I’m not a native Houstonian, but I’ve been here on and off for the majority of my adult life, and my fitness studio is located here. It’s not known for being the fittest city, but as a personal trainer it’s easy to see why. Here are my seven Houston-specific tips for being fit!
1. You have to move on purpose.
Even if you have a more active job (nursing, teaching, etc.), you are probably not getting enough activity. We’re not only a city of couch potatoes who love their chips and queso, we’re a car city! (I’ve been stopped several times while out walking and offered rides.) I get it! It’s hot, or rainy, or somehow hot and rainy and cold all at the same time?
When I’m in cities that don’t revolve around automobiles, my daily step count is over 20,000 with no effort. In Houston, not including what I do for work, I have to pay attention to get over 5,000.
So, you have to move on purpose in Houston. You have to schedule in a spin class, or a Zumba class, or a whole lot of going out dancing. You have to get a dog and walk it for over an hour a day (assuming that it stops to investigate every. blade. of. grass. like mine does). You have to be a lot more active than you think you do. A good starting goal is to get moving for about 5 hours each week, at a level that gets your heart rate up but doesn’t make it impossible to sing along with your workout playlist.
2. You have to eat at restaurants in a way that makes sense.
We are a restaurant city – some would say THE restaurant city. If you only eat restaurant food (that includes takeout) once a month, do whatever you want! If you’re a normal Houstonian, though, you’ll need to bring some things into balance with strategies like:
- putting the 12 chips that (roughly) make up one 140ish calorie serving onto an app plate for yourself rather than eating straight from the basket
- choosing a fancy drink OR an appetizer OR a dessert…or getting everything but splitting/sharing
- knowing what normal portion sizes look like and sticking to them (not all restaurants are guilty of over-serving – Uchi and Olive Garden will test your skills differently)
- not eating just because it’s still on the table
- keeping two of your three meals a day extra-balanced if you’re eating takeout or restaurant food more than twice a day (like eating the fillings from your breakfast taco in a better filling-to-tortilla ratio, hitting up Salata for lunch instead of eating the old office pizza from the fridge, and walking right past the office candy jar)
- skipping the sugary drinks like sodas and fancy pre-sweetened coffee beverages (and saving them instead for special occasions)
- remembering that no matter how cheap and easy the drive thru is, the food you (should) have at home is cheaper and easier and a LOT better for you
3. You have to take care of your posture.
My Houston clients have …unique shoulder alignment, and I have to guess that it’s from all the stressed-out driving. You have to exercise your upper back (especially your rhomboids) and try to keep your shoulders open, back, and down whenever you’re sitting – if your shoulders get used to being slumped forward, you will be at risk for rotator cuff injuries and neck pain.
4. You have to strengthen your lower core.
While you were slumping your shoulders forward, your lower core was also taking a break – that’s probably why your lower back hurts all the time. Not sure how to work your lower core? Start with a dead bug, making sure you’re extending your legs long and low on each rep, and do 10-20 of them 3-4 times a week.
5. You have to wear shoes that support your feet.
Because we’re not a walking city, a lot of people seem not to know that all shoes aren’t created equal. If your feet aren’t taken care of, then neither are your knees, hips, back, neck, or shoulders, so…think twice before you choose the very flat flats as your go-to shoe.
6. You have to manage your stress.
You probably live in Houston because of your job, so your office probably gets the best hours of your day…but you have to live a life that isn’t just commuting to work, being at work, and grocery shopping and doing laundry so that you have food and clothes for work. It might sound crazy, but it’s actually a great idea to manage your stress before you get totally burnt out! You could…
- make time for your hobbies
- make time to see your friends instead of texting them, especially now that you know how to stay healthy while eating at restaurants
- check out some of our now-beautiful parks, like the new rose garden at Hermann Park, Levy Park, the renovated Buffalo Bayou, the Terry Hershey trail, and Discovery Green
- enjoy the museums (they’re mostly free on Thursday nights, and we have some quirky ones in addition to the standard MFAH)
- get – and use – a library card
- ask yourself if you will care about the problem 10 years from now
7. You don’t have to become “one of those healthy people” in order to be healthier.
Sometimes I feel like there’s a cultural resistance to being healthy in this city – Houston can be such an all-or-nothing city of extremes. Maybe some of it is the “cooked down” Southern vegetables (not necessarily the tastiest), or the busy schedules, or You can definitely do your cardio time AND eat cake. You can lose weight without ever eating kale. You don’t ever have to go to Whole Foods if you don’t want to. You do not have to choose between Netflix binges and good health, or trade in all of your clothes for leggings and crop tops. You can still sleep in sometimes, and you never have to go to hot yoga unless you enjoy it.
Every single workout and healthy food choice DOES help you get healthier. (If you’re trying to lose weight or make other changes, that’s a different story for a different article – being healthier and losing weight aren’t totally the same thing.) But if you want to party like a rockstar on the weekends and still hit the gym the rest of the time, you are still doing good things for your health.
Did I miss anything? What’s your favorite way to be healthy in Houston? I’m probably biased, but I do love my workouts at this cute little place called Tiny Fitness!
