New fitness set lets drivers work out in the cab
Unable to get to the gym after a long day on the road with limited movement, truckies can start to get a little out of shape.
Daimler and Mercedes-Benz in Europe have come up with a way for truckies to get much-needed exercise without leaving the cab. As part of the TopFit Truck project, which began in Germany in 2013, the TopFit Set accessory aims to tackle on-going back problems in drivers.
The TopFit Set is a 65 x 40cm plywood board, rubber tube and ergonomic handle combination that drivers stand on and work out with. Two metal eyelets and a spring clip connect the plywood to the resistant rubber tubing and provide a portable resistant trainer for tight spaces. It offers privacy, two different levels of training resistance and fits between the truck’s front seats.
“We specifically developed our TopFit Set for use in a truck cab,” Daimler customer researcher and developer, Siegfried Rothe, says. “Using the fitness board, drivers can exercise in the privacy of their cab – an important factor for many truckers.”
Daimler says it began its fitness focus after research in 2012 concluded that back pain has affected around 80 per cent of the German population at one point in time. A separate report last year shone the spotlight on the transport industry, the company says, with professional drivers taking 24.1 days off work per year on average.
While keeping drivers on the road for longer each year will have positive benefits for fleet operators, drivers themselves may see reductions in fatigue, weight and significant back ailments.
The development team behind the accessory haven’t left the workout ideas to the drivers; they have produced a series of four fitness videos that tackle relevant areas of the human body. The workouts, Basic Fit, Strong Fit, Top Fit and Power Fit, each contain six exercises and focus on the neck, shoulders, upper arms, abdomen and the back.
Mercedes-Benz’s on-board telematics service, the Android-based FleetBoard Driver app, will receive the workouts in a free Fitness Coach module from May that “also has a great deal of information and hints on the subject of ‘fitness and health while on tour’,” Daimler says.
Daimler says different resistance tubes will be available in the future and each TopFit Set comes with a carry bag.