It goes without saying that being out on the road for long periods of time can take a toll on your health. Because of the high stress involved, truck drivers have the highest risk for chronic health problems, including diabetes, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, heart attack, and stroke. Unfortunately, with limited time and room to exercise, your workout schedule usually takes a backseat. But by finding simple ways to exercise now, you can lower the risk of health problems, increase your strength and flexibility, and improve your memory and energy levels.

Luckily, there is a variety of simple, inexpensive, and portable exercise equipment that can fit perfectly in your cab. Even going for a walk or doing simple stretches can be a great start. There are plenty of reasons for you to start exercising today, now you just need to commit to your health.

Portable Exercise Equipment

Fit Force Athletics Resistance Bands

“Strength training is an important part of many modern workout programs, the best way to build lean muscle and beneficial for those trying to lose weight and improve their overall health. But who wants to buy a huge set of weights to use at home?If you’re looking to reap the benefits of our resistance strength bands, there’s only one set of exercise bands you should choose-the Fit Force Resistance Tubes Set! Along with the five resistance bands, this set of exercise equipment provides:

• 2 Ankle Straps
• Door Anchor
• 2 Handles
• 2 Wrist Bands & Wall chart with a complete fitness bands workout ”

$27.97 on Amazon

Survival and Cross Jump Rope

“The Survival and Cross speed cable jump rope is made from the highest quality materials to ensure maximum life. After purchase, the speed rope includes a downloadable exercise manual to enhance your workout experience and make sure you get the best experience with your skipping rope.

With the ability to utilize this cable jump rope conveniently during cardio exercises, you will be able to enhance the effectiveness of each carido workout with ease.  This is the perfect jump rope for anyone from a beginner to an expert in fitness.”

$10.00 on Amazon

The GABO Balance Board

“The GABO Board is Perfect For:

• Rehabbing an injury in the comfort of your own home.
• Improving balance, coordination and core strength.
• Getting the most from your standing desk
• Runners and athletes that want to prevent ankle, shin and knee injuries.
• Seniors that want an easy to use, complete fitness tool.”

$34.99 on Amazon

CAP Barbell Vinyl Coated Cement Kettlebell

“Kettlebell training develops strength, power, endurance and balance. Working out with kettlebells will sculpt and tone the entire body because lifting and controlling a kettlebell forces the entire body, and specifically the core, to contract as a group, building both strength and stability at the same time. They are a great option for getting a whole body workout in a short time. Made with a protective vinyl shell to prevent wear and tear. These kettlebells are cement filled and vinyl coated, providing a more economical choice over the traditional cast iron made kettlebells.”

19.90 on Amazon

Truck driving is not an easy profession, by any means. Drivers deal with daily trials, mishaps, and misadventures on their hauls. But some truck drivers decided to take their work adventures and turn them into books and biographies. We rounded up a list of the most popular books written about the trials and tribulations of trucking, by truckers.

Books Written by Truckers

The Long Haul: A Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road by Finn Murphy 

“In The Long Haul, Murphy offers a trucker’s-eye view of America on the move. Going far beyond the myth of the American road trip, he whisks readers down the I-95 Powerlane, across the Florida Everglades, in and out of the truck stops of the Midwest, and through the steep grades of the Rocky Mountains. As he crisscrosses the country, Murphy recounts with wit, candor, and charm the America he has seen change over the decades, from the hollowing-out of small towns to changing tastes in culture and home furnishings.”

Available as an ebook, hardcover, and audiobook.

Spirit of the Road: The Life of an American Trucker…and his cat by Rick L. Huffman

“Spirit of the Road: The Life of an American Trucker…and his cat embarks on a one-year journey across the United States in an eighteen-wheeler. It runs the gambit from a wide-eyed rookie in Commercial Driving school to the eventual embracing of a new lifestyle at a dusty little truck stop in Crab Orchard, Tennessee. Having made the transition to trucking after spending 20 years in television broadcasting, the author sets a comical tone from the very first chapter in a “fish-out-of-water” story. However, the dangers and challenges of life in a big truck are very real, and the book takes on a more somber tone to describe this aspect of road life. The reader is also introduced to little-known, funny, or unusual historical facts about some of the places visited while they are along for the ride.”

Available as an ebook and paperback.

King of the Road: True Tales from a Legendary Ice Road Trucker by Alex Debogorski 

“Inside one of the world’s most dangerous jobs with the star of History’s top-rated reality show, Ice Road Truckers

The highest-rated reality show ever to hit the History channel, Ice Road Truckers follows the heart-pounding adventures of the tough-as-nails truckers who risk peril every day to deliver goods and supplies in Alaska and across Canada’s frozen north. Alex shares tales of his adventures-and misadventures-in the north, and explain, in his own entertaining voice, how he got to where he is today-working class hero, bona-fide celebrity, and the improbable star of a smash-hit television show. Alex is a natural storyteller who knows how to spin tales about his colorful life growing up in the backwoods. Whether he’s recounting tales about his hair-raising confrontations with bears, calculating the strength of newly formed ice, divulging the secrets of providing security in a bar room full of combative, drunken miners, or saving the life of another trucker, he keeps you wanting more.”

Available as an ebook, paperback, and hardcover.

