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5 Strategies to improve your health in 2022: New Guide

We all resolve for the new year to follow. It can be anything from learning a new language to improving your health in the coming months. If you decide to have excellent health, better driver fitness, or want to do better than last year, this blog is for you! Here, we tackle the five strategies to improve your trucking fitness and make 2022 a year of health. Without further ado, let’s jump right into the five strategies to improve your health in 2022.

Top 5 strategies to improve your health in 2022

Look After Your Mental Health.

Our brain is the powerhouse of our body, and having good mental health can reflect physical and emotional impacts on you. So how do you look after your mental health and driver fitness? Start with meditation and mindfulness. 

Please pick up the habit of unwinding by writing in journals because it provides emotional comfort and stability. Drink green tea because it delays age-related cognitive decline and makes us more agile. Be kinder to yourself and remind yourself that you are only human!

Eat Right

A balanced diet today goes a long way! Enrich yourself in low-fat diets that include plenty of fruits and vegetables and sources of protein, fiber, and carbohydrates. Avoid having excessive sugar as it can lead to a condition known as insulin resistance, a precursor to developing diabetes. 

Find a balanced diet that works for you, and stick to it! Reduce your intake of alcohol, especially after 3 pm. Keep your system free from nicotine and caffeine, as these stimulators yield harmful benefits to your body.

Get Your Body Moving

It shouldn’t come across as a great surprise that exercise is critical to your health. Exercising improves cardiovascular strength and releases endorphins, which are happy hormones. It is linked to improving immunity against diseases, and exercising outdoors can enrich your body with vitamin D from the sun. 

Now here’s the thing: you don’t need to go to the gym to exercise. You could exercise with the help of online blogs or YouTube videos- like Mother Trucker Yoga’s YouTube page, teaching just a few minutes of exercise in your trucking fitness routine.

Be careful there are many people out there with fitness videos, but many of them are not trained to teach. Look for videos and blogs written by experienced professionals and ones geared towards a driver’s pain points.

Get Enough Sleep

Happy sleeping! Busy living has disrupted many of our peaceful lives, but it is critical to have an excellent 8-hour sleep each night. Sleeping well has many proven health benefits, and you’ll be surprised to know so. Sleeping boosts your body’s immunity, increases your cognitive reflexes, reduces aging of the brain, and helps in memory strengthening. You should ensure you’re sleeping and waking up each day simultaneously, don’t eat heavy meals before bed, and turn off devices an hour before sleeping.

Hydrate Yourself

Water is mostly what we are made of, which keeps us healthy. Water aids in alertness, keeping your skin and organs healthy. It helps you remain refreshed and work at the best of your mental abilities. An average adult needs eight glasses of water, and so should you if you want to have the best trucking fitness! This concludes our five strategies to improve your health in 2022.

5 Strategies to improve your health in 2022: New Guide Hydrate Yourself Mother Trucker Yoga blog image

Conclusion

We have brought you some driver fitness tricks to put up your sleeve this year. All you have to do is gather motivation and willpower to stick through and become healthier, happier, and have an excellent trucking fitness routine this year!

 

If you are ready to shift gears and join the movement.

Sign up to be a part of Mother Trucker Yoga’s LIFESTYLE JUMPSTART Platform & APP!

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Road Trip Yoga: 6 Poses You Can Do on the Road

Road Trip Yoga: 6 Poses You Can Do on the Road

If you’re on the road, you must be all too familiar with the unhealthy eating, little to no exercise, and long hours in the driving seat with that painful spot in your back and neck. It is no wonder that truck drivers are reported to have an obesity rate twice of an average American. But if you want to live better, trucking yoga poses can be your savior!

Trucking yoga is a specific regime designed for truck drivers who travel great distances for work. It is quick to do, does not require equipment or large space, and effectively aids you in your health building. So let’s read more about the poses you can do on the road.

 

Top 6 poses to do on the road.

  1. You can always rely on this pose tYou can always rely on this pose tonward FaDog

To relieve the stress os rely on this pose. Placing both your hands on the side of your truck, step back and then hinge yourself forward, allowing your head to droop anax. Make sure that you relax your muscles in this pose for the best result.

  1. Seat Belt Twist

Seat Belt Twists are one of the simplest yoga poses on the road. As you sit straight in your driver’s seat, twist your torso to reach your elbow around your seat. Place your other hand on your knee and take a few deep breaths as you hold this position.

  1. Catchers Stretch Squat

The Catchers Stretch Squat (Malasana variation) is a quick way to engage your muscles flexibly. Take your feet apart and squat down on the floor with your palms pressed to each other. Rock yourself gently in that position and do this trucking yoga pose to improve flexibility.

  1. Figure Four Reclined Variation

Figure four is best before driving. Try this stretch before getting out of bed for an excellent lower back and hip release. Laying down flat (support your head if needed), bend both knees, and cross one ankle over the opposite knee. Press the crossed knee away for a stretch then if you choose, clasp your hands underneath the lower hamstring and draw the legs in a while pressing the lower back and hips back into the bed. Hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute and repeat the opposite side.

For the Seated Version: Sit in the passenger seat and lift your right ankle over your left knee. Bend slightly forward and flex your foot during it to stretch your legs before a long drive. Do the same for the other leg!

  1. Sun Salutations or Yoga Flow

Sun salutations require you to find a quiet stop, such as a stop in your route. With your feet slightly apart, stand tall and inhale. Then you should lift your hands straight over your head and hold your position, exhaling slowly as you bring your hands down. But even if you don’t know a sun salutation, just make one up and string poses together to move, breathe and feel your best. Try to hold each pose for 5 breaths to maximize the benefit of each move.

  1. Legs up the Wall / Elevated Legs

Finally, when you’re stopping to rest, bring your trucking yoga poses to an end by practicing this move. When you’re on your bed to rest, put yourself against the wall and let your legs rest on the wall for a few. This will regulate blood circulations in your system and uplift any stress in your muscles!

Conclusion

When you’re dreading your road trips as a truck driver, it is time to start paying attention to your physical health. Whilst you are unable to keep a steady exercising routine, it is easy to practice trucking yoga poses on the road. We hope that in your journey, this blog will aid in improving your health and wellness!

