Get to Steppin’! You’ll thank me later…

Get to Steppin’! You’ll thank me later…
by Jennifer Mahone

Photo by Lilly Rum on Unsplash

Let me just put this out there just in case you don’t know already. We LOVE Disney World and just theme parks in general so of course this blog will include many mentions of our Disney weekends. If this makes your stomach turn (wink wink…whoever you are) then lets just pretend its a shot glass of Apple Cider Vinegar and no matter how bad it tastes, you gotta swallow it! You’ll thank me later…

Exercise on Vacation

There are some super dedicated people in this world who will workout every single day for the rest of their life and even book their trips around whether or not the hotel has a gym or the cruise ship has a fitness center. Trust me…this past September we went on the ever anticipated (Drumroll please……..) DISNEY CRUISE! It was awesome and we just couldn’t wait to hit the spa. As we entered the spa area we passed by this huge fitness room and guess what? It was crowded! People working out on Day 1 and all into it too! I just wanted to relax. It was amazing to me the dedication they had.

But before I go any further, I was somewhat guilty of the same thing kind of…lol! I made sure to sign up for the Castaway Cay 5K. But come on! It was just for fun…HA!

Nonetheless it was a personal goal for me and I did what I felt needed to be done…even on vacation. I’m sure these other super-hero dedicated fitness buffs had their own personal goals as well. Who am I to judge? So I ran my 5K and rewarded myself with some super yummy cruise food. Yeah…you knew that one was coming.

But we’ll talk more about the food in the next blog.

We all have our idea of fitness and physical activity. And lets be very clear here about something…Parking all the way at the end of the Disney parking lot is NOT my husbands idea of either one of those words. I laugh each time this happens because as he shakes his head at the parking attendant and mouths the word NOOOOOOOO…I say the first thing that comes to mind, “But think of ALL the STEPS we’ll get on the Fitbit!” He’s not at all concerned about the number of steps. He’s more frustrated at how much longer it will take us to get into the park. He loves them rides! Lol

But Seriously! How many Steps can one get in a day at the Disney Theme Parks?

Amazingly…Alot!

Consider this…the recommended amount of steps for the average person is somewhere at or close enough to 10,000 per day. If you get this amount then you are doing really well. I personally keep my goal set to 12,000 to challenge myself. Sometimes I make it and those wonderful Fitbit Fireworks shoot off to make me feel somewhat accomplished at the end of the day. And then there are those days where I am just happy I made it to 9,997. It’s a true struggle. I start swinging my arm as I get in the bed to get those last 3 steps in.

What?! You thought I was going to say I get up and walk across the room to get those last 3 in? Ummmm…No…I’m tired! And yes I do swing my arm. Just ask my girls. They laugh at me cause they know what I’m doing. I love the supportive giggles.

So, bottom line, try to get at least 10,000 steps per day.

How did we accomplish such a feat?

Here are just a few ways. And please DO laugh at the ones that were unintentional…they were pretty funny after the fact.

We parked all the way at the end of the parking lot (NOT by choice)
When visiting Magic Kingdom we did not ride the train from one end of the park to the other (we usually do)
We scheduled fastpass selections on opposite ends from each other (not on purpose…it just happened that way)
We got caught in the rain the same day we parked all the way at the end of the parking lot (We got a good run/sprint in that day)
We shivered ourselves skinny on that rainy day as we traveled back to the hotel. I’m guessing we probably shivered 1000 calories off. Just kidding…not really!
We decided to go back to the park late one evening to see a show because the park was open till midnight and we wanted to be cool and stay up late.
This is where I show you the stats of our days. Please Hold…

Day 1 – Animal Kingdom 17,194 steps by 7:08pm – We were exhausted!

Day 2 – Magic Kingdom 20,371 steps (Wowzers!) by 11:50pm – This was our cool moment because we lasted that long…lol

Day 3 – Epcot 13,555 steps by 1:52pm – Our day came to an early close because we had to head home.

What a weekend! And it was ALL from walking. Amazing how many steps we can get in when we’re determined to make it to a particular destination. Those rides are always worth it but it was quite interesting to find that we incorporated more activity while on vacation than what we do when we’re home.

Determined to change things!

So my thoughts coming home were what could we possibly change to create such a determined moment as those we had at Disney World. What small but so significant decision would propel us into a new way or thinking and doing when it came to our physical health?

Take a hike!

And that’s just what I did. Not the kind of hike we give to one another when we don’t want to be bothered but just 10-15 minutes out of my day to incorporate a good walk around the block.

Now before you start with the excuses lets go back to the beginning of this blog. You know, where the super-hero fitness buffs where working out on the cruise? If we have a goal, we must initiate change in order to see the results of that goal. There must be a determination inside to do the thing which we set out to do. I understand you may be busy. I get it that you don’t get home till late. I totally feel ya when the laundry is piling up, dinner needs to be made and you’re tired.

Just take a moment to tell yourself you are so worth that walk and go. Trust me…you’ll thank me later.

One thing I do at least 3x per week. I separate myself from the chaos of all the tasks in my head. I put my headphones on, grab my phone, turn on pandora and I step out that front door to some fresh air and me and God time. As I walk/run through my neighborhood I feel the greatest moment of accomplishment knowing that even just for 15 min I was able to do something extraordinary for me.

Just 15 minutes to release and reset. You’ll thank me later…I promise! You know what? Don’t thank me…thank yourself for deciding to make a change for the better. Now get to steppin’!

See ya back here in blog world tomorrow to discuss Food and Vacations!

Jennifer