Francis Junto, an OTR driver for DGH (Dutch Gold Honey), has been climbing the ladder to be named Mr. Health and Fitness is an online competition where men (and women in a separate event) share their stories about health and/or transformations of the body. The public voting has been open since 7 May, and trucker Junto, a 30-plus-year veteran of the industry, is currently one of 20 competitors in his group.
The public voting for the next round of elimination, which will eliminate five competitors, continues until today, May 23 at 9 pm Central time.
Junto sent you this link where you can vote – the rules state that the public may vote once per day for their favorite winner. There’s also an option to purchase extra votes; according to the competition rules, a minimum of 25 percent of the net proceeds of those purchased votes will go to a charity that supports or researches childhood cancer. The winner of the competition will receive $20K, and will be featured on Muscle & Fitness Magazine’s cover.
Junto is not the type of muscular bodybuilder you will see on the cover of this magazine. He is 5’7″ and has slimmed down from nearly 200 pounds to between 170 and180 pounds today.
He was 45 years old and had been in the trucking business for about 20 years. He drove for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle firm, based out of York, Pennsylvania.
The OTR driver’s regular doctor gave him a little wake-up call when it came to cardiovascular fitness. (York, Minnesota to Minneapolis, Minnesota was a regular run back then.)
She told him, “You are a heart attack in the making.” “Your cholesterol is a pinball,” she told him. The sedentary lifestyle and diet of OTR certainly didn’t help. He said that she wanted to put him on this medication to help control these levels, but it “messed up my liver”. I began walking regularly before you knew it. Then, “it was 10ks and half-marathons, and 5ks.”
As this picture of a board shows, he’s completed 10 half marathons today. He also finished three Marine Corps Marathon events. Junto has done it all “while trying get a truck to move up and down the street.” This is not a profession that lends itself to a healthy life. You have to work hard at it.”
He attributes his continued existence to all of that. He told the doctor at the time that he was not ready to retire at 45. He’s still on the road at 57. His routes, which he has been doing for DGH for five years now, take him mostly to the Northeast and New York City. He spends less time on layovers than in the past. The work put into health has made it easier to be at home in Pennsylvania.
He said that he still packed his running clothes, sneakers and other items in the truck. “People think I’m crazy,” he said in some cases. “I’ve ran six miles in South Bronx right by Hunt’s Point,” he said. “I’ve done that kind of thing since years,” taking advantage time, delays in deliveries, and getting another kind of work.
As mentioned, you need to work hard to make health a part of your daily routine. Junto said, “I try to go to the gym or run at least twice a week.” “That’s what you need to do.”
He added that Junto and Dale, his physical therapist, “run every Sunday morning.” With DGH today, I know my schedule a full week in advance but the start times vary from day to day.
Junto said that trucking is not a profession where routine exercise is a given. But he emphasized to others that “it’s possible.” He is also a living example of how to eat well. The lack of sit-down restaurants on the road, which has been decreasing in recent years, means that “Truck Stops aren’t helping” the situation when it comes to general health. “I pack everything” food-wise, he said.
He said that you “really need to push yourself” in order to make it work. It can work, if the effort and time are put in.
Junto is married with two children, two grandchildren, and another one on the way. “You want it for them,” said Junto, but ultimately any pursuit of a better health is to protect the most important thing that you have: Your life.
Francis Junto is also wishing everyone the best of luck in the contest. You may vote for him by visiting this page. I’m hoping to get away from my desk for half an hour and run three miles. Happy trails.
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