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Driver Fitness: Building Up Strength without Push-Ups

In our twenties, we typically feel invincible, like we can do anything and are unbreakable. Then in our thirties, we may feel minor wear and tear, but we are at the peak of our lives for the most part. But by age forty, fifty, and sixty, the ability to carry loads of life the way we used to start shows signs of weakness both mentally and physically.

Yet for many when it comes to the idea of strength and truckers, the idea of a trucker workout or driver fitness is often push-ups, cardio, and extreme fitness. Building strength woman or man does not have to be this and in my opinion, is an outdated way of taking back your health.  

Life can often get busier; we have more responsibilities and more things pulling at our focus. Being assertive is an inner game just as it is an outer game, and the two often play off each other. They sacrifice exercise, movement, and mental wellness to meet many of the additional needs’ demands. 

If you feel exhausted, mentally spent, short-tempered, distracted, lacking excitement for life, even showing signs of depression, you don’t need more rest; what you need is to feel strong again. 

Whether you are a truck driver, someone who sits at a computer all day, or on your feet doing every task known to man, when you don’t physically feel strong, it impacts how you feel mentally. Which in turn affects how you live your life.

Many think yoga is just stretching or meditating. Still, yoga is a total body experience that many do not fully understand until they participate in the first, second, and even tenth time. 

The Importance of Building Up Strength? 

Why focus on exercises and movements that build muscle? As we age, we lose three to five percent of our muscle mass each decade after age thirty. But if you aren’t doing anything to maintain what you have, that number only grows, and your body loses muscle, that is. It’s a misconception to build muscles. It would help if you lifted heavyweights. Research has proven that after age thirty, switching to lighter weights or focusing on resistance training has a more powerful impact on your physical body and decreases the chances of getting injured. And building up strength without push-ups doesn’t have to be complicated and can be easy and fun. There are more ways than heavyweights to build your strength back up. 

Don’t forget the impact of feeling physically strong has back on your mental state. Even if t weight feels heavy or the Plank feels shaky, the effect it has on your brain, thoughts, feelings, and outlook on life is nothing short of transformative. Working out regularly for just 20 minutes can boost long-term memory by 10%. It also improves cognitive function by increasing blood flow to the brain and slowing down dementia.

What is Strength Training/Exercise?

Strength training, typically known as weight or resistance training, is an anaerobic exercise that includes the breakdown of glucose (sugar) for energy without oxygen to consider free-loads, weight machines, or resistance training. Weight training can be utilized to reinforce and build up significant muscles, like the legs, back, glutes, chest, shoulders, arms, and midsection. These muscles are all needed in daily tasks and help reduce pain. Stretching allows our body to release tightness, pulling, and snags in our tissues that could be causing pain and discomfort. But building strength also allows us to reduce pain and discomfort by ensuring the muscles in our body supporting us are at peak performance and up for the job. 

Benefits

I believe taking care of your body is about balance. Not that fancy balance where life is a walk in the park talk. But balance where you give your body a little bit of everything. A few stretches, a dash of cardio-like walking, or even stepping up and down off your step while you are parked all count. But let’s not forget the need to build and maintain your strength. 

When we focus on building up strength and toning our muscles we:

  • Make the muscles of the whole body more substantial.
  • Stimulate bone growth.
  • Lower blood sugar level
  • Help in maintaining weight.
  • Improve posture and balance.
  • Reduce mental fatigue.
  • Improve memory.
  • Improve oxygen to the brain through more regular breathing.

 Driver Fitness: Building Up Strength without Push-Ups

There are many ways to build up strength no matter your age, and when you live over the road as a truck driver, you often have to use what you ha e. Not every driver has to time, means, or ability to pull over and park near Planet Fitness or have a total weight or gym set up in their truck. Many carrying around dumbbells or fancy equipment is not first on their necessity list when packing their vehicle for their next trip.

1.Planks on the step of your truck  

Throw on a pair of gloves and use your truck steps or your frame steps on your trailer to set your body up for these quick moves. Driver fitness doesn’t have to be complicated or take a lot of time.

Your body weight is an excellent way to maintain strength and it up as well  Plus moves like this require no extra equipment to travel with, but if you did have the equipment, make sure you have a secure toolbox to store it in on your truck. Try adding in a side plank, leg lifts, and arm lifts while in a plank- you’ll feel it. 

Driver Fitness: Building Up Strength without Push-Ups mother Trucker yoga blog plank

2.Bicep Curls, Tricep Extensions, and Shoulder Overhead Press

You don’t need a zillion moves for a healthy dose of driver fitness, just a few good ones to keep you moving powerfully. If you are traveling and tight on space, swap out an actual hand-weight for two wrenches or something heavy inside your truck. No one said fancy is necessary and when it comes to building up strength without push-ups, don’t stress, there are more ways to skin a cat.

Try to do ten reps of each move one to three times a day. With all that sitting at the wheel, posture and upper body strength and tone can begin to fade. Ensure you have a supportive seat and your steering wheel at the proper height not to cause shoulder or neck pain, But when you aren’t driving, you snuck in a few quick strength-building moves that you can do anywhere in under five minutes. 

Driver Fitness: Building Up Strength without Push-Ups overhead extension mother trucker yoga blog

3.Resistance Band Training 

resistance band training mother trucker yoga blog hope zvara

 

There are all sorts of fancy resistance band kits available for purchase, but you don’t need them. For best success, purchase a six to eight-foot physical therapy grade resistance band, a door loop, and a loop band to get the job done. 

Try incorporating moves with a loop band for great leg toning and resistance training. The great thing about resistance training when it comes to driver fitness is that you can easily travel with this equipment and practice the driver fitness moves anywhere.

resistance bands workout mother trucker yoga blog hope zvara

PURCHASE OUR BAND TRAVEL KIT

Next time you are at the track, stop threading your resistance band through the door loop, close the door, grab each side, and pull down. Get creative, try using one arm and pull, or create a combo and as you pull on the resistance band, add a squat. You can quickly build hip and leg strength with a loop band by placing it around your ankles and walking ten paces forward and back or doing a lap around your truck.

