Career Change in Progress

Jamin_Joe

Seasoned Expediter
Congradulations on your new venture.

Have you considered having a mobile excersize program, where Drivers could have the equipment to use at different locations locally? The Roanoke area has alot of scenic places to do this. Also, have an annual athletic event where the Drivers can compete with each other. I woild love to help with that since Roanoke isnt that far and I have the perfect location in mind.

Wishing the best of success.
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
Congratulations. I hope you find the same success there as you found in this industry. If you wouldn't mind participating in a social experiment I would be interested to hear how you adapted to life off the road so far and in the future.

The short-term story is easy to tell. We hauled our last load in December, 2013, and got immediately busy with the new business. The new business is more complex and more involved than our one-truck, owner-operator business was. A high learning curve exists and there is a host of skills to master and first-time barriers to overcome.

There are moments when we miss expediting and life on the road but there is no desire to go back. Our new business is fun and exciting. Filling nearly every moment of every day like it does, there has been little time to think about expediting (save the occasional excursion back to EO, which is something I also miss).

At present, when we look back on expediting, the primary emotion is gratitude. The other day we happened to visit with a married couple who are planning a five-week RV trip from Florida to Seattle. They were astounded by our ability to name possible routes from memory and speak in great detail about the many places to stop and sights to see along the way.

When Diane and I returned to the house and talked, she reminded me of something we said over 10 years ago when we first started to think about leaving our white-collar professions to become truckers. We said we'd rather try trucking and fail than not try and regret for the rest of our lives that we did not give it a shot.

One of our stated reasons for becoming expediters was to see the country. Our chat with the RV'ers confirmed in yet another way that we have indeed seen the country. And that is a blessing that will be with us for the rest of our days.

Since coming off the road, we have met many people who long to travel. The freedom to travel, and better still to get paid for it, can be easily taken for granted by expediters for whom this benefit is enjoyed every day. While some people work their whole life to get to the point where they can travel for five weeks, expediting gave us the ability to travel for ten full years. What a great thing to do!
 
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ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
Congradulations on your new venture.

Have you considered having a mobile excersize program, where Drivers could have the equipment to use at different locations locally?

We have not considered such a thing, Jamin_Joe. Can you say more about what you have in mind?
 

Jamin_Joe

Seasoned Expediter
Since there is a need for Drivers to stay fit for the FMCSA, it would be convient for them to have access to basic excercise equipment and a fitness instructor. Im talking the basics equipment like jump ropes, minibar bells, and mats. The Fitness instructer could develop a simple excercise program for Drivers to do while they are on the road. Truck yoga would be a great way to reduce stress during extended load/unload times.

These excercise classes could be held at rest areas, truck stops, and scenic places once they become popular. This would be an extention from the main gym done a few days a week. Of course, with public areas there maybe redtape to work through, but it would be worth it.

Never saw this done before with truckers, but some companies have this at their offices.

This could be a great way to get people to the main gym to use the other equipment and get a nice shower afterwards.
 
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xiggi

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
There are so many anytime fitness locations all you need to do is join one. The majority of time when empty you'll find yourself within 15 or 20 miles of one.

Sent from my - Fisher Price ABC - 123
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
Since there is a need for Drivers to stay fit for the FMCSA, it would be convient for them to have access to basic excercise equipment and a fitness instructor. Im talking the basics equipment like jump ropes, minibar bells, and mats. The Fitness instructer could develop a simple excercise program for Drivers to do while they are on the road. Truck yoga would be a great way to reduce stress during extended load/unload times.

These excercise classes could be held at rest areas, truck stops, and scenic places once they become popular. This would be an extention from the main gym done a few days a week. Of course, with public areas there maybe redtape to work through, but it would be worth it.

Never saw this done before with truckers, but some companies have this at their offices.

This could be a great way to get people to the main gym to use the other equipment and get a nice shower afterwards.

Truck Stop Yoga: Embrace the roar of idling engines as white noise. Hear the sound of the sea in them. Inhale deeply and experience the life force that the smell of urine conveys (and please keep your yoga mats out of the puddles).

All joking aside, it is an interesting concept that you present, Jamin_Joe.

It is not uncommon for gyms to do outdoor classes at locations other than the gyms and to provide equipment like you describe above. The motivation that live instructors provide could very well produce a nice turnout. I can see a number of truckers who would then be available come out of their trucks to participate in a 30 minute exercise class (maybe not yoga but certainly a fitness class of some sort). If this was done at a rest area, a number of four-wheelers might join in too.