 Trucking in English by Carolyn Steele

“Almost Ice Road Truckers, except for the tulip bulbs… “So here’s the plan. I’m going to train to drive a truck and go long-haul. I can get paid and maybe write a book at the same time. What do you reckon?” “Go for it Mum, how bad can it be?” This is the tale of what happens when a middle-aged mum from England decides to actually drive 18-wheelers across North America instead of just dreaming about it. From early training (when it becomes apparent that negotiating 18 wheels and 13 gears involves slightly more than just learning how to climb in) this rookie overcomes self-doubt, infuriating companions and inconsiderate weather to become a real trucker. She learns how to hit a moose correctly and how to be hijacked. She is almost arrested in Baltimore Docks and survives a terrifying winter tour of The Rockies. Nothing goes well, but that’s why there’s a book. Trucking in English began as a blog from the cab and became a popular podcast before taking book form.”

Available as an ebook and paperback.

In The Driver’s Seat — Interstate Trucking, a Journey by Marc Mayfield 

“People asked me, “What’s interstate trucking like? What’s it really like out there on the road?” My short answer was always the same: “You have to like being alone.” In The Driver’s Seat–memoir, travelogue, portrait of an industry–is the long answer.

One month after his 45th birthday, Marc Mayfield became a long-haul truck driver, something he’d always wanted to do. Away from home for weeks at a time, he crisscrossed America in 18-wheelers. Drove into sunsets and, often, through the night. Learned firsthand that truckers compensated by the mile are shortchanged with each paycheck, that the federal Hours of Service of Drivers are as unrealistic as they are dangerous, that every day out there brought threats to his truck, his cargo, and his life. But he loved the solitude of a truck cab and traveled more than one million accident-free miles. Along the way, he all but destroyed his marriage. Then he met someone he didn’t know he’d been looking for: himself.”

Available as an ebook and paperback.

Mother Trucker: An Urban Couple Downshifts to Life on the Road by Shelley and David Hamel

“A true story of how a middle-aged married couple abandon lucrative white-collar professional careers to become long-haul truck drivers for Schneider National in Green Bay, WI. David Hamel, a mechanical engineer, and Shelley Hamel, past Director of Product Development for the American Girl doll company, decide to ditch their urban life and go to truck-driving school. For David, driving school was a piece of cake. For Shelley, it was murder.
Nearly flunking out of truck driving school, Shelley successfully faces her twin demons of double-clutching and ten nasty gears, and with her talented mechanical engineer husband, David, launches a 3-year experiment in alternative living before retirement. For all those people who long to quit their office jobs, team driving offers an escape not unlike full-time RVing, except you get paid to do it. This how-to guide examines life on the open road, the upside as well as the danger, with many day-to-day details of ways to maximize the freedom of exploration in this non-traditional life.
Driving a semi with a 52’ trailer coast to coast gives you a view of America like no other, and this book brings you right into the sleeper cab with the Hamels to share stories, tips, and firsthand experience.”

Available as an ebook.

Save Time By Organizing Your Records

It’s important to have your records in order, both for reporting your earnings and expenses for your taxes, and for the trucking company you work for. Record keeping is mandatory; stay organized and save yourself from a lot of hassle down the road. Be sure to organize your records regularly, that will keep it from becoming an overwhelming task. This will also protect yourself from any legal issues that may come up from not having everything in order or losing important documents.

Easy Tips for Organized Record Keeping

1. Have separate folders for 3 categories: trip reports, expense receipts, and maintenance and repair records.
2. Write the date and trip name on the receipt for easy identification.
3. Set up a system that you can remember and that fits your needs. Keep it simple!
4. Keep all receipts, logs, and other key information from the same trip together.
5. Be sure to save your records for up to 10 years. Go through your documents annually to toss out anything that’s older than 10 years.
6. Keep a notebook summary of your trips. Record specific instructions, date of trip, trailer#, trip miles, fuel, drops, pick ups, and any out of pocket expenses. Record anything unusual about the trip. This will create a useful reference for you to look back on.
7. Find an app that helps you keep track of your records. TRANSFER is great for taking photos and sending/receiving documents. Wave is a free app for managing your receipts. There are plenty of other apps for organizing your records.
8. Label each folder with the date and any key information.
9. Create a template to keep on the outside of each folder for easy reference.
10. Safely store all of your folders in a box labeled by year. On the outside of the box, record the contents of the box so you can easily find and access the records you need without having to search every box.

Tired of losing precious time due to unforeseen issues at the drop off or pick up dock? A new app, Dock411, has been designed to help the trucking industry save time and money by giving truckers a heads up about their next stop. Not only is it helping truckers and trucking companies, by helping make the shipping industry faster, safer, and more efficient, Dock411 is helping the shipping and receiving warehouses, dispatchers, logistics companies, and insurance companies. This is a great step towards helping raise industry standards and removing a lot of the unnecessary complications that truckers have to go through to have a smooth delivery.

This sleek and thoughtfully designed app is still being updated, but already offers a lot of great options. Drivers are able to enter the address of the warehouse they’re headed to, or review the dock they’re at.

Some of the Available Features:

• Weight Limits
• Loading Times
• Yard Hazards
• Hours of Operation
• Backing Situations
• Pallet Restrictions
• Load / Unload Procedures
• Weather / Emergency Delays
• Bathroom Availability and Cleanliness
• Local Directions
• Overnight Parking Spots
• Blind side or Sigh Side

Find a full list of the details, hazards, and places of interest available on this app here. Truckers will also be able to preview images of the docks before arriving.

In addition to having a smoother and safer docking experience, truckers can join their fellow drivers by adding information for a chance to win weekly gift cards.

Shipping and receiving can also list their company information by filling out an online form. As a result, both the drivers and the warehouse can benefit by helping drivers get in and out quickly, with properly loaded freight, by eliminating miscommunication problems. Providing the necessary information can also cut down the chances of a liability and damaged freight.

Dock 411 is available on the App Store and GooglePlay. You can help the industry by adding docks.