Adding in resistance band work a few times a week, even just five minutes, you will notice a difference in posture, strength, and a reduction in joint pain. And remember it’s easy to build up strength without push-ups and resistance bands can help you with that. Now that you have a few strategies to build up strength without push-ups I can’t wait to hear how your next truck driver workout goes. 

 

No matter what type of strength training you choose to incorporate into your day as a driver, the most important thing is that you add it in. Paying attention to your physical strength and feeding your physical body what it needs will also benefit how you feel mentally. If you want to improve your mental wellness and mental strength, consider adding a few moves to build up your physical strength first. Before you know it, your mind and body will feel like they are twenty again but with the wisdom of a forty, fifty, or sixty years old. 

Happy Moving!

 

It’s time to take care of yourself. Here at Mother Trucker Yoga, we believe in the small simple changes that lead to the big results, so that you can feel good again. Join our family and enroll in our Mother Trucker Yoga LIFESTYLE JUMPSTART Membership Platform & APP use the code: MTY30 for a FREE 30 DAYS!

 

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How Can Trucking Companies Improve the Overall Health of Drivers?

 

How Can Trucking Companies Improve the Overall Health of Drivers Mother Trucker Yoga Blog

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If your trucking company wants better employee productivity and performance, it’s time to focus on your drivers’ overall health. Researchers from the NIHR in Leicester revealed that drivers’ average BMI and waist circumference are higher than normal levels. Since most drivers pursue sedentary lifestyles, they are at a higher risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

 

Unfortunately, the researchers also discovered that truck drivers suffer from poor mental health. It was highlighted that US truck drivers have higher levels of anxiety and depression than the average worker, thus increasing their likelihood of experiencing collisions on the road.

 

Given these dire health conditions, you need to start supporting the wellness of your employees. To start, here’s how your trucking company can improve the overall health of your drivers:

 

Digital Fitness Programs

 

Many truck drivers drive long distances for many hours, so it’s much easier to catch up on sleep than hit the gym. Unfortunately, when this happens, drivers’ physical and mental health can suffer.

 

Trucking companies can put a stop to their drivers’ sedentary lifestyles by making it easier for the employees to exercise. Our article on the ‘Benefits of Yoga for Travel’ highlights that mind and body exercise can be practiced everywhere through the guidance of digital platforms and books. Through these accessible yoga resources, drivers can do a quick yoga routine to improve their body’s circulation and relieve any pain, then hop back on their trucks to continue their drives.

 

Virtual Care Services

 

Truck drivers have a higher risk for physical and mental illnesses, so it’s crucial to boost their access to medical services. But since truck drivers travel to numerous locations, it’s easier for them to connect with telehealth professionals than in-office physicians.

 

Since trucking companies need to provide on-demand healthcare services for drivers on the go, the telehealth platform Wheel illustrates how companies can customize virtual care services for their employee benefits program. A customizable healthcare solution allows companies to achieve up to 70% savings while allowing their drivers to benefit from primary care, behavioral health, and diagnostics services in one solution. By boosting the accessibility of healthcare services, your company can ensure your drivers get effective, timely care.

 

Regular Sleep Disorder Screening

 

Truck drivers also have a high risk for sleep apnea. This sleep disorder interferes with the quality of their rest, and drivers with sleep apnea may experience daily memory issues and daytime fatigue, which can lead to accidents.

 

Recognizing the hazards of sleep apnea, the chief medical officer at the National Transportation Safety Board recommends that all transportation operators must be screened and diagnosed for sleep apnea. Companies must also provide flexibility with the screening and treatments for this sleep disorder so that it’s easier for drivers to get the help they need.

 

Nutrition Education

 

Many truck drivers also struggle to maintain a healthy weight because of the lack of nutritious food options on the road. Long-distance truck driver Carlos Soto explains that he had to make a significant effort to fit a healthier diet into his lifestyle. Rather than relying on convenient, fast food, he preps his meals and brings a supply of healthy snacks for his shifts.

 

Similarly, companies can encourage truck drivers to consume a nutritious diet by providing educational programs. Truck drivers need to learn how to prepare nutritious meals to bring healthy meals for their long drives instead of resorting to fast food.

 

Due to the nature of trucking, truck drivers may pick up unhealthy habits on the road. By making it easier to pursue a healthy lifestyle, trucking companies can reduce the occupational hazards that come with the job.

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A Truck Drivers Guide to Avoiding Injury When Working Out

Truck driving is a job that is full of relative motions like changing gear, and requires drivers to spend the majority of their working day sitting down. Unfortunately, that leaves us more vulnerable to inactivity, but then also injury when working out than those working in other careers. It really is a bit of a catch-22 situation. 

 

The good news is that by exercising regularly we can improve our health, and by following the steps below we can make working out as safe and injury-free as possible. Read on to find out more. 

A Truck Drivers Guide to Avoiding Injury When Working Out Mother Trucker Yoga BLog

Picture located at Pexels – Licence CC0 

 

The dangers of inactivity for truck drivers

 

Before we look at the ways to minimize injury from working out as a truck driver, it’s important to state just how important regular exercise is. This is because those of us that drive trucks are at much greater risk for developing diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. After all our job is all about sitting down in pretty much the same position for 10-12 hours at a stretch. 

 

Of course, there are several factors that contribute to the increased risk of diseases, such as diet, but challenging ourselves to be more active and exercise is one way that we can effectively reduce our health risks.  

 

Unfortunately, as you may already know, while working out is great for your health, getting an injury from working out is not. In fact, an injury can not only spoil your chances of keeping up with regular exercise but can have an impact on your mental health and ability to drive as well. That is why it’s so important to learn how to minimize the risk of injury when working out. A topic that is explored in detail, in the post below. 

A Truck Drivers Guide to Avoiding Injury When Working Out mother trucker yoga blog image

How to Avoid Injury When Working Out: 

 

Begin with a warm-up 

 

There are many ways to reduce the risk of injury to truck drivers as they work out. The first of these is to do a warm-up before you begin. Warming up is crucial because it helps to prep your body for the workout to come, warming and lengthening the muscle fibers so they are not only less likely to strain, but also will be in prime condition to be effective as well. 

