A spare tire walks into a bar…

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Updated May 15, 2014

I don’t know if it’s middle age or the job, but for some reason I can’t seem to maintain a svelte beach body anymore. Two things about that sentence bother me. One, I sincerely hope I’m past middle age. The thought of living to a hundred does not appeal to me in the least. If my shoulders and hips hurt this bad when I wake up in the mornings now, I have no desire to find out how they feel in another 54 years.

The second thing is, I’ve never really had a svelte beach body, so maintaining one isn’t an issue for me and never has been.

Fitness is a huge “hot button topic” in the industry right now. (Shout out to James Jalliet, not for the fitness thing, but for the reference to “huge.”) Rumor has it, by 2015 the FMCSA will have health mandates in place. Of course, it will be 2024 before their data is actually complete, but they’ll mandate it anyway, because if some mandates are good, a gabillion mandates are better. (And by using that logic, shooting yourself in the face also seems like a good idea.) 

We took a quick side trip to the beach recently. It was the first time either one of us had been in a swimsuit in a long time. We work so much, and when we’re home we’re too busy to go swimming, so seeing ourselves in swimwear for the first time in about a year was a little shocking. George has been able to stave off gaining more than 25 lbs., but he’s not happy about his trucker belly. I’m completely distraught about the 35 lbs. I have managed to collect and place in various unappealing parts of my body. I too have a trucker belly and it’s not pretty.

We were getting ready to go to the beach when George caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror on the way out and stopped.

“Damn, look at that belly. I’m going to have to take it out and leave it at the bar.”

“I’ll make sure mine is there to meet yours, so they can run off together and leave us the hell alone.”

George behind the camera, doing pics and filming the first video installment for the Maxx Fitness Team; Left to right: Jesse, Aly and Jason.George behind the camera, doing pics and filming the first video installment for the Maxx Fitness Team; Left to right: Jesse, Aly and Jason.

So it’s time. It’s time to get serious and start a real program to improve not only our appearance, but our overall health and wellness. We have a team of folks who are working with us on a program designed specifically for truckers and built around the food and exercise options we have available. There are several programs out there, but we’re hoping to help them design one that’s a little more realistic and geared around our lifestyle that requires no extra equipment or installations in the truck.

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I hate fitness and will be the most awful client ever. (I have warned them that my progress will be like potty training an ill-willed child.) Up until two years ago, I had a job that met all my physical requirements – lifting patients and running from room to room was my gym. I hate to exercise. George will take his walks and exercise, but only if he can smoke while doing it. We’re awesome like that, so The Weigh Station has their work cut out for them.

Follow along, join in, drink the healthy kool-aide. There will eventually be horrifying “before” pictures of us posted somewhere (their website is under construction, so I’m assuming the Facebook page is where we’ll begin). Feel free to offer advice and personal stories, a community approach is what we’re going for with this – you will be an integral part of the design and we need your input.

Healthy bodies always support the brain better, and we all know driving is a mind game, so you may as well have as much of an advantage as you can. Here’s to being the best we can be. Happy trail mix!

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