Fuel for Thought

Exercise

In my search for ways to stay fit I’ve tried a variety of programs. Pacing the inside of the van was more an experiment. It took fifty minutes to walk the 188 laps (or 376 lengths). I’ve used rubber straps for resistance training.

My latest work out program has been the longest lived at two months. While driving I do a short isometric routine of flex and hold for a number of repetitions. I hold a bicep curl for 15 seconds then extend my arm for a triceps flex for 15 seconds. Twice on the right side, twice on the left side and then repeat for a total of four of each. I do a few regular holds like this that ends up taking about 10 minutes. I then look for other muscle groups that I can work on. In all it ends up working out to maybe thirty minutes. I don’t start out with the aim of 30 minutes; it just works out that way. I try to do this routine twice a day when I’m driving. I’ve developed muscles that I didn’t have two months ago, and that persistent crick in my neck is gone.

Doing just isometric exercises doesn’t make for a well-rounded program, so I also try to keep active when I’m not in the van. I walk when I can. I drag as much freight to the tailgate when unloading instead of always letting the forklift do it. And I stand and stretch when I’m waiting at pick-up and delivery; I never sit. The customer says, “Go ahead and have a seat over there” as they point at the chair that has to be infested with bed bugs and lice. Me, “No thanks, I sit enough as it is.”

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