 

The good news is that warm-ups don’t have to be complicated or use a whole heap of expensive equipment that is hard to carry in your cab. Instead, one of the most simple warm-ups you can do is a brisk walk or jog – perhaps around a truck stop or car park? The amin here is to raise your heart rate and get your muscles warm so you can begin the next phase of your workout safely. 

 

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Alternatively, another opera warm-up that is ideal for truck drivers is dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching differs from static stretching because you’re not just moving your muscles but your whole body as well. Thereby getting a more thorough warm-up. 

 

Some simple dynamic stretching that you can try and can be done anywhere including standing side crunches or walking lunges with a twist are perfect trucking fitness exercises. Remember to go gently at first, especially if you have been stuck in your cab for hours, as your body will take a little time to loosen up. 

 

Use proper form when it comes to trucking fitness for drivers

 

Another way that truck drivers can help minimize the risk of injury when they exercise is to make sure they use proper form. Proper form is all about doing the exercises in the correct way and positing your body right. 

 

Of course, this means you need to learn the specific technique of any exercise that you are doing so you know whether your joints should be bent, or locked, and what position each part of your body should be in. 

 

If you are unsure check out the form guides on youtube or find a certified personal trainer or fitness instructor to help you when you begin. 

 

Make sure you listen to your body 

 

You can also help reduce the risk of injury when exercising by getting in tune with your body. This doesn’t mean you have to spend hours meditating though. Instead, just be sure to listen for signs that your body is being pushed beyond its limits. Remember feeling a little discomfort during a stretch is normal, a sharp pain is not, and it’s a signal from your body that you need to stop right away. Trucking fitness can be simple, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

 

Support any weak areas with a compression sleeve

 

Making sure that any weaker areas in your body are properly supported will also help you to avoid injury. For this purpose, many people use a standard compression sleeve. Although, investing in a product like these GO kinesiology sleeves can be a better choice. The reason is that they are targeted support for muscles, tendons, and ligaments, helping you to maintain proper form, and reducing the risk of injury while working out. 

 

Cool Down Afterward

 

It’s important to cool down properly after a workout, especially if you’ve been sweating a lot. This helps your body recover and avoid injuries. A good cool-down includes light stretching and/or walking for a few minutes. You can also drink plenty of fluids to replenish any lost during your workout.

 

Simple cool-down activities you can do anywhere include: 

 

When it comes to avoiding injuries while working out as a truck driver, you really have to remember to do a proper cool down. Cools-downs will help transition your body from high activity to normality and will ensure that the lactic acid in your muscles won’t build up too much and cause you pain the next day. 

 

Simple warm-down exercises that you can do next to your cab include a gentle walk or some static stretching of your muscles. It’s also important to make sure you replace any fluids during your cool down so ensure you have a bottle of water or sports drink to sip from too. 

 

Get enough rest

 

Lastly, if you want to avoid injury is vital that you get enough rest in between workouts, so your body can effectively build muscles and repair itself. Of course, getting a good night’s sleep in the back of your cab can be a bit of a challenge, so be sure you create the most comfortable environment possible and avoid caffeinated drinks up to 5 hours before you are due to go to sleep. 

And don’t forget that trucking fitness for drivers just like you can be simple. Don’t forget to join Mother Trucker Yoga’s LIFESTYLE JUMPSTART Membership & APP for more great content, moves, and fun!

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4 Core Strengthening Strategies for a Stronger Body

Sitting all day can be hard on anyone’s body, but for a truck driver when the driver’s seat is your office, if you aren’t paying attention, your physical body can suffer. Trucking fitness should be an essential focus for any driver or company because without truck driver fitness, who do you have to drive those trucks?

After nearly 20 years of teaching yoga, functional fitness, and core health I have learned a thing or two when it comes to taking care of our physical bodies. And our core is essential in that. Many still think that sit-ups are a way to strengthen, slim down, and tone up the core. And it saddens me when I see other fitness leaders out there STILL RECOMMENDING THEM. If anything you learn from this blog, it’s to STOP doing sit-ups today.

And before you start to work out or add core strengthening exercises understanding where your core is and what it does is necessary for life fitness goals like reducing pain, improving mobility, and feeling good again.

Here are four of my core strengthening strategies for better trucking fitness.

Your core starts at the floor.

Cueing your core is simple once you know where it is and what it should feel like when it’s idling and in full swing. I used to ride on the coined cue “navel to spine” but as I have described in past videos and posts talking about the core, that cue is detrimental to the spine and creates a downward spiral of instability. Take a moment to think about and imagine that your body is a balloon. Take one hand and squeeze the balloon in the middle. Whether or not you have a balloon in your hand I bet you can imagine what happens. The two ends get pushed out and forced away from the center and the middle is small and pinched (weak). When you suck your navel to your spine you are a balloon squeezed in the middle walking about trying to be stable. Now throw some of your extreme exercise or poor posture into the mix and you have yourself some back issues (and probably digestive ones too).

So where exactly does our core start? I’ll give you a hint; look lower than your belly button. If you guessed your feet you are right! Our feet are the bottom of the core, and where it all begins. Having healthy feet is essential in order to cultivate a healthy core and a healthy framework for your body to stand, squat, reach and bend better.

 

And if our core begins at our feet, we have to treat our feet as an important tool for healthy, functional, and effective core work. One of the reasons I teach barefooted is because, How can you work your feet (core) if they are stuffed in shoes? It’s like trying to strengthen your arm in your cast, and even after it is all healed you still continue to wear the cast and expect those muscles to wake up and start working. For many of us our feet have spent most of our lives in casts: fluffy, padded, high heeled (and I’m not just talking women’s heels) shoes. I get it, good marketing and advertisements play a huge role in this myth that fancy shoes are the cure-all, but sadly this is far from the truth.

It’s time to take a closer look at our core structure and learn to move with greater efficiency and less pain. Apply my 4 house building cues below and start rebuilding your body from the foundation up and have better trucking fitness.

