You often hear theres a perception of HGV drivers being a bunch of fat, thick, ignorant lumps of lard with enormous wobbling guts…would you dispute that perception? How many of us exercise? Read books?
Being honest do too many of us fit the description? My gut is so big the council awarded it it’s own postcode for example.
You don’t often see a fat postman or roofer and there is an obvious reason for that they are not sat on their arses for hours on end they are getting lots of exercise during the day.
JeffA:
You often hear theres a perception of HGV drivers being a bunch of fat, thick, ignorant lumps of lard with enormous wobbling guts…would you dispute that perception? How many of us exercise? Read books?Being honest do too many of us fit the description? My gut is so big the council awarded it it’s own postcode for example.
i wouldnt say my gut wobbles but my moobs certainly do 
Im a big chap. 6ft 2 and currently 17 stone. When my weight hit 19 stone I started to excercise more and cut out the crap that I ate.
I now eat an apple for breakfast, small portion of granola for lunch and some mixed nuts for my afternoon snack. Missus cooks me a healthy low fat meal
in the evening.
It was hard at first but my smaller portions are no longer making me hungry. The weight is slowly but steadily going.
However the gut is still there and is the last thing to go according to the nutrionist that I talk too.
In answer to you, yes we have a very poor image. In fact there are a lot of slobs out there that also dress like they have been dragged through a hedge backwards.
When you see what falls out of the cabs at motorway services it’s easy to understand why the public have the perception they do.
Thick - no; at least not historically.
It is not the kind of career you could do well in long term if you were thick.
In times pre internet, sat-nav, single Euro currency, mobile phones etc. it required a hell of a lot of skills (most learned on the job as required) to get a load from A to B.
Especially so when B was over the water.
Intermitent fasting…
I don’t eat from 18.00 to 12.00 the following day. If I do get hungry, I have a cod liver oil capsule and fibre tablet. During those six hours, I hoof down everything I can see. I do 10 minutes top heart rate cardio every day. I’ve lost 11kg in 14 months but, losing the belly is near on impossible after you get in yer 50s.
I put a ton of weight on when I stopped smoking.
i also have no friends at all
It’s not just public perception, various sources (both the easily accessible reading and the more ■■■■■■■■ reading you get from scientific journals) report that HGV drivers do tend to higher than average rates of: overweight or obesity, (and all the conditions linked to that) hypertension, and significantly higher rates of smoking compared to other work environments (about 70% of drivers are reported to be smokers).
DHL in the US have teamed up with some scientists to create an “initiative” aimed at doing something about driver health.
researchgate.net/publicatio … ted_States
I always wonder if all that sitting can be countered by exercise.
Conor:
When you see what falls out of the cabs at motorway services it’s easy to understand why the public have the perception they do.
I definitely put on a few lbs in my first two years, but I’m now lifting 3x a week again and if I bring food I find it easier to not snack on crap than when I was office based with easy access to vending machines and endless free lattes from coffee machine.
JeffA:
I always wonder if all that sitting can be countered by exercise.
In terms of weight it absolutely can. I’m not in gym for much more than an hour each time and diet is the main thing. However, in terms of mobility it’s a trickier question. Holding a wheel all day can pull your shoulders forward and give a hunched look, which is hard to correct.
If your palms don’t face your sides when standing and either face backwards, or in between, that’s a good indication your shoulders are too far forward. Takes a lot of rear deltoid strengthening (rear shoulder muscle) and chest stretching to regain correct posture in most cases, and you need to try and keep your chest up and shoulders back, which is hard when doing things gripping a wheel or typing on a pc.
The stereotypical truck driver is the one with the used tea bag thrown on the floor alongside the cab, and the smell of urine from where he has ■■■■■■ in the gaze of the public, often within walking distance of a loo.
He is most definitely not built for speed and is a Greggs regular. Despite all the evidence that sitting all day for work and eating a high fat diet will put you in an early grave.
I am not alone, so don’t think I am special, but am 32 waist trousers, same as when I started 35years or more ago.
Is there a secret? No…find a sport you enjoy and do it, and stop eating processed food…and get wise about what this job can do to your health.
The same in any job that involves sitiing at a desk for long hours and lack of excercise. Problem is heightened by MSA putting McDonalds and KFC etc as the meal options for a driver. A driver doesn’t get a lot of healthy options or alternatives unless he is prepared to cook and prepare it himself. The long hours and ridiculous shift patterns do not help with being able to go to a gym or taking up excercise either. Where I work there is an on site gym, A really great one too, guess how many of the drivers take advantage of this facility? NONE.
ScaniaUltimate:
Thick - no; at least not historically.
It is not the kind of career you could do well in long term if you were thick.
I would say most of these blue collar individuals including myself have a less than average appeal in the eye of the public. Having to drive through small rural villages while Mr and Mrs Jobsworth video record you on their outdated mobile phone and certain layby shenanigans that I only thought doggers got up to on a Saturday night, oh and not forgetting a significant amount of morons still glued to their mobiles on roundabouts should just about put the final nail in the coffin. Quite often when having the customary glance across during an overtake I regularly come across 4 types of drivers, A bloke that is tiny and can barely see over the dash with worn tattoos and several piercings, a bloke that is about 6’5 and looks like he cant get anymore work as a bouncer, a bloke who is young full off ego and ready to lick boot all day for experience (saw one with a ponytail today) and finally there is the old bloke approaching 70 who is so Fcking miserable he cant be ased to even swear at you under his breath.
Oh and not forgetting ladies. In my opinion some of the best truckers on the road, especially the Irish ones.
