While the numbers are low, we see an ongoing trickle of OTR drivers using our gym. For the most part, they are a healthy looking bunch. Fitness is a difficult challenge for expediters because of the variable schedules. If you have not reached the point where fitness is a priority for you, it is often difficult to muster the willpower required to get to a gym and through the door.
The drivers we see are the ones who have reached the point where it feels worse to skip a workout than to get one in. They know, from their own experience, that if they do not exercise, they feel worse. At some point in their life, maybe a few weeks into their first-ever gym membership or maybe later, they experienced the truly good feelings that come as you get fit. They know what it is like to feel good, so they know the difference between that and feeling bad.
I'm not talking about the endorphin high some people experience when working out. I'm talking about the fat loss you notice in the mirror, the increased mobility you feel as you go about your work and the increased energy you also feel during the day. You get to liking this as you see it develop in your body. And because you like it, you tend to find your way to the gym more often. And once you are there, you tend to learn more to enhance the workouts you do.
It's knowing this difference that makes the difference between truckers who regularly use the gym and those who do not. They have reached the point where they have to work out, because if they don't, the good feelings and the good benefits of fitness will fade.
In that regard, your body is like your truck. If you do not maintain it, it will fail you. If you do maintain it, it will perform better, last longer and be more fun to drive. The drivers who regularly make it to the gym are those who feel the same way about their bodies as they do about their well-maintained trucks.
Diane and I experienced this shift early in our gym membership. At that time, we were expediters who planned to drive for another 10 years at least. Because we were getting fat, we joined a gym. Once we started using them and learning how to better use them by learning the equipment, we felt better and came to like working out.
The many locations, easy parking and 24 hour access made it easy to get to a gym. It was always our practice to top off fuel close to the delivery if the schedule permitted. That made us run-ready for the next dispatch. After delivery, we'd typically head to Walmart to resupply the truck and sleep if needed. Or we'd resupply at Walmart and then go to a gym to sleep (first priority) and work out.
Before joining the gym, it was our first instinct to head to the closest truck stop after delivery. The gym showers and availability changed that. Our sleep was improved because gym lots are quiet and clean and the bathrooms are closer.
Think back to the time when you were in the best shape of your life. Do you even remember how it felt to feel good?
Join a gym, make using it a high priority and keep doing that for 30 to 60 days so you can see the self-reinforcing difference fitness can make. Once you see that, it will be easier to get to the gym and your fitness will continue to improve.