#1: THE FOUNDATION

If your feet have issues, there is a good chance that other parts of your body (including your core!) will have problems in the future or already do. Like a house, this is the rebar and footings in your foundation.

So considering our core starts at the feet, it only makes sense to start our work there. On your journey to your core, consider waking up your feet each day; try taking off your shoes for starters, and start to use your atrophied muscles. Think about possibly rolling out your feet with an acuball or tennis ball, stretching your calves, and moving your toes. Think of this stimulation as rebooting the circuit board in your physical body for effective amp usage. (Here’s a few BOSU Elite foot strengthening exercises to check out as well) Building a solid foundation is essential for better trucking fitness no matter what your age is.

#2: THE WALLS

The trail between your feet and pelvis determines whether or not your body has to take the highway or country road to get where it’s going and let’s hope there isn’t a fallen tree in the way. Like a house, this is the vertical rebar and poured walls that keep the house above the sound.

What starts at your feet travels up your inner leg line into your pelvic floor. Understanding neutral is vital to the health and harmony of your core. When standing, scan the following checkpoints as a basic rule of thumb for healthy foot and leg neutral.

  • Outer edges of your feet parallel with outer edges of your mat (or in line with the sides of the room)
  • Vertical fold lines on the backs of the knees point straight back (be ready for things to feel really weird)
  • Pelvis in neutral, this means pubis and ASIS (anterior superior iliac spine), the bony front hip points stack and run parallel with the front wall

This may feel really awkward, especially if you have spent most of your life twisted and misaligned, your muscles have created memory and I’m pretty sure your shoes have either masked or helped this cause. Take a breath and see this realignment as core training and an exercise in itself.

#3: THE FLOORING

Your pelvic floor needs to be acknowledged and accessed for healthy core stability above. Your pelvic floor is the bottom floor of your house above, if it’s faulty or overlooked, it doesn’t matter what color you paint it, that house is no good.

Imagine if the floor of your house had a hole in it, after a while that hole in the floor would get annoying, and ultimately things would start to fall through, get stuck, or start to crumble. I encourage all my students to get to know this area first. It’s not that we just squeeze and hope for the best, but rather create an awareness of our actual pelvic floor and what it feels like. For many, truck driver or not, this area is dead, turned off as if the wires to the ground floor of your house have been cut or installed incorrectly. The good news is you can rewire them with work. I’ve seen it done on a vast number of individuals, ones who thought it was a lost cause, ones with extreme pelvic floor dysfunction and even pain.

Let’s start with the basics, draw awareness to the bony landmarks: pubis bone, sits bones, and tailbone, within these markings is your pelvic floor. Consider working to contract this area in various positions to see what works best and what needs work, and to see how effective are you from back to front contracting (anal sphincter, vaginal passageway, or soft tissue behind the scrotum, and urethra -controlling the bladder). Which area contracts, which area is miswired? What areas are you compensating for by squeezing the glutes instead? Think pelvic floor engages first, then glutes engage for better stability and function. As you become more effective here, that contraction upwards turns into stability inwards, meaning you should feel a contraction in your font lower belly, and that contraction is stimulated from within, not by drawing your navel to your spine.

#4: THE ROOFING

Your rib cage is like the roof for your house, if it’s crooked or off-centered you can expect your shingles, chimney, or dormers (meaning upper back, shoulders, and neck) to have issues eventually too.

In brief, when the rib cage is not stacked properly above your pelvis, your core is thrown off. For many, splaying of the front rib cage is a huge problem. Not only does it lead to the rectus abdominis (our 6 pack muscle as we know it) being overstretched and our back muscles being shortened, but this can also result in or lead to issues with a tightening of the psoas, which can cause problems when it comes to working the pelvic floor.

So the next time you go to work your core, start with the floor and work your way up. The reality is to properly work our core muscles there is some realigning we have to do, and several new roads that need paving in order to move and breathe pain-free and effectively. When our bodies are put in proper alignment we not only have reduced pain, we also recruit the right muscles to do their designated jobs and function more efficiently both on and off the mat, in all we do.

My husband may build and remodel houses for a living, but I get to help build up and rebuild people’s bodies that go to live in those houses. And these are just a few strategies to help you build better trucking fitness and a stronger core.

If you are ready to take the next steps to build a stronger, more stable, and sleek core with no sit-ups, join me in my 5 Minutes to Fit™ Program that will take you from where you are to where you want to be in just minutes a day!

5 Minutes to Fit Tighten and Tone Core Re-H-Ab Fitness Program Mother Trucker Yoga

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Truck Driver Fitness: Know the 4 Different Types of Exercise & Benefits

Different Types of Exercises and Its Benefits

Before knowing the types of exercises, the first and significant question here is “What is an Exercise?”

An exercise is the intentional, habitual, and structural movement of the body or a part of the body to maintain or restore the body’s healthy functioning.

Talking about its benefits, we cannot estimate enough of them because they are vast. On a brief note, Exercise improves one’s mental, physical, emotional, and even spiritual well-being.

Whether people participate in light exercises, like taking a walk, or focused energy exercises, for instance, challenging cycling or weight lifting, customary Exercise gives a colossal scope of advantages for the body and brain. And as a truck driver, it is essential that you find time to fit in trucking fitness and get a wide variety of movement styles throughout the day and week. As a trucking fitness company, and more than 20 years of teaching fitness and wellness to people in pain, I get it, long drawn out workouts are difficult to keep up with and leave people quitting before they even begin to see results. That doesn’t have to be your story. 

Truck Driver Fitness: Know the 4 Different Types of Exercise & Benefits mother trucker yoga blog exercise image

Partaking in Exercise of any intensity each day is fundamental for forestalling many illnesses and other health problems.

Here I will explain four different & necessary exercises and their benefits for a healthy functioning body.

 

  1.   Aerobic Exercise
  2.   Strength Exercise
  3.   Stretching Exercise
  4.   Balance Exercise

 

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic Exercise speeds up your heart rate and breathing rate. These exercises help keep you fit, improve your wellness, and assist you with playing out the physical and mental tasks you need to do each day. Aerobic Exercise intends to improve how the body utilizes oxygen. Most aerobic Exercise happens at a sustainable level of power over long periods.

