that there are many variations on the theme. Build your abs and core muscles by doing standard crunches, reverse crunches, bicycle crunches, scissor crunches, and more!
- Jumping Jacks — Jumping jacks can improve aerobic capacity, improve metabolism, decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, decrease resting heart rate and blood pressure, and help to maintain a healthy weight. Aim to do 100 jumping jacks per day.
- Push-Ups — Push-ups are an effective and quick way to build upper body strength, specifically in your chest, arms, back, and core. They are the perfect way to work out when traveling because they do not require much space (you can do them anywhere!) and require zero equipment.
- Lunges — Lunges are perfect for increasing muscle mass and toning the body, especially the legs and behind.
- Stretches — Never underestimate the benefits of a good stretching session. Stretching can decrease the risk of injuries, improve your ability to do everyday tasks, increase blood flow, and more.
