As a truck driver, you know the challenges of being on the road constantly. A healthy diet and exercise plan can be difficult to maintain. Fast food restaurants may seem like the easiest way to go for food and it might seem like it is impossible to exercise while out on the road. Changing your diet and finding time to exercise while on the road can help benefit your ability to be alert while driving and will give you more energy to help push you through those long boring stretches.
We will be covering some exercises that you can do that don’t require any equipment, along with some specific foods to eat that will benefit your overall health.
Exercising without the equipment
There are exercises that you can perform at any stop that don’t require any sort of equipment. If you are really committed to your health than you have to eat well along with being committed to exercising.
Leg exercises
Wall sits are a great exercise for your legs and should be performed in intervals of 60 seconds. Calf raises and body squats are other simple exercises that can also boost your leg strength!
Shoulder/arms exercises
If you are trying to focus more on your shoulders and arms then try finding a bench and doing some triceps dips. Arm circles are another easy exercises for your arms and shoulders.
Core exercises
Some great exercises for your core strength include: standard plank, side plank, crunches, and sit-ups.
Chest exercises
Regular and plyometric push-ups are the best chest exercise to perform. Make it a goal to do at least one more push-up each day that you work out.
Planning out your snacks ahead of time
When it is time to head out on the road, you should bring some snacks along with you. This will help to prevent you from grabbing a candy bar, bag of chips, or any other unhealthy snack available to truck stops.
Fruit
Some great fruits that you could bring would be apples, bananas, blueberries, oranges, strawberries, or any other fruit that you may be a fan of.
Nuts and seeds
Nuts and seeds like almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, chia seeds, pistachios, and peanuts are a very healthy snack that can give you more energy. Studies suggest that nuts and seeds can help you lose weight, and provide impressive benefits for metabolic health.
Vegetables
Vegetables like broccoli, carrots, and asparagus are another healthy snack that you could carry along.
Dark chocolate
If you really struggle getting chocolate out of your diet, switching to dark chocolate is a great alternative. Dark chocolate is loaded with fiber and magnesium and is one of the most powerful sources of antioxidants in existence.
Unhealthy foods to avoid
Some foods are just flat out bad for you. These foods can cause many serious health problems and just make you fat. Some of these foods to avoid include:
Pizza
Most pizzas are made with unhealthy ingredients. When stopping to have a meal, just be cautious of what toppings you are ordering on your pizza.
White bread/toast
When ordering breakfast food, get wheat toast as a side instead of white toast. White bread is low in essential nutrients. This results in empty calories.
Pastries, cookies, and cake
These are generally made with refined sugar, refined wheat flour and added fats along with also being high in trans fats.
Some other foods to avoid would be French fries, potato chips, ice cream, candy bars, and most fast food meals.
Health is achieved through dedication. As a driver, you may find it difficult to stick to a healthy diet and exercise plan. But, setting goals to slowly cut out the bad foods and incorporate more exercise into your daily plan is a great way to live a longer and happier life!