Aerobic Exercise is the sort that causes you to breathe more deeply or heavily and develops a healthy body. We will generally consider this sort of activity when we hear the word work-out.

It is exceptionally advantageous and will improve your well-being even at a moderate pace or intensity. You can get the advantages of high-impact Exercise from a lively walk or a consistent cycle ride.

Walking, swimming, hiking, biking, dancing, running, jogging, etc. All types of aerobic exercises will boost your heart rate and let the energy flow in your whole body.

 

Benefits

  • Aerobic exercises improve the functioning of your heart and lungs.
  • It boosts up your whole circulatory system function.
  • Stimulate erythropoiesis (red blood cell) formation.
  • Enhances oxygen transportation in tissues
  • Stimulates bone growth
  • Helps in Insomnia
  • Increases one’s stamina

 

Strength Exercise

Strength training, additionally usually alluded to as weight or resistance training, is a type of anaerobic exercise, a kind of actual work that includes the breakdown of glucose (sugar) for energy without oxygen. Strength training plans to assemble and keep up muscle tissue using bodyweight or external obstruction, for example, freeloads or weight machines. Weight training can reinforce significant muscles, like the legs, back, glutes, chest, shoulders, arms, and midsection.

Keep in mind it’s imperative to feel some muscle weariness toward the end of the training to ensure you are working or preparing the muscles viably.

It will probably incorporate bodyweight practices like squats, push-ups, jumps, and activities including resistance from the weight, a band, or a weight machine.

 

Benefits

  • It makes the muscles of the whole body stronger
  • Stimulates Bone Growth
  • Lowers blood sugar level
  • Helps in maintaining weight
  • Improves your posture and balance

 

Stretching Exercise

Stretching characterizes the scope of movement of your joints and the portability of your muscles. Sufficient flexibility is significant for athletic execution, day-to-day function capacity, and injury counteraction.

Stretching is genuinely significant and much neglected when individuals consider working out.

Aging prompts a deficiency of adaptability in the muscles and ligaments. Muscles abbreviate and don’t work as expected. That expands the danger for muscle spasms and torment, muscle harm, strains, joint pain, and injury, and it additionally makes it intense to traverse day-by-day exercises, like bowing down to tie your shoes.

It involves tai chi, yoga, pilates, trucking yoga, fascial training, plyometrics, etc.

 

Benefits

  •  It makes your muscles longer
  •  It makes your muscles stronger
  • Reduces pain intensity from an injury
  • Reduces risk of an injury

 

Balance Exercise

Some activities improve your balance by causing you to develop center fortitude.

To reinforce core muscles and improve strength, consistently remember your regimen’s practices that connect with various muscles. Balance and equilibrium practices frequently include moderate, controlled developments that connect with and fortify center or core muscles, which remember the muscles for your mid-region, back and pelvis. Feeble core muscles may prompt unsteadiness, helpless stance, and diminished athletic execution.

Planks, mini ball exercises, glute bridges, yoga, tai-chi, squats, leg lifts, walking, jogging, etc., are included in balance training exercises.

 

Benefits

  • It makes you feel steadier
  • It helps in preventing falls
  • Help with your visionary and auditory function
  • Good posture
  • Helps in effortlessly carrying out daily activities

 

Here at Mother Trucker Yoga, we believe that it’s the small simple changes that lead to the big results in your life so that you can feel good again. And as your go-to trucking fitness company, we believe that in just minutes a day you can live a great and healthy life.

If you are looking to incorporate more driver fitness into your daily life and are not interested in gym-style workouts that just aren’t sustainable as a driver. If you have tried other programs out there and they just aren’t working for you.

Check out our NEW Mother Trucker Yoga LIFESTYLE JUMPSTART Membership Platform and APP.

Use our code: MTY30 for a FREE 30 days!

Mother Trucker Yoga LIFESTYLE JUMPSTART App and platform image

 

 

 

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Trucking Yoga: 5 Moves to Help You Physically and Mentally

It’s always fun to build a balanced workout with a variety of movements depending on what your cardio focus is. Most people may go from extreme sitting in an office setting to intense exercise causing their body to ache or get a muscle strain. Ouch!

Set your mind and body up for success by incorporating these yoga moves into your daily routine.

Here are 5 moves to help you physically and mentally for better truck driver health.

Here are 5 trucking yoga moves that any driver can do at home or on the go. They are about finding the balance to help you continue to do what you love and enjoy… without the body aches or unnecessary pain.

  1. Move #2: Core Care Rolling Forward Bend

Trucking Yoga: 5 Moves to Help You Physically and Mentally Rolling Forward Bend Mother Trucker Yoga Blog

Who doesn’t like core work? Well, I know many don’t, and that is because they are still being taught outdated sit-ups- YUCK!

If you are in need of combating a tight front body… Good news! This yoga extension move works your core ten times more effectively than flexion. And this fun move will help you liberate your tight spots!  I call it a stretch and strengthen combo (the best moves are both).

Here, powerfully release your spine and hip flexors as you fully engage your core from the inside out! You don’t have to have a yoga mat to practice trucking yoga moves.

  1. Find a comfortable hips distance footing.
  2. Exhale, bend the knees, and “fall” into a forward bend with soft (even bent) knees.
  3. Inhale with bent knees begin to roll up the body focusing on getting your pelvis underneath you and then stacking the spine as you rise.
  4. Keeping your knees bent, before the head and shoulders stack, start to glide the pelvis forward.
  5. Imagine the pubic bone hitting a wall to open the hip flexors and extend your spine.
  6. With the arms extending alongside the ears you should feel the core quiver (earthquake) and turn on as you open the entire front line of the body.
  7. Exhale, bend the knees a bit more, and roll back down into a soft flowing forward bend.
  8. Repeat this rolling sequence 5 to 10 times.

