OUR OUTDOOR EXERCISE GUIDE
Prepare for the heat when creating your own workout in Houston’s urban jungle
It’s called the La Sierra Driveway Circuit.
Created by the engineering mind of DaShana Blackburn, the plan incorporates four residential blocks and 12 houses inside the Oak Forest at La Sierra subdivision. Each house features an exercise written on a placard and posted above the garage: 30 highknees at one house followed by a 1-minute plank at another and 30 seconds of mountain climbers at the next.
It’s an outdoors socially distanced, group workout that Blackburn says does more for her and her neighbors than a livestreamed yoga session or other indoor exercise alternative.
When gyms were shut down in March to help slow the spread of coronavirus, Blackburn and her husband needed to find a safe way to stay active and social.
Blackburn spotted a socialmedia post by a trainer at her gym in which he and a neighbor worked out together on opposite sides of a street.
She presented it to her neighborhood’s Facebook group with a simple set of rules: the movements had to be done at the end of the driveway or in the street; no one could be at the same house at the same time unless they live together; and no extra equipment was allowed.
Within a couple days, she had a plan that could accommodate as many as 30 people.
“It’s a small neighborhood; we’re all really close as neighbors,” Blackburn said. “People were walking around the neighborhood getting fresh air; everyone was already outside, so why
not do something? It feels like group fitness — it’s a socialdistance group activity.”
Texas gyms can open at 25 percent capacity on May 18, nearly two months after shutting their doors to in-person fitness and other activities. In addition to capacity restrictions, showers and locker rooms must remain closed; all exercise equipment must be disinfected after each use; and all customers must wear gloves that cover their whole hands and fingers.
While going to the gym will become an option again, the chance for coronavirus infection looms, leaving many looking for alternatives.
You don’t need a group of neighbors to experience your own outdoor exercise success. Here’s everything you need to know to create your own urbanjungle gym, whether it be in your yard, on your block or in the neighborhood park.
HYDRATION
Drinking water is one, if not the most important, factor when working out Houston.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, water helps your body keep a normal temperature, get rid of wastes through urination, perspiration and bowel movements, lubricate and cushion your joints and protect sensitive tissues.
In hotter climates, it’s necessary to drink more water than normal if you plan on being physically active. Daily water intake recommendations vary by age, sex and whether you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.
The CDC recommends men consume 3.7 liters, or 125 ounces, a day from all their foods and liquids, while women should consume 2.7 liters, or 91 ounces. But even that should be increased for those planning to exercise.
The typical reusable bottle holds about 32 ounces, which means women and men who are exercising should drink at least the equivalent of four reusable water bottles. Make sure to wash them once a day.
According to a study on exercise and fluid replacement by the American College of Sports Medicine, “increased sweat rates, particularly those stimulated by hot weather, can result in substantial water and electrolyte losses.”
So, drink water before, during and after a workout — especially if you’re outdoors.
WEATHER
The last time Houston had what could be considered a “cooler than usual” summer was 2004, said Matt Lanza, managing editor and meteorologist for Space City Weather.
El Niño — the warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific and off the coast of South America — will likely weaken in the months ahead, creating a summer that is “ENSO neutral,” or without either El Niño or La Niña (in which equatorial Pacific waters are cooler than normal), Lanza said. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration backs up these weather predictions.
This means we will likely have an average or warmer-thanaverage summer. And it’s already been a hot spring.
“We’ve been a couple degrees above normal this spring. The good news is that there really is no strong correlation between what happens in spring and what happens in summer,” Lanza said.
Lanza said it’s important to remember that our bodies haven’t yet adjusted to the heat of summer, especially since most of us have been isolated in our air-conditioned homes for the past several weeks.
“Those early season heat events can hurt, so be extra cautious early in the season,” he said. “Sometimes, we think we are more capable of certain things than we actually are, so make sure to be aware of how much water you’re drinking and what your body is telling you.”
Plan your outdoor exercise during the morning or evening hours, and check the weather forecast for heat advisories or excessive heat warnings issued by the National Weather Service, he added.
Don’t forget sunscreen with SPF protection of 30 or higher. And remember to take breaks in your workout.
EQUIPMENT
While gym routines aren’t always easily re-created at home, think of this as an opportunity to diversify your workout without barbells, dumbbells or the elliptical.
Need help coming up with exercises to do outside? Remember what you thought was fun when you were a kid. Back then, it wasn’t working out; it was just playing.
Go for a jog; hop on a bicycle; commit to a squat challenge; create your own routine that incorporates pushups, situps and jumping jacks. Creativity can flourish away from the judgmental eyes at the gym.
Blackburn and her neighbors at La Sierra have focused on body-weight movements to be done in reps of 10, 20 or 30. It’s not about speed but camaraderie.
Before COVID-19 concerns, the neighborhood hosted cookouts and block parties. Until it’s safe to congregate in large groups again, they have these planned workouts a few times a month.
“Especially when everything first got shut down, people were worried and tired of being in the house, anxious and everything was shut down,” Blackburn said. “It lifted everyone’s spirits to see each other from a distance.”
“It lifted everyone’s spirits to see each other from a distance.”
DaShana Blackburn