When you drive a truck for a living, one of the most difficult aspects of the job is keeping in shape. Truck driving is a stressful job, but you don’t exactly get to move around a lot when you’re pulling a long haul. To make things worse, there is a lot of misinformation that can be confusing to truck drivers. CDLLife wants to be a resource for truckers and their health, so we decided to expose some things that people take for truth, but honestly may not be correct.
Earlier this week, we investigated one trucker myth about the best way to work out. This time we look at why exercise alone may not be enough to cut inches from your waist. This is the last of the series for spring 2012.
Truck Driver Fitness Myth #3: To get rid of this belly fat, I’m going to do as many sit-ups as I can.
Trucker Truth: You can spot strengthen, but you can’t spot reduce. That’s because body fat is systemic. As you lose weight, fat cells throughout your body give up fat. You’ll shrink all over, belly included.
To get rid of belly fat, you’ll need to reduce calories by shrinking your daily intake. Aerobic exercise such as walking or biking can help burn calories, too. Meanwhile, to tone the underlying muscle, strengthen your core with abdominal exercises such as crunches. You’ll see the work you’ve done when you begin to lose weight after a couple of months and some of the fat blanketing your abs disappear.
One great way to reduce your daily intake that makes sense for your body and your wallet, is to focus on drinking water, instead of “health drinks” or soda. Even diet sodas really aren’t good for your belly, your teeth and your heart.
That’s all we have for the spring. We’ll be back in the summer to expose more truck driver fitness myths. Got a road-worthy workout tip? Let us know!