Word of Caution for Rookie Drivers

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

Snowflake for falling out in the heat? Ya know what, friend* it, I'll wear that badge. It's not like I'm bragging by posting this, this whole situation was humiliating.

The whole key to this job when it's hot it's not to push yourself to the limit.
friend* these m************.

 

[Made brown]

Jesus things are all snowflakes.
Coffee in the morning Pepsi for lunch and beer after work I'm ready to go day after day

And who the hell drinks sugar-free Gatorade that smile* is nastyAnd who the hell drinks sugar-free Gatorade that smile* is nasty

Sugar free gatorade I would rather drink water from a public fountain.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

Sugar free gatorade I would rather drink water from a public fountain.

That's a nasty stuff I bought it some by accident and ended up throwing them all in a garbage.

I usually mix my Gatorade with a little bit of water

 

[oldngray]

That's a nasty stuff I bought it some by accident and ended up throwing them all in a garbage.

I usually mix my Gatorade with a little bit of water

Gatorade is mostly sugar water. There are better things to be drinking.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

Gatorade is mostly sugar water. There are better things to be drinking.

If I drink too much water at work it seems upset my stomach so I like to mix both of them.

I also like a little bit of unsweetened iced tea It seems to quench my thirst a little bit better

 

[Wally]

Old school drivers smoked, drank, ate badly, lived without a/c, and never collapsed.

 

[Made brown]

(this is a bit long-winded with a lot of numbers. my apologies if it's too much to read, but there is a tl;dr at the bottom)

I'm a rookie myself (less than two years driving) so please don't take this as condescending. This is my second summer and I've suffered heat exhaustion twice in the past three weeks. The first time I was pulled from the route and had about a week off to replenish/recover. Felt fine after a week, went back to work, made it three days before it happened again (I finished the route that day but had to call out the next.) So I let my team know, went to get bloodwork done to figure out what I'm missing, and next thing you know the doctor's saying I need an ambulance to transport me to an ER due to extremely low sodium content.

I drink 10-14 16oz bottles of water a day, at least 56oz of sugar-free Gatorade, and I keep a liter of Pedialyte in my cooler at all times to sip on as needed. Where I've been lacking is my diet, so I also take 3 supplements a day: magnesium, potassium gluconate, and dicalcium phosphate. Thing is, dealing with heat indexes of 100F-115F (about 80% humidity), it just wasn't enough.

This job is absolutely easy in a sense. You follow the methods, deliver the boxes, get the job done. Dealing with the elements can be a dance with the devil, though, and in these hot summer months you really need to take care of yourselves and be aware of any negative changes in your body/the way you're feeling so that you don't end up in the same position I've come to find myself in.

Proper hydration isn't just about slamming fluids and taking your lunch break when you're sweating for 10-12hrs in this summer heat. You've got to ensure that your diet is also providing you with more than just energy and a feeling of fullness, even when taking supplemental minerals and electrolytes. You can't let yourself get stuck in the back of the truck looking for that one package that you were just told was scanned and loaded on-car. Keep an eye out for shady areas when pulling up to a delivery location-- even if you've gotta walk an extra 20ft, do what you can to park out of direct sunlight and make sure to occasionally open the bulkhead and backdoors to let some of that oven-worthy heat escape back out into the wild. Make mental notes of places where you could take a break in an air-conditioned environment, and for Christ's sake use them to cool down and prevent yourself from starting to develop any kind of heat illness.

I know they pound this stuff into us at PCMs, and I also know that once you're on-car you may just want to get the day over with as quickly as you can (especially the newer drivers.) It's easy to tell yourself you just need to weather the storm for one more hour, or you'll get that next bottle of water after your next stop, or you'll wait until you're in a certain area to take all or part of your lunch break. Don't do that. When the thought first hits you that you need water, get water. Same with food, finding a place to cool-down, all of that. Don't postpone it and, if anything, try to make it a habit to take action before you have those thoughts.

I hope everybody stays safe and healthy out there because, depending on where you work, that can be much easier said than done.


tl;dr: Don't be dumb. Take care of yourself during these summer months.


*edited a few times to make for a cleaner read. I always proofread after I hit post, lol. Like an idiot

Maybe you could look into the replenishment solutions that high intensity athletes are given? I sure sports medicine has something that will keep you in the game, just pace yourself in the heat.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

Maybe you could look into the replenishment solutions that high intensity athletes are given? I sure sports medicine has something that will keep you in the game, just pace yourself in the heat.

There are many other things you can do It will help you survive through the day. Such as when you go to business stop make sure you go to the bathroom wash your hands and face off so skin can breathe.

Pick a good park positions so you can park your truck out of the sun and exit through the back door and leave it open so some of the really hot air escapes.

Buy yourself a bag of ice to put inside your cooler.
It's real nice to pull out and put on top of your head or hold it against your body for a few seconds to cool you down It does make a big difference

 

[NAHimGOOD]

@NAHimGOOD

You mean a Tren chaser?

 

[MyTripisCut]

Old school drivers smoked, drank, ate badly, lived without a/c, and never collapsed.

Yeah and their wives have hairy vaginas too, WDFD.

 

[PPH_over_9000]

Old school drivers smoked, drank, ate badly, lived without a/c, and never collapsed.

Yeah and their wives have hairy vaginas too, WDFD.

I also don't think they went out consistently with 12 hours of work, but I could be wrong.

 

[MyTripisCut]

I also don't think they went out consistently with 12 hours of work, but I could be wrong.

