Most people know about the many benefits of regular exercise and the absolute need to incorporate it into their lives.
Surprisingly, however, only a small percentage of people in the U.S. are active enough to reap the health benefits of physical exercise, whether that exercise is done with the help of a professional trainer, through a gym membership or by working out in or around the semi truck.
Around the beginning of each year, I hear about a spike in fitness efforts and active gym memberships. Attendance is usually high for about a month after those resolutions are made … but then more than half of the people who start an exercise regimen as a New Year’s resolution start to slow their efforts, and most will drop out in just a few short months.
Positive emotional change
Creating a positive emotional change can be a key factor in keeping your physical activity engaged.
One use of emotional change involves keeping your exercises fresh and new. New routines that promote positive after-session feelings — being revived and energetic instead of experiencing negative, worn-out, tired feelings.
As a fitness professional, I try to use these emotions and feelings associated with drivers based on their schedules.
Results from exercising build up over time to improve a person’s exercise longevity. Using emotional change as motivation can pay off through reductions in exercise dropout.
This is the first step.
The next step in designing an emotions-based exercise program involves developing a plan around the exercise you will do. Note that I said what you WILL do — not what you SHOULD do. This factor alone can promote long-stay engagement.
Find a way to fit exercise into your weekly routine based on your driving schedule.
If at all possible, try to work with both resistance training and brisk walking. Together, a variety of different exercises can also stimulate results and engagement.
Next, in step three, observe how your results have changed.
Positive results should be increasing after completion of exercise, and physical exhaustion should decline.
The fourth step is to use an app to track your results, or enlist the aid of a CDL health coach who can provide the knowledge you need to track changes and make your exercise routine more successful.
Remember, results happen over time — not overnight.
Bob Perry is a regular contributor to The Trucker. He has spent nearly the past four decades on a mission to educate professional drivers and share life-changing products and services to help them live healthier lives while on the road. Recognized throughout the transportation industry, from bus drivers to over-the-road professional drivers, Perry has played an important role in creating a paradigm shift helping regulatory agencies, private and public sector entities, and consumers understand the current health challenges of the professional driver. He has participated as a wellness advocate in several roundtable discussions, large audience groups and small forums as well as going “curbside” through a national truck stop tour.
Bob’s articles have been featured in The Trucker and a number of other national transportation industry publications and is the host of a weekly wellness call produced by Rolling Strong. Bob has been a regular guest on RedEye Radio and Land-Line Radio, and is often an invited guest on Sirius radio shows. He has been featured in the New York Times, Men’s Health Magazine, Drug Store News, American Road Magazine, WSJ, NPR, ABC National Radio, as well as hundreds of daily newspapers. He has appeared on television news shows across the nation, including a featured TV segment on ABC NightLine News.
