How many trampers on here try to keep fit?
I myself have for the last few months been trying to lose my gut and get a little fitter.
I go to the gym at weekends, with a personal training session on Sunday mornings as well as trying to get a walk or 2 in during each day at work, trying to cover around 3-4 miles per day.
I was wondering whether any of you wonderful people might have any other tips for exercising on the road.
Cheers
Chunky
Chunkzilla:
How many trampers on here try to keep fit?
I myself have for the last few months been trying to lose my gut and get a little fitter.
I go to the gym at weekends, with a personal training session on Sunday mornings as well as trying to get a walk or 2 in during each day at work, trying to cover around 3-4 miles per day.I was wondering whether any of you wonderful people might have any other tips for exercising on the road.
Cheers
Chunky
What do you usually carry? If you’ve space at the back of the trailer hop in and bang out 100 press ups and 100 squats. Sprint up and down the length of the lorry when you’re parked up.
Get one of those pull up bars that extend and use their own pressure to hold them up between the unit and trailer for pull ups. Hook a strap over a back door for rope climbs.
Do you have enough room to store a bar and some plates in the cab? Or even a set of dumbells?
Loads of options, I find the problem isn’t the working out, it’s getting a shower. I tend to get my showers through the day rather than last thing at night and I’m not a huge fan of going to bed sweating and stinky.
A.
Adonis.:
Chunkzilla:
How many trampers on here try to keep fit?
I myself have for the last few months been trying to lose my gut and get a little fitter.
I go to the gym at weekends, with a personal training session on Sunday mornings as well as trying to get a walk or 2 in during each day at work, trying to cover around 3-4 miles per day.I was wondering whether any of you wonderful people might have any other tips for exercising on the road.
Cheers
ChunkyWhat do you usually carry? If you’ve space at the back of the trailer hop in and bang out 100 press ups and 100 squats. Sprint up and down the length of the lorry when you’re parked up.
Get one of those pull up bars that extend and use their own pressure to hold them up between the unit and trailer for pull ups. Hook a strap over a back door for rope climbs.
Do you have enough room to store a bar and some plates in the cab? Or even a set of dumbells?
Loads of options, I find the problem isn’t the working out, it’s getting a shower. I tend to get my showers through the day rather than last thing at night and I’m not a huge fan of going to bed sweating and stinky.
A.
Cheers mate.
Some real good suggestions there, being in the trailer isn’t really a good one for me though, being on walking floors it isn’t a pleasant place to work out.
I should be able to store some equipment in the cab.
But you do raise a good point about the shower issue though. Does make life difficult if not parked near facilities.
Strap a harness on and tow the cab and trailer few hundred yards.
Can you fix a push bike on the rear of the cab ?
Chunkzilla:
Cheers mate.
Some real good suggestions there, being in the trailer isn’t really a good one for me though, being on walking floors it isn’t a pleasant place to work out.
I should be able to store some equipment in the cab.But you do raise a good point about the shower issue though. Does make life difficult if not parked near facilities.
Can always do them on the ground, the trailer option gives you a bit of privacy and shelter from whatever weather and means you’re not pushing your nose a few inches away from pishy truck park! 
Most of your options are going to be bodyweight or improvised, you just need to think out the box a little. Humphing 15 empty pallets from one end of the trailer to the other and piling them up then taking them back for example.
Does your walking floor have a ladder at the front? Climb up and down the ladder using just your hands or use the top as a pull up bar.
When you’re sweeping it out, brush like a demon, make it as hard as possible for yourself.
A.
bald bloke:
Can you fix a push bike on the rear of the cab ?
Ive carried a folding bike on the passenger seat in the past. (remember to strap it in and keep side vision clear). It doesnt much matter if any bike you carry isnt ultra light-weight: youre after exercise after all, not in a competition. I find cycling means the scenery changes quicker than when jogging, so is less boring, and its less “shocking” on the joints too.
Franglais:
bald bloke:
Can you fix a push bike on the rear of the cab ?I
ve carried a folding bike on the passenger seat in the past. (remember to strap it in and keep side vision clear). It doesnt much matter if any bike you carry isnt ultra light-weight: youre after exercise after all, not in a competition. I find cycling means the scenery changes quicker than when jogging, so is less boring, and its less “shocking” on the joints too.
That’s a good point. It’s not good to be sat still for 13 hours then suddenly start working out.
For a few weeks I’d suggest some stretching exercises before moving on to weights and what not. If you’re seditary(?) you’ll probably find it fairly challenging to begin with and you’ll notice a difference in yourself pretty quickly.
Also up that water intake and cut out the processed sugar. Some sports multi vitamins wouldn’t go amiss either.
A.
I wont get into the previous history of myself but yep I tramp away all week and still exercise. At my worst I was 24st plus. I have managed to loose over 3 of that now through eating healthier (not always healthiest mind you) being aware of when I eat and the size of my meals during the day.
At the moment I run. Well in fact I have a half marathon to do in 7 weeks and an further one in Warrington in September. Not everyone will be into running. I have plenty of friends who go cycling, walking. I also combine the running with geocaching (www.munzee.co.uk) as well. If you are short of space for carrying dumbbells around with, use yoga/resistance bands. There is plenty of things you can do, only thing that stops you is whats between your ears in all honesty.
As for the shower aspect, whilst its not the same as a full steam shower a standard camping showing bag will easily do the job or until you manage to get into the services the next day.
