Getting Fit for Disney

[chudlyfudly]

“Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things..."​

Is anyone using Disney as motivation to get healthy?​

I'm a man in my late 20's and I'm thoroughly looking forward to a fantastic solo adventure to Disney World in March 2018. 2 weeks of independent, inner child fun.

But...

For the first time in years I've decided I should really start trying to get fit again. Disney is my motivation.

The last time I went was with family in 2014, and I was of a similar shape to how I am now (I'm a little overweight - not excessively so - but beer and chocolate will do that to you I guess). Two years before that I had ran a half marathon, which I was very proud of at the time, but I didn't lace up my running shoes again until last Tuesday. That's 5 years since the last time I genuinely gave any form of exercise a proper go.

Why is Disney motivating me to get running again?

I went to DLP with family just over a month ago and it turns out, according to my very clever watch, that we walked an average of 11 miles a day. It was hard. I think on a fundamental level I want to make the walking easier.

On a more thoughtful and probably more truthful note though, I think this upcoming solo trip is the first thing I've decided to do because I just damn well want to do it. I want to give myself an awesome holiday, revisit my nostalgia, see what's new, ride the rides, spend hours taking pictures, and all the rest of it. I want to go for myself. And now I want to get fit for myself and for my trip.

Disney is all about moving forwards, so that's what I want to do; I want to move forwards with my physical fitness, I want to be the best 'me' I can be, and I'd say getting fitter is a good place to start.

So where am I at?
I ran 0.6 of a mile last Tuesday. I huffed and I puffed and my legs were aching afterwards.
1 mile on Thursday, I still huffed, I still puffed and my legs still ached.
1.5 miles yesterday... 1.3 miles today...

I'm taking baby steps and I plan to keep doing so - I'll still be running 1.5 miles this time next week, but that's more than I was doing 2 weeks ago.

Why am I even writing this now?

It's all pretty self-indulgent perhaps posting this here, and out of character for me. But you know what? I feel like committing to this publicly is cathartic and will keep me going this time. There must be other people out there who feel the same way, but even if there isn't anyone who's in a similar boat, it feels good to tell you all about it.

Does you feel the same way? Do you have any words of motivation? A similar story to tell?

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I think it is a good motivator! Sure! Good for you!

It's easy to walk 10 miles a day at Disney! I don't generally have much trouble as long as my feet are comfortable and I'm not carrying my 13lb camera bag , but I do try to increase my walking before a trip because I'm not used to walking that much every day over several days for a week or so. (Suburban life is killing us, lol.)

But as it turns out, I decided just this morning that I should up my walking so I will gladly join you here!

Best of luck to you in your trip planning and fitness goals!

 

[wenrob]

Good for you! You may want to post this over on the WISH forum in the diary section. Add to your post that comments are welcome.
https://www.disboards.com/forums/wish-journals.79/

 

[Klayfish]

Good for you!!!! That's awesome!

I don't use WDW as a motivator...I've been into fitness and nutrition for a very long time, and really been at it hard for about 12 or 13 years now. So I love to hear about stuff like this.

The only advise I have (without getting long winded) is to make it part of your daily routine. From what I see, people most often "fall off the wagon" because they really struggle to make the change a part of their routine. To whatever extent you can, make exercising and nutrition...however you chose to do it...feel as much a part of your routine as brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Once it's a regular part of your life, it's pretty easy. The first few weeks/months of adapting to that change is the hardest. When I tell people what we do...especially DW...they think we're absolutely insane. But it's such a part of our lives that we feel weird without it.

Way to go!!

 

[chudlyfudly]

Good for you! You may want to post this over on the WISH forum in the diary section. Add to your post that comments are welcome.
https://www.disboards.com/forums/wish-journals.79/

Thanks! Will sure do that, I didn't even realise that was there. These boards have so much awesome content!

 

[chudlyfudly]

I think it is a good motivator! Sure! Good for you!

It's easy to walk 10 miles a day at Disney! I don't generally have much trouble as long as my feet are comfortable and I'm not carrying my 13lb camera bag , but I do try to increase my walking before a trip because I'm not used to walking that much every day over several days for a week or so. (Suburban life is killing us, lol.)

But as it turns out, I decided just this morning that I should up my walking so I will gladly join you here!

Best of luck to you in your trip planning and fitness goals!

Good luck to you to and thanks for stopping by! 13lb camera bag sounds crazy! I used to shoot DSLR but moved to mirrorless partly for that very reason!

 

[chudlyfudly]

Good for you!!!! That's awesome!

I don't use WDW as a motivator...I've been into fitness and nutrition for a very long time, and really been at it hard for about 12 or 13 years now. So I love to hear about stuff like this.

The only advise I have (without getting long winded) is to make it part of your daily routine. From what I see, people most often "fall off the wagon" because they really struggle to make the change a part of their routine. To whatever extent you can, make exercising and nutrition...however you chose to do it...feel as much a part of your routine as brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Once it's a regular part of your life, it's pretty easy. The first few weeks/months of adapting to that change is the hardest. When I tell people what we do...especially DW...they think we're absolutely insane. But it's such a part of our lives that we feel weird without it.

