North America’s premier refrigerated, flatbed, intermodal, and tanker trucking company Prime, Inc. challenged other carriers to compete at its third annual Fittest of the Fleet competition on Saturday, September 5, 2015 at Prime’s headquarters in Springfield, MO. Eight transportation carriers from across the country entered drivers in the competition. At the end of the day, it was Prime’s Enoch Orge who won the Men’s competition, while Jennifer Punsal from USA Truck won the women’s competition.
“This year’s competition was definitely the toughest and most competitive,” said Siphiwe Baleka, Prime’s Driver Health and Fitness Coach and creator of the event. “In addition to bodyweight exercise, we used battle ropes, slam balls, sand bags, and pull up bars. The three events were a little longer than in previous years, too. In order to claim the title, ‘Fittest Truck Driver in America’, you are going to have to earn it!”
In each of the events, the driver starts in the truck, must exit the truck, and finish by entering the truck and closing the door. The first event consisted of three rounds of 10 alternating arms and side shuffle using the battle rope, 15 push-ups, 10 Russian twists with the battle rope, and 15 jumping jacks with the battle rope. Finishing in third place was James Peters of Prime. Finishing in second place was Bryan Hutchinson, also of Prime. Winning the men’s event with a time of 4 minutes and 31 seconds was Enoch Orge, also of Prime. Jennifer Punsal won the women’s event.
The second event consisted of 50 slam ball thrusters, 40 sit ups, 30 alternating lunges, 20 slam balls, and 10 burpees. During the reps, the drivers had to run to a cone about the length of a trailer and back every minute. The men used a 30 lb. slam ball and the women used a 20 lb. slam ball. Enoch Orge finished in third place while Antonio Davila of Henderson Trucking finished in second. Winning the men’s second event, with a time of 6 minutes and 5 seconds, was Chad Kester of Halvor Lines while Jennifer Punsal won the women’s event.
In the final event, drivers had to exit the truck, dolly down the landing gear, do 5 burpees, pick up an 80 lb. sandbag and carry it to the back of the trailer, do 30 mountain climbers, open the trailer doors, enter the trailer and touch the front wall, exit the trailer, close the trailer doors, do 5 pull-ups, pick up the sand bag, carry it to the landing gear on the passenger side, drop the sandbag and crawl under the trailer, dolly up the landing gear, crawl back under the trailer, do 5 more burpees, pick up the sandbag, carry it around the front of the truck to the driver’s side, put the sandbag on the shoulder and do 8 squats, drop the sandbag, then enter the truck. In a very close event, Antonio Davila finished third with a time of 3 minutes 24 seconds. Chad Kester finished second with a time of 3 minutes and 18 seconds, and winning the event was Enoch Orge with a time of 3 minutes and 17 seconds. Jennifer Punsal completed her hat trick, winning the third event for the women.
Enoch Orge and Jennifer Punsal each won $500 courtesy of Peterbilt of Springfield, a one year membership to Gold’s Gym, and a one year Pro+ Membership on the Workout Trainer app by Skimble, Inc.
“The event seriously challenged me and it was not a laughing matter,” said Orge, the new champion. “As a result of being a part of this event and seeing the standards that were expected of us, I will continue to improve on my fitness levels and keep pushing forward.”
For more information about the competition or to schedule interviews with the winners, contact Siphiwe Baleka at sbaleka@primeinc.com