The idea is easy; logistics not so much. The closest rest area to our gym is 30 miles away. The closest truck stop is the Loves on I-95 near Daytona Beach but it is small. There would not be a lot of truckers parked there to join in a class if offered. So too with the rest area. Regular schedules are not something OTR truckers enjoy. Even if they knew such a class was available at a certain rest area at a certain time, making it on a regular basis would be tough.

Then there is the money to think about. When we have members willing to pay our personal trainers $60 an hour to work with them in the gym, what financial incentive does a gym have to send out a trainer and load of equipment to serve truckers at a rest area, truck stop or park?

Classes for truckers offered at gyms is another idea, but in our case, it would be tough because our parking lot space is limited and truck parking would be tight if a number of them came in. Also, if our merchant neighbors saw even a half-dozen trucks coming into the lot on a regular basis so drivers can take the trucker fitness classes, they would complain in short order and we would quickly be in trouble with the landlord.

One of the best things truckers have going for them fitness-wise today is the free fitness rooms that a good number of truck stops now provide.

Beyond that, there is the large network of Anytime Fitness clubs that some truckers join and use. Anytime Fitness is the best in that regard because no other brand has more locations. No other brand is even close. Anytime Fitness opens, on average, one new gym every 36 hours somewhere in the world. In North America, we offer 1,985 locations and your member key gets you into every one of them, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Virtual training is a developing service in the industry but it has not taken off in a big way. That is where a personal trainer works with clients online to provide motivation, health and fitness coaching and accountability. Might virtual training for truckers be a possibility? It might, but the challenge is to find personal trainers who understand the trucker's lifestyle.

You know trucking. Diane and I know trucking. But is there anyone out there who is not a trucker that truly understands the trucking life?

Personal trainers have a hard time understanding why someone would want to eat a Twinkie. They have no idea how good it feels to find a safe parking place and pull that air brake valve. They have no concept of what it is like to walk into a truck stop restaurant with reduced will power because you are tired after a long run. They have no idea what is on that menu or laid out in the buffett. They have no idea what it is like to be only 50 lbs. overweight but you can feel good about yourself because you don't look as bad as many of the people in the same restaurant.

Matching personal trainers like these with truckers on the road under a virtual training arrangement of some sort is not a recipe for success, we are sorry to conclude. We think that a self-organized group of truckers who coach and support each other in an online community may be a better approach.

Diane and I are super-busy getting our first gym open now. After it opens and things settle into more of a routine, we may put more thought into fitness support for truckers on the road. One resource is AnytimeHealth.com. Parts of it are open to the public. All of it is open to Anytime Fitness members. With Anytime Health, it would be possible to create a community of fitness-interested truckers, and it might be especially effective with truckers who use Anytime Fitness gyms.

Through Anytime Health, it would be very easy to bring a trucker's gym activities into the ongoing conversation and to connect truckers with personal trainers. That might work, but it remains the case that the trainers would understand little about the trucking life and work. For personal training to be successful, clients need to be understood by their trainers. That is a tough gap to bridge given the unique life truckers lead.

But even if we left the trainers out of it (and many truckers would because trainers charge for their time), an online, private fitness community in which truckers could bond around their common experience of using Anytime Fitness gyms might have some possibilities.
 
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Jamin_Joe

Seasoned Expediter
Know you guys are very busy with the start up stuff. Just threw the idea out there since it may help get customers and help drivers keep healthy. I know there is alot for you guys do to get the business going.
 

paullud

Veteran Expediter
The short-term story is easy to tell. We hauled our last load in December, 2013, and got immediately busy with the new business. The new business is more complex and more involved than our one-truck, owner-operator business was. A high learning curve exists and there is a host of skills to master and first-time barriers to overcome.

There are moments when we miss expediting and life on the road but there is no desire to go back. Our new business is fun and exciting. Filling nearly every moment of every day like it does, there has been little time to think about expediting (save the occasional excursion back to EO, which is something I also miss).

At present, when we look back on expediting, the primary emotion is gratitude. The other day we happened to visit with a married couple who are planning a five-week RV trip from Florida to Seattle. They were astounded by our ability to name possible routes from memory and speak in great detail about the many places to stop and sights to see along the way.

When Diane and I returned to the house and talked, she reminded me of something we said over 10 years ago when we first started to think about leaving our white-collar professions to become truckers. We said we'd rather try trucking and fail than not try and regret for the rest of our lives that we did not give it a shot.

One of our stated reasons for becoming expediters was to see the country. Our chat with the RV'ers confirmed in yet another way that we have indeed seen the country. And that is a blessing that will be with us for the rest of our days.

Since coming off the road, we have met many people who long to travel. The freedom to travel, and better still to get paid for it, can be easily taken for granted by expediters for whom this benefit is enjoyed every day. While some people work their whole life to get to the point where they can travel for five weeks, expediting gave us the ability to travel for ten full years. What a great thing to do!

