Houston Metro Bus

My car was being fixed at the repair shop last week, so the only alternative I had was to ride a bus to downtown Houston.  Not a problem getting there, but coming home was quite an experience. 

Since power hadn’t been restored in many areas of Houston after Hurricane Ike, the HOV lanes were closed causing massive traffic jams on the home commute from downtown Houston.  It took more than 3 hours to get home, which normally takes around 40 minutes to my home in Sugar Land.

And, to make matters worse, there was an unusually high number of people packed in the bus, so I had to stand the whole ride home.  This was frustrating for me mentally because I don’t like to waste time, but wasn’t a problem physically since I’m in fit shape. 

After standing on the bus in an uncomfortable position for 30 minutes going bumper to bumper on the bus, I noticed this was an unstable environment and required the usage of my core for maintaining my balance and stabilization.  I started to look on the bright side and thought this was a descent 3 hour workout for my core, with all of the unpredictable, jerky movements of a bus. 

I also noticed other people around me who were not in the best of shape struggle with this ordeal.  It was quite an effort for them to just stand and not be whipped around and fall down.

After this experience, I realized how important it is to really develop and strengthen your core.  It’s not just a matter of working the core area to have a nice “six pack,” but rather to help you with everyday functional activities, such as standing,  carrying a heavy bag, rushing through airports, riding on a bus, etc.

The next time you ride a bus take notice of how much your core is utilized if you have to remain standing.