As 2022 begins, Prime drivers might find themselves surfing an updated company health and fitness website featuring free programs and services-and even videos of fellow drivers demonstrating cooking or exercising on the road. This updated site has been an important project at Prime, and Matt Hancock who heads up Prime’s Driver Health and Fitness program hopes Prime’s new and easier-to-navigate site will encourage more drivers to exercise, eat more healthfully, stop smoking, and seek mental health support if they need it. “We tried to make it as visually appealing as possible, so drivers would want to get in there and use our resources,” Hancock says. “If drivers sign in to the website through the Prime Mobile app, they will immediately get on and see one of our drivers exercising outside his truck, so it looks pretty cool.”
Beyond the upgraded visual appeal of the website, there are programs and resources for nutrition, exercise, tobacco cessation, and mental health available on the site. Along with free exercise videos and virtual personal training by Hancock and Salt Lake City terminal personal trainer Matt Judy, drivers can also sign up for free nutritional counseling from registered dietitian Rachel Dreher or a free tobacco cessation program, Rigs without Cigs.
One of the programs available on the site is DHF 101, an orientation program that gives drivers a “baseline” education on improving their health, Hancock says. Once a driver is done with DHF 101, they can move on to programs like Fit in Fifteen, a 15-week weight-control program, or Power Blocks, a weight-training regimen designed for drivers who spend most of their time on their trucks.
The Springfield, Missouri, counseling service Good Dads has also partnered with Prime to offer virtual counseling through the site. Prime will pay for each driver’s first session; then, the cost is $45 a session, Hancock says.
“This is a great service, it’s getting a lot of traction lately because this is something drivers don’t have access to on the road,” he says, adding that most Prime drivers are independent contractors who purchase their own insurance. “We knew with COVID hitting, it was going to cause a lot of stress and a lot of worries in an isolated occupation,” he says. Having online resources like sessions through Good Dads can be a major resource to drivers who are feeling that added anxiety.
What’s more, if drivers just watch videos-never mind participate-they can earn points toward gift cards, exercise equipment, Apple AirPods and DHF T-shirts, Hancock says.
If you’re wondering where he inspirations for the new site came from, just thank your fellow drivers. Hancock says the site was in the works since 2020, and a task force of about 25 drivers provided input on the kinds of support drivers needed. “They were kind of the guiding force behind a lot of this because all the information they gave us was relevant to drivers,” he says. With views from the road instead of from behind a desk, they brought up questions like how to cook with only a few ingredients or what kind of exercise equipment will fit in the truck. “We’ve been really fortunate to have them lead the charge in this project,” Hancock says.
Read more in the prime magazine, Prime Ways – The Strong Road
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