Good deal. I would be interested to hear how you do long term. I know when I first tried a "normal" job I was fine with it but that changed soon after and I actually found myself in a depression. I am getting ready to take another try at living in one place but I think I will be down sizing in vehicle first to kind of slow down. Good luck and keep us updated.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using EO Forums mobile app
 

ground-pound

Active Expediter
We are about to join one of these gyms.......I think the choice comes down to SNAP or ANYTIME. Any opinions on which one might be better for a large straight truck to pull into?
 

aquitted

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
If you want more gym for your buck join One Life they usually have big parking lots
 

xiggi

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
We are about to join one of these gyms.......I think the choice comes down to SNAP or ANYTIME. Any opinions on which one might be better for a large straight truck to pull into?

Anytime has almost a thousand more locations than snap something like 2400 compared to 1500. You can park a straight at most I've been to. One life might be nice but way to few locations if you want to find a place to work out on a consistent basis.

Sent from my - Fisher Price ABC - 123
 

ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
We are about to join one of these gyms.......I think the choice comes down to SNAP or ANYTIME. Any opinions on which one might be better for a large straight truck to pull into?

Snap and Anytime Fitness gyms are usually built in strip malls where straight truck parking is usually possible. As Xiggi says, Anytime Fitness has many more locations. For both brands, and as with truck parking anywhere, it is always wise to scout out the parking ahead of time with Google Maps or similar program.

Most Anytime Fitness gyms have private showers, similar to truck stop showers. You enter, lock the door behind you, and the room is yours until you are done. Snap gyms tend to be smaller than Anytime Fitness gyms and while many have showers, it is best to check ahead to make sure the one you plan to visit does.

Unlike truck stop showers, gym showers do not have people attending to them full time. They are not cleaned after each use. The majority of members do not use the showers at Snap and Anytime Fitness. They come to their conveniently-located neighborhood gym, park near the door, work out for 30 to 60 minutes and go home.

Reciprocity is the feature that allows you to join one club within a brand and use all clubs in the same brand. I do not know the reciprocity rules for Snap. With Anytime Fitness, reciprocity is one of the best parts of the membership for truckers on the road because of their many locations. But there is a 30 day wait before it kicks in. Your key will work immediately in the gym where you join and in all other gyms 30 days after that.

In your first 30 days, if you arrive during staffed hours, most Anytime Fitness gyms will be pleased to say "welcome you to the family" and allow you to work out after they verify your membership (show them your key and they will run the number).
 
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ATeam

Senior Member
Retired Expediter
Our transition out of expediting and into the fitness business is now complete. The truck was sold a few weeks ago and our first Anytime Fitness club opened Monday. We hauled our last load in December, 2013. Delayed by government inspectors and mandates, it took seven months to build and open the club.

While our builder could have completed the project in three months, the regulations added about four months to the overall process. I once wrote that expediting is more regulated than a retail business and I still believe that to be true. Now that the club is built and open, the regulators have faded from view. We do not encounter cops every day like expediters do. We do not have to report to the government how we spend every minute of every day. We do not have to show our papers to government authorities several times a year. The freedom to sleep and work when we want to is greater in retail than it is in trucking (where HOS applies).

Congratulations. I hope you find the same success there as you found in this industry. If you wouldn't mind participating in a social experiment I would be interested to hear how you adapted to life off the road so far and in the future.

Paullud,

It has been a very busy seven months and we are burning the candle at both ends while developing the new business. About the road, there are moments when the occasional plesant memory will come briefly to mind but the new business has most of our attention most of the time. In a month or so, business routines will be better established and things will settle down. Maybe then we'll have time to miss the road. As things are now, every waking moment is focused on the new business.

Expediters are justifiably proud of the good work they do. So too with gym owners. While the tasks are different, the pride and satisfaction in a job well done are the same. It felt great when a shipper, consignee, dispatcher or someone else in the business recognized the good work we did. In the exact same way, it feels great when the members we serve do the same.

People are saying yes to Anytime Fitness in Port Orange, Florida, and they are saying good things about the club we are operating for them.

No expediter we know of has visited the club yet but it will be a special moment when we look out the window and see an expediter truck in the lot.

Sorry, this lot is not a good place to park overnight. While the lot is empty and quiet at night, the city cops have been known to intervene when they see trucks there overnight. Our landlord told us he has had numerous trucks towed away. Those are the ones found unattended by drivers who come for the track (Daytona) or Bike Week. You will be fine if you stay for a few hours while using the club. Overnight parking would be a problem at this location.
 
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