 

Move #2: Sinking Runners Lunge

Trucking Yoga: 5 Moves to Help You Physically and Mentally Sinking Runners Lunge Mother Trucker Yoga Blog

Psoas tightness is a chronic issue and if you are someone who goes from sitting all day to running or biking, you may be finding more pain than gain. Liberate the psoas to help aid the lower back and dissolve possible knee pain and possibly shoulder pain (as the psoas can pull down the shoulder).

This is one move every driver should do daily.

  1. From a runner’s lunge (low lunge) with the feet hips-width and fingertips on the highest level of the block (option to use stools or chairs).
  2. Square the hips forward, tucking the glute of the front leg underneath the body for more stability and a better stretch.
  3. Keeping the spine long, exhale and begin to sink the hip of the back leg down, pressing long through the back heel and up through the crown of the head.
  4. Inhale and rise back up to a comfortable lunge.
  5. Continue this dynamic movement and imagine you were sinking into the front pocket of your jeans. Try finding the areas you normally don’t automatically default to. Try to find the areas that are, otherwise, avoided and sink there.
  6. If the stretch is too intense, just focus on sinking into the hip and let up on extending up through the crown of the head.
  7. Repeat this dynamic movement 10 times, stepping up into standing forward bend in-between.

Move #3 Psoas Release

Trucking Yoga: 5 Moves to Help You Physically and Mentally Psoas Release Mother Trucker Yoga Blog
Another great hip flexor stretch. This pose is meant to help alleviate hip flexor and psoas pain and discomfort. If your back feels stiff after your cardio workout this move is for you! As a bonus, you also aid in releasing quad or knee pain and back stiffness.This is an easy move to do in the sleeper. If you don’t have a yoga block you can use a folded towel or pillow under the hips. Trucking yoga can be easy and can be one move done consistently.
  1. Lying down supine on the mat place a yoga block underneath the sacrum (or just lay flat).
  2. Slowly begin to extend one leg out, down, and away from the body like pushing your heel through sand (do not worry if the leg does not go straight).
  3. Breathing calmly slowly begin to draw the opposite knee in towards the abdomen.
  4. Do not aggressively pull the bent knee in. Slowly and mindfully draw the knee into the place where you first feel a stretch, when that sensation passes, draw the knee in a bit closer.
  5. Work through this process one layer of tension at a time as you continue to reach out, down, and away through the heel of the straight leg.
  6. To be effective with the psoas hold this pose for 3-5 minutes.
  7. If you feel the stretch in the lower back, remove the block.
  8. If unable to clasp the bent knee, use a strap to hold the leg, or place a block under the bent knee’s foot. The tighter the psoas the more likely you may need head support.
  9. Repeat the opposite side.

Watch the video with Hope on how to step by step release that pesky psoas muscle and get your trucking yoga moves to go!

Move #5 Sliding Side Lunge

Trucking Yoga: 5 Moves to Help You Physically and Mentally Sliding Lunge Mother Trucker Yoga Blog

All that stepping, sliding, moving and lunging can create some lines of tension or restriction from foot to hip. Wring out your lower body and leave yourself with happy hips. This is a perfect pose to do with a workout or if you find yourself stiff when you wake up when you get out of the truck or have back pain and can’t fall asleep.

Trucking fitness does not have to be complicated and doesn’t have to mean a gym-style workout. It’s time for out with the old and in with Mother Trucker Yoga. 

  1. Begin in a wide straddle with the feet in a parallel position, firmly planted into the mat.
  2. Inhale rise up to the fingertips, and extend the spine out from the hips.
  3. With a strong belly and long lower back exhale and begin to bend one knee and slide your body towards that leg.
  4. Use your elbow, shoulder, or tricep and press into the inner leg to help open the hip.
  5. Do not lift the heel of the bent leg or roll into the arch of the straight leg.
  6. Stay plugged into the feet and engage the quad of the straight leg to help direct the stretch along the inner thigh.
  7. Hold the side lunge for 5 – 10 breaths before you return back to the center and repeat on the opposite side.
  8. If your fingertips do not comfortably, reach the ground, use blocks to assist.

Move #7 Stretch It Out Side Bend with Chair

Trucking Yoga: 5 Moves to Help You Physically and Mentally Stretch it out side bend with chair Mother Trucker Yoga Blog

Think about the direction your lifestyle choices and movements are taking you in? Much of what we do is forward-moving (Sagittal Plane).

  • Sitting in the driver’s seat.
  • Walking.
  • Running.
  • Sleeping.
  • Working on X.

All forward-moving (bending).

It is vital that we change up our movement patterns and move in other planes of motion to help reduce pain and tension patterns. For many drivers, trucking fitness can feel like doing moves your body just won’t let you do right now. But with Mother Trucker Yoga and our take on trucking yoga, those moves can be both easily accessible and beneficial- like this chair yoga stretch.

Here release your side body from hip to shoulder in one quick move. All that sticky fascia under your arms will surely get the acknowledgment it deserves. What’s fascia? Well, it’s the catsuit your body is covered in (and every muscle and every fiber of every muscle- but that for another day).

  1. Take a seat on a chair (preferably with no sides).
  2. Open your legs wide to expose the edges of the chair (if able).
  3. If your feet do not comfortably, reach the floor, place blocks under your feet.
  4. Grab hold of the opposite side of the chair with one hand (think right hand to the left side).
  5. Gently rotate your body in the same direction (towards clasping hand).
  6. Extend your free arm up alongside the ear, with the palm and elbow fold facing your head (think external rotation at the shoulder)
  7. Inhale deeply, and now exhale and begin to side bend feeling the clasped arm’s shoulder roll more deeply into the slight rotation.
  8. Relax the shoulders, and anchor the hips.
  9. Keep breathing and work to hold this pose for up to 10 breaths.
  10. To come out, roll your body to the center of the chair and relax for a moment before you roll up and repeat the opposite side.

If you are still on the fence as to yoga is right for you. Look at the five yoga poses above, is there one you can try? Is there one move you can commit to for one week, one month, and then tell me how you feel?

One pose is yoga, one mindful breath is yoga, and when you take a mindful breath in a yoga pose, well you, my friend just took it to a whole new level.