To admin, I apologise for the above links 
If you are on facebook then the following really is a good group for advice and support. facebook.com/groups/8741703 … ?ref=br_tf
In fact its about the only group on faceache which doesnt cause trouble
How about a little TRX suspension training?
youtu.be/7rYnF1RI0qc
They’re compact (about the size of a bag of sugar) when packed away. I picked up a copy from Aldi for around a tenner
My top 5 exercises when tramping.
-jumping to conclusions
-flying off the handle
-carrying things too far
-dodging responsibilities
-pushing my luck
I keep a set of dumbells and curling bar with me and work out every evening, dumbell curls, twist curls, shoulder raises, oblique raises, squats and calf raises (with the aid of a piece of wood) and do a couple of laps around the truck park occasionally. You do get some strange looks though sometimes. I use my local gym at the weekends for pecs ect. Im 15st and only 5’9’’ but doing this over the years has helped keep well in shape. Many years ago pre driving i used to be a gym instructor (BAWLA British amateur weight lifting association) which helped. Nutrition is a big part and staying clear of fatty/ fried foods for the best part of the week will also obviously help…
If you have the internet on phone look for local council run gym facilities showers are free there after workout / swim
You could get some of those wrist/ankle weights put on in morning only taking off when in shower or swimming pool
There are loads of thing you can do to keep fit on the road there is a lot you can do lying on the bunk if you so wish I have to do physic every day most of it is done lying down due to my ankle & back so have quite a strict routine with it I can stand in most cabs due to not being the tallest so have room to do other stretches
animal:
If you have the internet on phone look for local council run gym facilities showers are free there after workout / swimYou could get some of those wrist/ankle weights put on in morning only taking off when in shower or swimming pool
There are loads of thing you can do to keep fit on the road there is a lot you can do lying on the bunk if you so wish I have to do physic every day most of it is done lying down due to my ankle & back so have quite a strict routine with it I can stand in most cabs due to not being the tallest so have room to do other stretches
im in David Lloyd too, so if on a night out, straight to the gym/ then swim. 
Great to hear u guys do find a way to keep fit when out. Exercise is mainly down to having the personal motivation, but takes a bit extra motivation to do when out Tramping.
Great way to also deal with stress and tough days. Gets the endorphins going!
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BlimBlam:
Great to hear u guys do find a way to keep fit when out. Exercise is mainly down to having the personal motivation, but takes a bit extra motivation to do when out Tramping.Great way to also deal with stress and tough days. Gets the endorphins going!
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Youre right, excercise increases endorphins and seratonin levels in the brain making you feel good, its a great pickup. Nothing worse than eating a fatty meal washed down with beer and then going to bed, ideal way to feel lethargic and sluggish…
AndrewG:
BlimBlam:
Great to hear u guys do find a way to keep fit when out. Exercise is mainly down to having the personal motivation, but takes a bit extra motivation to do when out Tramping.Great way to also deal with stress and tough days. Gets the endorphins going!
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
Youre right, excercise increases endorphins and seratonin levels in the brain making you feel good, its a great pickup. Nothing worse than eating a fatty meal washed down with beer and then going to bed, ideal way to feel lethargic and sluggish…
Cheers mate, yep one of things that worried me about Tramping: Long days (and if your not careful) a bad diet, stress etc. Doing some exercise really helps your health and well being.
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I’m certainly no longer a fine specimen of physical prowess. I Used to be in fairly good nick though. Before I started tramping I played Ice-Hockey twice a week and went to the gym on 4 out of the other 5 days.
Tramping and keeping in good shape are difficult to achieve, but not impossible.
I found that after a 13hr day the last thing I fancied was a bit of exercise. Beer / Wine and a bit of TV; yes, exercise; couldn’t be arsed. So the pounds gradually crept on, the belt slackened off a few notches and so on. Pretty much like the majority of the trucking world.
Exercise wise, the best thing i bought was a set of resistance bands. You can get a really good set off amazon for under £20. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cayman-Fitness-Resistance-Comfortable-Downloadable/dp/B00JYDSWJ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484678218&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=resistance+band&psc=1
I use them for an upper body workout while in the cab and then do a light bit of cardio out the cab. I go for a brisk mile or two walk when the weather or overnight location permits. It is pretty much essential to remember that to burn fat your body needs to be working at around 2/3 rds of your max heart rate. An easy way to measure this is to judge your breathing. If you can exercise and hold a conversation then your heart rate is too low. puffing like a steam train - working too hard. Just being slightly out of breath is roughly 2/3. Slightly struggling to hold a fluent conversation. (this is only a rough guide).
Higher rates of exercise are better for fitness but not for burning fat. Of course ALL exercise is better than none.
One of the biggest things on my route to losing the gut was changing my diet. I love a good fry-up or bangers and mash, who doesn’t?!! I’d tried taking salads as pack-up but found them really boring. I also tried various protein shakes and meal replacements but would soon feel hungry after having them. One of my mates suggested trying a complete meal replacement called; HUEL. You can see it all online. I had two of these HUEL shakes during the day and then a proper meal on a night and the weight really fell off me. I’m 6’3" and pretty big boned. I did weigh 19st at one point and had a 42" waist. I’m now down to 17st and 37". The best thing I found about HUEL was that I never felt hungry until the next meal was due. No snacking, no cravings. Job done. It doesn’t seem that cheap to start with but it works out at about £1.50 per meal.
By the way, this isn’t a spam post and I have no allegiance or ties to HUEL or to amazon for the bands.
Go on Bodylastics UK website and take a look at the resistance bands kits they do. Fantastic pieces of equipment that don’t take up any room and hardly weigh anything. I got the biggest set you can get and they come in a sports bag for storage.
You can interlink different size bands so you really do feel as though you are using Dumbbells to do a range of exercises.