I can’t speak to that but most old heads in my Center are ill informed of the contract and layed down most of their careers to management. Then they complain about “back in the day” or “you see, I’m old school” stuff and I laugh at them and say ”no, you didn’t”.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

I can’t speak to that but most old heads in my Center are ill informed of the contract and layed down most of their careers to management. Then they complain about “back in the day” or “you see, I’m old school” stuff and I laugh at them and say ”no, you didn’t”.

We didn't have nine five protection or eight hour days back then either.

 

[MyTripisCut]

We didn't have nine five protection or eight hour days back then either.

Don’t forget shorts and diads too!

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

Don’t forget shorts and diads too!

Didn't have those either.
We also didn't have a shirt jacks

 

[Netsua 3:16]

(this is a bit long-winded with a lot of numbers. my apologies if it's too much to read, but there is a tl;dr at the bottom)

I'm a rookie myself (less than two years driving) so please don't take this as condescending. This is my second summer and I've suffered heat exhaustion twice in the past three weeks. The first time I was pulled from the route and had about a week off to replenish/recover. Felt fine after a week, went back to work, made it three days before it happened again (I finished the route that day but had to call out the next.) So I let my team know, went to get bloodwork done to figure out what I'm missing, and next thing you know the doctor's saying I need an ambulance to transport me to an ER due to extremely low sodium content.

I drink 10-14 16oz bottles of water a day, at least 56oz of sugar-free Gatorade, and I keep a liter of Pedialyte in my cooler at all times to sip on as needed. Where I've been lacking is my diet, so I also take 3 supplements a day: magnesium, potassium gluconate, and dicalcium phosphate. Thing is, dealing with heat indexes of 100F-115F (about 80% humidity), it just wasn't enough.

This job is absolutely easy in a sense. You follow the methods, deliver the boxes, get the job done. Dealing with the elements can be a dance with the devil, though, and in these hot summer months you really need to take care of yourselves and be aware of any negative changes in your body/the way you're feeling so that you don't end up in the same position I've come to find myself in.

Proper hydration isn't just about slamming fluids and taking your lunch break when you're sweating for 10-12hrs in this summer heat. You've got to ensure that your diet is also providing you with more than just energy and a feeling of fullness, even when taking supplemental minerals and electrolytes. You can't let yourself get stuck in the back of the truck looking for that one package that you were just told was scanned and loaded on-car. Keep an eye out for shady areas when pulling up to a delivery location-- even if you've gotta walk an extra 20ft, do what you can to park out of direct sunlight and make sure to occasionally open the bulkhead and backdoors to let some of that oven-worthy heat escape back out into the wild. Make mental notes of places where you could take a break in an air-conditioned environment, and for Christ's sake use them to cool down and prevent yourself from starting to develop any kind of heat illness.

I know they pound this stuff into us at PCMs, and I also know that once you're on-car you may just want to get the day over with as quickly as you can (especially the newer drivers.) It's easy to tell yourself you just need to weather the storm for one more hour, or you'll get that next bottle of water after your next stop, or you'll wait until you're in a certain area to take all or part of your lunch break. Don't do that. When the thought first hits you that you need water, get water. Same with food, finding a place to cool-down, all of that. Don't postpone it and, if anything, try to make it a habit to take action before you have those thoughts.

I hope everybody stays safe and healthy out there because, depending on where you work, that can be much easier said than done.


tl;dr: Don't be dumb. Take care of yourself during these summer months.


*edited a few times to make for a cleaner read. I always proofread after I hit post, lol. Like an idiot

Good stuff!
Water and iced black coffee only my man!! Once I figured that out the job in the summer changed for me. Don’t eat a bunch of crap, AT LEAST 80-100 oz a water a day when it’s over a 100, you are fighting for you Health out there, and when YOU WIN you’re in the best shape of your life!!
As @Poop Head would say,
Become one with the heat

 

[NAHimGOOD]

Socks?

 

[PPH_over_9000]

We didn't have nine five protection or eight hour days back then either.

I definitely didn't know that but hey, neither do I.

just want to clarify that I'm not really complaining here. I know this is my fault, I'm just also well aware of the conditions that led up to it. I didn't make this thread to cry and look for sympathy, it was more to bring the subject to the attention of newer drivers like myself. There was a bit of selfishness at play, though, because one of the most effective first steps in developing new habits is to flesh them out and write or type them out. For myself, at least.

And plus, I like coming here. I figured this was a good way to kill two birds with one stone.

 

[PPH_over_9000]

Good stuff!
Water and iced black coffee only my man!! Once I figured that out the job in the summer changed for me. Don’t eat a bunch of crap, AT LEAST 80-100 oz a water a day when it’s over a 100, you are fighting for you Health out there, and when YOU WIN you’re in the best shape of your life!!
As @Poop Head would say,
Become one with the heat

Iced black coffe? No smile*? I'm gonna look into that right now but it sounds counter-intuitive.

It's not that I need to eat a bunch of crap, I just need to eat more than a sandwich and a bag of chips (and different, more healthy foods) throughout the day. I've honestly never needed more than that at any point in my life prior to this, and there have been plenty of days throughout my life where I didn't eat a damn thing just fine and made it to the next day just fine.

For me, the biggest part of all this is all about changing a lifetime of poor dietary choices and habits.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

I definitely didn't know that but hey, neither do I.

just want to clarify that I'm not really complaining here. I know this is my fault, I'm just also well aware of the conditions that led up to it. I didn't make this thread to cry and look for sympathy, it was more to bring the subject to the attention of newer drivers like myself. There was a bit of selfishness at play, though, because one of the most effective first steps in developing new habits is to flesh them out and write or type them out. For myself, at least.

And plus, I like coming here. I figured this was a good way to kill two birds with one stone.

These bastards will kill you if you let them