Wilderfolio

Dear Wilderfolio –

I have a few friends who camp and are generally a little more active than me. They’ve invited me on a camping trip 2 months from now to a really beautiful park, and I really want to go. Trouble is, the best view of that park is at the end of a hike, and I just don’t know if I’m up to it, fitness-wise. I don’t want to be embarrassed! And I don’t want to hurt myself. Is it worth going?

Hoping for some advice,

Dear Realletter,

I am in the same situation! Except the friend who invited me is me! I’m planning a trip to Mammoth Cave National Park in a couple months and one of the cave tours I’m interested in is listed as “strenuous.” What does that mean? Strenuous for whom? I don’t know! Probably me!

I was an active pre-teen. I was strong and did a couple sports. I was chubby, I always have been, but I was flexible. I couldn’t run a block without giving up and feeling miserable (I swam, did martial arts, and gymnastics), but I had a strong core. Then when I went away to high school and they didn’t have the activities I had the most experience in, I was too lacking in self-confidence to try anything new. I knew I couldn’t run without getting quickly winded and most team sports have a lot of running, or if they aren’t built around running, their practices and warm-ups are. I was sure everyone was going to hate and judge me, so instead I did nothing. And got less and less fit. I gained a lot of weight. I got way more depressed. I tried less things. I figured people hated and judged me even more.

I had a whole ‘nother long paragraph here but cut it because the point is that I’m not very confident or active! I have a back that acts up, bad ankles, dry skin, and care too much about what I imagine people are thinking of me. I can’t do a push up, I lost all that flexibility, and I still can’t run! But I want to go somewhere cool and I need my body to get me there.

So I’ve made a training schedule.

The point of my training is not to lose weight. I can’t say I don’t care about that any more, but after decades of digging around in my brain, I’ve found a way to let go of most of the vanity-based reasons for strengthening my body. They’re still there, a little, but I’m extremely pleased and surprised at how little.

Obviously, everyone’s body is different. But this is the plan I made for myself.

First, I need to build confidence and get used to moving again. I have around 10 weeks ’til my trip, and I’m starting with flexibility, then strength, then cardio.

Week 1: 20 minute beginner yoga video on youtube. (Apparently someone named Adriene is popular, and I like the two videos I’ve tried so far.) Tried for every day, did six days.

Week 2: 40 minute beginner yoga. Tried for everyday, but it is currently Friday and I skipped Monday & Tuesday. And also Thursday and Friday. Butts.

Then I add strength.

Week 3: 40 minute beginner yoga. Push ups.

I’m being vague about the reps/sets I do for body-weight exercises (like push ups) because I’ll be using a progressive model based on how many I can do at the start of every week. If you want to try this, look around online for one you like, but I’ve tried the one here before and I liked it.

Week 4: Start mixing it up with the youtube yoga videos, and add sit ups, lunges, and squats.

Weeks 5-8: I’ll keep the same stuff from Week 4 going, but also I’ll join a gym and use the stair climber machine or treadmill on an incline. I figure those two are most likely get my heart, lungs, and legs working a way that is most similar to hiking. Why not climb normal stairs or walk up real hills? Because I’m self conscious about doing the stairs thing in a public place (including my apartment building), and I live in the flat Midwest city of Chicago.

Weeks 8-10 – Depending on how I feel about the way things are going, I’ll add Couch to 5k (or more specifically an app I found that does the same thing but with a zombie narrative).

And that’s 10 weeks! I go to Mammoth Caves at the start of October. The schedule is all based on what I can comfortably do, starting slowly, and challenging myself a little bit. As you can see, I’ve already missed some stuff, but I’m not going to get discouraged or be absurdly hard on myself because I want to be able to enjoy my trip. If I want to continue chasing active adventures I’ll need to keep it up, which is pretty exciting (at least it seems exciting right now). Maybe if I build up my confidence I can join the adult women’s swim team that I know exists somewhere around here.

So Thisisnot–can I call you Thisisnot?– I say you should definitely go. Depending on your abilities, you may want to check the park’s accessibility options ahead of time. But if you’re able to, and if fitness is a concern, maybe start a little bit of training. It’ll make the trip more fun. You’ll feel less–or forget to feel–self conscious about your fitness ability, which will free you up to enjoy the views, enjoy the adventure, and enjoy your friends.