I’ve decided it’s time to jump on the “Healthy Memphis” bandwagon. Here are 10 tips for Downtown Memphians to stay healthy and get in better shape.
1. Rather than walking to your favorite bar, jog. That way you’ll get there earlier, and may be able to squeeze an extra beer in before happy hour ends.
2. Drink at Kooky Canuck. They have 34 oz. beers rather than the typical 16 oz. beers. You will burn extra calories lifting the heavier glass.
3. Form a walking club. You and 9 of your friends agree to wear pedometers all week to track your steps. Everyone throws in $10 and at the end of the week, the person who has recorded the most steps gets a keg party.
4. Drink your beer quickly. The quicker you drink, the more trips you’ll have to make to the bathroom. Those steps from your bar stool to the bathroom = calories burned.
5. At Tigers and Grizzlies games, make frequent runs to the concession area for beer. All those trips up and down the stairs will burn calories.
6. Bud now makes a 55-calorie beer, and Miller makes a 64-calorie beer. Take advantage of these new offerings. Lift a 24-pack of one of these new ultra-light beers over your head several times to get a workout, before you put it down and pick up a 24-pack of PBR to take to the cash register.
7. By the way, walking to the register and carrying that PBR = more calories burned. Good job.
8. If you own a bike, find ways to make it more appealing, so you’ll want to ride more often. For example, you could install a cup holder on it so you can carry a beer with you as you ride.
9. There’s lots of walking involved in the annual Stumbling Santa pub crawl every December, so this is a good way to get a workout. Just make sure when shopping for a Santa suit that you get one with pockets deep enough to hold multiple cans of beer.
10. Dancing at one of Downtown’s many nightspots is great aerobic exercise. Just be sure to take breaks and drink plenty of beer in order to stay hydrated.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these tips. I plan to get quite a workout tonight, as I walk the three and a half blocks from my front door to the Saucer for trivia. I’ll also have to walk home later in the evening. That’s a total of seven blocks! Just doing my part to keep Memphis healthy.