2 Moves that Make a Great Trucker Workout Staying fit as a truck driver isn’t easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not impossible. Trucking is a lifestyle and one that only a few can embrace for the long haul. It requires dedication, willingness to embrace the unknown, and being away from your family for days, even weeks on end. Trucking is hard on your body too, sitting is the new smoking, and for many people across America, they sit way too much. But unlike the rest of America, who has a choice to get up and move throughout the day, that option is limited for a truck driver. It’s about moving smarter, getting in a truck driver workout doesn’t have to mean 60 or even 30 minutes taken out of your day to exercise. Instead, it can tell you are focusing on the gaps in your day to move on purpose. Five minutes here, 10 minutes over there, even 2 minutes when you see the opportunity. It all adds up.
Two Moves for an Easy Trucker Workout: 1) Truckers Truck Stop Functional Squat:
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Squatting is a basic movement we all need to be regularly doing, and as we age, many stop doing it. Convenience and the busyness of the day keep us from exercise and basic lifestyle movements. Try this: Step your feet wider than your hips width. Point your toes forward and level your hips. Keep a long spine and try not to splay your ribs apart on the front of your body. Take a deep breath in and as you exhale, bend your knees and push your buttocks back as far as you can, putting your weight into your heels. At the same time lean your torso forward and reach out in front of you. Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings, draw your belly in and rise like a forklift is lifting you. Repeat this Functional Squat ten times or work for one minute straight.
2) Side Bend: With all that sitting, the most common action a truck driver does throughout the day is forward moving or in Sagittal Plane. This limits the body's potential to move in its full range of motion. And many exercises recommended for drivers are also in this plane of motion. For a quick and easy trucker workout, try moving in other directions to help keep your body mobile and pain-free. This is an excellent move after being stuck in the truck all day.
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Try this: Step your feet two feet wide, turn your toes forward. Level your pelvis and keep your belly firm and drawn inward. Reach your arms up to a “T” position and keep your front ribs down and in (to help keep your core engaged). Take a deep breath in and press your hips to the right without folding forward. As you do, slide your upper body to the left and begin to reach your right arm up and over to the left and your left arm down like you are reaching into a pocket. Hold this for five to 10 breaths and feel the stretch and core activation. Slowly begin to stack your body back upright to where you first started and repeat on the opposite side. No matter what, you can get up and get moving. It doesn’t have to be complicated, and you don’t need fancy equipment. It’s about the small, simple changes that can lead to the big results in your life.
Mother Trucker Yoga