Way to go!!

Thanks for your advice! I sure will take that on board, I think you're right, the biggest problem I'm having now is that I'm not used to it as being part of my routine but I'm enjoying the challenge!

 

[Magpie]

Absolutely! Whenever I'm whining to myself about not wanting to do my daily workout, I remind myself that I've got a vacation (Disney or Universal, either works) coming up, and I want to be fit for it. (There's always another vacation coming up.)

Now, I'm not a runner. I used to run in my early 20's and as exercise goes, it really doesn't suit me. I always end up hurting myself, when I run. I do a lot of walking in my daily life, as well, so stamina really isn't an issue. For me, it's two things... 1. I'm prone to pinched nerves in my neck and shoulder, so staying fit is a good way to also stay pain-free. And 2. I want to look pretty when I'm on vacation! I want that flat tummy and nice calves.

So, in order to achieve that, my morning routine (Mon-Fri) consists of about 20 min of circuit workouts (crunches, planks, push ups, that sort of thing). Plus warm up and cool down. I don't exercise on weekends (besides the usual fun hikes with the dog).

I think the key to success is figuring out what sort of exercise suits you best and incorporating it into your daily routine. If you find yourself making a lot of excuses to not do something, don't beat yourself up about it, just figure out something else that you're more willing to do instead.

Also, if you're in pain, don't keep increasing the intensity. It's okay to do the same exercise for as long as it takes to feel comfortable with it. There's no time limit!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Good luck to you to and thanks for stopping by! 13lb camera bag sounds crazy! I used to shoot DSLR but moved to mirrorless partly for that very reason!

I know, I went the mirrorless route, too, but these days I just carry my iPhone around the World, unless there's something special I want to shoot, and it's been great!

 

[jaminmd]

I got pretty deconditioned after a protracted illness. I did NOT feel good before. I had quite a few aches and pains when starting up again but that didn't last too long. Good luck to you!

 

[wenrob]

Thanks for your advice! I sure will take that on board, I think you're right, the biggest problem I'm having now is that I'm not used to it as being part of my routine but I'm enjoying the challenge!

I've found that tracking what I do in an app helped build the habit. It's also handy for looking back on the see what's working and what isn't.

I know, I went the mirrorless route, too, but these days I just carry my iPhone around the World, unless there's something special I want to shoot, and it's been great!

I've been using a Fuji X Pro2 the last several months. Taking it to Disneyland here soon. Thought about dragging the D750 along for the Electrical Parade but I think the Fuji will do fine.

 

[amberpi]

Any motivation is a good thing. I don't care if you're motivated by rock - good for you for getting back to it! Keep it up!

 

[chudlyfudly]

I've been using a Fuji X Pro2 the last several months. Taking it to Disneyland here soon. Thought about dragging the D750 along for the Electrical Parade but I think the Fuji will do fine.

At the risk of going off-topic, I too use Fujifilm X-Pro 2s - I shoot weddings professionally and use three of these at a typical wedding, they're fantastic little cameras so glad to have found someone else who's enjoying using them! For my 'personal' stuff, I use a Fujifilm X100F which is equally as great but has the fixed focal length lens and is 'only' f/2, compared to my 23mm f/1.4. Still though, it's great in low light and I'd recommend it if you're ever looking for an option that you can pick up and put in your coat pocket (granted it might need to be a reasonably big coat pocket, but still, it's a tiny camera)

 

[wenrob]

At the risk of going off-topic, I too use Fujifilm X-Pro 2s - I shoot weddings professionally and use three of these at a typical wedding, they're fantastic little cameras so glad to have found someone else who's enjoying using them! For my 'personal' stuff, I use a Fujifilm X100F which is equally as great but has the fixed focal length lens and is 'only' f/2, compared to my 23mm f/1.4. Still though, it's great in low light and I'd recommend it if you're ever looking for an option that you can pick up and put in your coat pocket (granted it might need to be a reasonably big coat pocket, but still, it's a tiny camera)

Well it's your thread so can take it off topic, haha. I really like it. I've been shooting jpg/raw but haven't processed a raw yet. I'm really impressed with the auto WB and multi metering.

 

[Pkltm]

I am motivated by our upcoming trip. DH injured his ankle last year pretty badly, we use each other as motivation and as a result, we both gained some weight, I didn't really realize how much until I looked at some pics. We started back up on a solid routine, and then he went and hurt himself at work (i know we should wrap him in bubble wrap), ended up being off for a month. Just started back to day on sedentary duties. The last month has been hard on us as he wasn't able to do much around the house, so it all fell on me. I did do a fair amount of walking (two dogs-need their attention!!), but our eating habits slid. We are both using our up coming anniversary vacation as motivation.