It's a Team's Life
Hunching Over
When we are at home I spend what time I can at our local gym attending classes with my favorite class being Zumba. This time though I decided to step out of my comfort zone and hire a personal trainer for three sessions. I was scared to death and VERY concerned that the personal trainer would not get our lifestyle.
When I first saw Sophia I thought oh no I have wasted my money. First impression was that she is young and probably does not have a clue about trucks or the limitations of the sleeper and running team. She did not really have a clue but she listened. Our first session was an evaluation and while I did great in many areas she found some core muscle areas lacking and other muscles trying to make up for them. After the evaluation I scheduled my first workout session still with questions in my mind if she had grasped what I said about limited room and not wanting to work outside the truck.
What Sophia found during my evaluation, which bothered me the most is that my core muscle between my shoulder blades are starting to weaken which is cause my shoulder to pull forward. I am not ready to have rounded shoulders.... The exercise she had me do was stand with my back against the wall, heels against the wall, butt against the wall, small of back pushed against the wall, shoulder blades against the wall, and head against the wall. Next with my arms in a bookend shape, elbows against the wall as well as knuckles against the wall, while keeping everything touching the wall, slide my arms up. I could not keep one elbow against the wall without it wanting to pull forward about an inch. Bob was even worse at this then me while our daughter had no problems with this exercise.
Another fun exercise was using a broom handle. While holding the handle with both hands in front of you rotate your arms to behind you without bending your elbows. I had to bend one elbow slightly to end up with my arms rotated behind my back.
While we are driving we are letting our shoulders round and as we age and do not exercise the muscle between our shoulder blades this will continue to get worse. I am developing a habit of dropping my chin and letting my neck muscles work instead of my core muscles in my back that in time will also lead to a sore back. Try these two exercises and I hope you are able to do them with no problems.
When I went into the gym for my second session there was Sophia with a list in her hands. She shocked me beyond belief as she had spent time googling exercising in trucks and she had put together an awesome workout. On my last workout we brought the truck to the gym on our way out of town and Sophia and I did my last workout inside the sleeper and also in the box. Needless to say the whole time I was home all of my muscles were in pain and it felt great!
With Sophia's help I plan on correcting these issues and
working towards getting my core muscles back in shape.
If you are able to hire a personal trainer
for a few sessions I hope you can find one as conscientious as Sophia who will
go the extra mile in ensure that we are able to get the workout we need.
We plan on staying in trucking for many years
to come and we do not want to get out of the truck and not be able to
function.
Bob & Linda Caffee
Leased to: FedEx Custom Critical 

TeamCaffee

Saint Louis MO
Expediters 8 years been out here on the road 13 years
Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle; 

Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;

Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;

Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.