California does a lot right when it comes to health and fitness. People are relatively active and it’s easy to imagine why; the weather is conducive to it and the culture promotes exercise. People are health-conscious and the effort to strive for a healthy body is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Kudos California! As a result people here are thinner and they appear fit but something’s amiss.
What they are not, for the most part, is strong or muscularly balanced. I am constantly meeting people who can run 5 or more miles but experience regular joint pain and can’t do a single push-up or pull-up!
Californians are hung up on cardio which is the least important part of a fit life and only a third of the total fitness picture.
In comes Texas, where spending time outside is often miserable and the culture promotes BBQ and beer-battered food. People are body conscious and the effort to improve is bursty, at best. But Texas has something going for it that California needs and that’s strength. If you want to get fit in Texas, there’s a good chance you’re going to need a gym because just standing around in 100 degree weather is miserable, and working out in it is dangerous.
So, guess what’s at the gym that’s not outside…weight. And, guess what more people are inclined to do there? Pick it up and put it down. Right on Texas! Stay strong.
It is fitting that one of the most tried and true intermediate strength training programs, The Texas Method, was born in and is named after the Lone Star State.
California needs an overhaul on its fitness perspective. Being here reminds me of watching an uneducated zealous member at the gym; they have the right (maybe even the best!) intentions and attitude but misdirected their enthusiasm. What’s scary is that with so many people in the tech industry, sitting at the computer for hours is the norm and the cardio-train they’re on will not undo the associated muscular atrophy and inevitable joint pain to follow.
Luckily, a little education goes a long way. Learning to lift weights properly fixes all of this this and it is long overdue as part of the fitness trend here.