Trucking Yoga Made Easy For Drivers Like You

Have you heard about Mother Trucker Yoga LIFESTYLE JUMPSTART Platform & APP? It’s a subscription-based service that provides you with more than 100 videos, downloads, and lifestyle-focused content made just for drivers.

While everyone else is still taking the traditional route of gym-style exercises and diets, we see the gap and want to help.

You are busy, you are always on the go, and who has time for a long-drawn-out workout?

Come check out Mother Trucker Yoga LIFE STYLE JUMPSTART Platform & APP and see how we can help you feel better one small simple change at a time.

 

Mother Trucker Yoga is the only place you can get trucking yoga moves from an instructor that has been teaching yoga for more than 20 years and has customized yoga and functional movement (fitness) to a drivers biggest needs.

Mother Trucker Yoga LIFESTYLE JUMPSTART App and platform image

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Why Yoga Is Ideal For Every Type Of Person

Whether you are a newbie to yoga in particular or are just looking to get more from your practice, this age-old exercise is packed with a whole plethora of benefits designed to increase your fitness and improve both your mental and physical wellbeing. Yoga is ideal for every type of person. No matter what your fitness level is, whether you are someone who works out regularly or someone looking to get fit, or if you have done yoga lots or never before, it is a workout that will suit you.

Why yoga is ideal for every type of person trucking yoga mother trucker yoga blog

It is something that can be done in pairs, in a group such as at HOTWORX, on your own, or by downloading our new Mother Trucker Yoga app and joining our LIFESTYLE JUMPSTART Platform family, you can always reap incredible benefits from yoga. If you are a truck driver and tight on time and trucking fitness is essential, yoga can be a solution. Here are a few reasons why yoga is ideal for every type of person, no matter your ability or fitness level…

There are many different levels.

One of the best things about yoga is that you will find one suited for you no matter what type of yoga you are looking for. There are many different levels of each type of exercise and movement, meaning that you can start easy and then progress as you get better. This means it’s not too daunting starting, and you can adapt the workout depending on your skill level and need, pushing yourself when you want to or taking it more gently when you wish. And when you work with an instructor that is educated, experienced and understands the environment you are in, yoga or what we call trucking yoga can be easy.

It can improve your strength, flexibility, and balance.

Yoga is one of the best exercises for improving your strength, flexibility, and balance – all essential qualities for keeping your muscles, joints, and body healthy. As a truck driver, it’s easy to become stiff and sore from sitting. Trucking yoga can be a great way to limber up. The slow movements and deep breathing also help increase the blood flow around your body, which in turn warms up your muscles, making them more robust, more flexible, and healthier. Holding poses and building on this can help you become much stronger in yourself and teach you how to balance much better. And remember, trucking fitness doesn’t have to mean push-ups or running. It can be as simple as yoga.

It helps manage stress and relax you.

Life throws us a lot of stress, and unfortunately, it is something that we will all experience every once in a while. If you often suffer from stress, you probably also suffer from other symptoms such as headaches, trouble sleeping, and perhaps dizziness or irritability. This can significantly impact your life, but yoga can help with this. Doing yoga regularly has been found to reduce stress levels and help you feel more relaxed. Yoga encourages mental and physical relaxation, reducing tension in your mind and body, removing muscle knots, and alleviating any pain you might have. It also sends positive endorphins to your brain.

These are just a few reasons why yoga is ideal for every type person. No matter what you are looking to get from your yoga practice, whether helping you when you’re on the road to improve your posture or sorting out any back pain, it can do this. What are some top benefits of yoga you’ve found? Let us know in the comments below. We would love to hear from you!

 

If you want to learn more about yoga and how it can fit into a trucking lifestyle. Read more about Mother Trucker Yoga and our mission >> https://www.mothertruckeryoga.com/about/

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5 Ways to Feel More Confident When Doing Yoga

5 Ways to Feel More Confident When Doing Yoga MTY Blog Image 1

Many people, particularly men, would love to try yoga to calm the mind while strengthening the body. Still, they are too afraid to do so because they worry that they will feel uncomfortable in a room full of what they imagine to be svelte twentysomethings who can bend into the most mind-boggling shapes.

This is such a shame because yoga is for everybody, and it is possible to feel completely confident when doing it.

With that in mind, if you want to try yoga but you’re worried about not feeling comfortable, here are a few things you can do to feel completely confident while you’re doing it:

Try an app

These days, there are many excellent yoga apps (check out Mother Trucker Yoga’s app being released soon) that will teach the basics at home. You won’t get the same hands-on instruction you get at the local studio, but you will learn the basic asanas (poses) and some great routines that you can practice until you gain confidence. And as a driver, trucking yoga isn’t scary, it’s easy and can be done from your truck.

Dress comfortably

One thing that can make people feel uncomfortable about yoga is the perceived requirement to dress in figure-hugging lycra. This is something you do not need to worry about because you can wear whatever you’re most comfortable into your yoga class, whether that be yoga shorts for men or a pair of sweat pants and a comfy -shirt. No one will judge you, and you can wear what makes you feel most comfortable and confident for your workout. And when it comes to trucking yoga every movement counts.

Star slow

The great thing about yoga is that it poses to suit all levels and abilities. If you lack confidence, you can start slow with a few o the more accessible asanas and work your way up as and when you feel able to do so, gaining masses of confidence along the way.

Practice mindfulness

One of the great things about yoga is that although it can be a purely physical exercise to build lean muscle and flexibility, it can also be a mental practice. L If you concentrate on your breathing and the movement you are flowing through, mindfulness meditation.

If you lack confidence, focusing on the breath and flow intensely will help to keep you focused on what you are doing in the present moment so you will be less likely to worry about whether others are watching you or if you’re doing it wrong, which means you will naturally be more confident.

Remember, it takes time.

Yoga is a lifelong practice. You should not expect to be immediately good at all aspects of your practice; If you bear this in mind and start with a beginner’s mind and a willingness to learn, you will not feel like a failure if you can’t quite get into that challenging poses. Still, you will embrace the chance to learn and try again, and that is where true confidence lies.

Yoga is an excellent workout for the mind and body, so don’t let a lack of confidence put you off giving it a go!

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