GETTinG In Shape For The Season

Lots Of cardiovascular excercise is what helped me the most in getting my body prepared for the haunted house season.

Yoga Or Streching of the muscles I would think would help too. To get your body Prepared for the halloween season.

Getting Enough sleep a few weeks prior to Haunting couldn't be a bad suggestion because when you sleep your body fixes and repairs muscles and your mind gets a good workout when you go into r.e.m. stage of your sleeping.

Your General Workout is another good suggestion to stay on top of because that keeps your body active and buliding muscle.

During Your Haunting:

Drinking warm tea if your an actor or actress to keep your body warm inside to prevent sickness.

Streching in between groups comming into your haunted house


after your haunting:

Take a warm shower or bath when you get home, not only will this warm up your body, it will relax your body and keep your skin healthy.

once your in your bed all warm and cozy just relax.


What are Certain ways that you keep yourself warm when you haunt?

What are Excercises that are favorite to do?

What is your Windown process when you come home?

60yrs. old, I make sure that I don't eat too much before tours, it actually makes my energy level seem to go up with less food.
I wash my hands often and gargle when I can since in October some customers will cough right in your face! (I don't cough in their face.)
I go outdoors and back to the warmer inside confines then to a 52 degree wine cellar, up to a hot attic cupola.. but then years ago working in a food store going from the walk-in freezer and then carrying grocerys out into a 90 degree parking lot was no piece of cake either!
If you have enough food-energy in you the cold doesn't seem to bother nearly as much.
Last night after the last customers were gone it still took me 45 minutes of walking, carrying, just plain old "Work" to shut down, lock up, inspect, reset the place, once I was done I just lay down, close my eyes and then it's morning, the buzzards circling my still body must make them do that Alarm clock thing.
Think I'm their meat/breakfast.

If Thats What Works For you then thats great. Just take care of yourself that's all :)

My general tips for my actors are as follows:

If you don't work out, at least begin doing some push-ups and sit-ups before bed, just something to get your bloood flowing.

If you smoke, beside having an ignorant habit regularly, you need to try and use a break in acting to drink water and catch your breathe, smoking is not going to help you, in the haunt, and life in general.

Try not to eat bad food, if you can avoid fast food, do it, with late hours it'll happen anyway. Eat fruit.

Drink water, after work enjoy tea like PumpkinGIRL says. Mix in tea and lemon too.

If you can't for some reason find the time to eat fresh fruit, vitamins will have to do, but your body can get more vitamins and minerals from actual food.

Hot showers help relax, but after intense muscle work an ice bath help prevent soreness....but this is normally reserved for marathon runners and power lifters.

Stretching is a must.



So what have I done in the past?

pull-ups
push-ups
sit-ups
crawls or various nature
slide training
running
I use a chainsaw so I lift wieghts and use the chainsaw as a training device.
jumping and landing excerises, our stunt trainer teaches us the proper way to land from a jump or fall.

Great post PumpkinGIRL

The drive home for me is my unwinding time. it can take up to 45 minutes depending on traffic.

I have been lifting for the past year and have put nearly 3 inches on my chest and upper body. My knee pain is gone and I'm looking at trying sliding for the first time ever. I still need to lose about 40 pounds to be at 'optimum' weight but that's not happening this season.

I lift 2-3 days per week. I started with hi-weight / lo-reps to bulk up, but now I and doing lo-weight / hi-reps to tone and stay the same size.

Walking 30 minutes a day on the treadmill between 3.5-3.8 mph has been my primary cardio workout. Luckily, my office has a small gym where I can put in a quick workout during lunch.

If things go as planned, this should be my most intense scare season yet, but at age 42, I'll be in better shape than I was at age 25...

Other Suggestions:

IF You injure your muscle or pull it during Haunting use an ice pack or massage the area with ice cube.


We Know That working outside makes our body tempeture go down, contributing to sickness, try to prevent sickness by wearing layers and blankets.
every haunter knows how sick we get at the end of the season or at the begging of the season . Basically if your sick and come to work that night at the haunted event please avoid everyone and don't hug or touch anyone this spreads germs. Try to prevent sickness in the haunted house.


Puking/ Getting cut:

Puking it's Gross it smells bad.
puking protocal:get help first of all tell your room manager. Second step sit down in the backstage area of your haunt and get a drink like gatorade or powerade or water to replenish your fluids. Third Step go home to get sleep and feel better.

A cut:

A small cut theres no need to leave your spot to go to the first aid area

A medium cut This means it's bleeding and it's a little deeper, This Cut I would wait to see if the cold outside stops the bleeding. If The cold doesn't then I would go to the first aid area on break to get a band aid.

A Deep Cut

This Means Theres lots of blood and it's deep in the skin this please get help for right away.

Ricola Cough Drops are your friend!

Cough Drops, Lemon aid or Orange juice :)

Working with sheet metal for so many years I found some little cuts if totally ignored would hurt more later than if you forced them to bleed out alittle bit right when they happened.
I would hang my arm straight down, relax it, then swing it like an airplane propeller several times making the complete circle, forcing blood from a finger or hand cut.
This also decorates the haunted house ceiling, or the ceiling in your kitchen at home.
Of course this is not recommended if your cousin is your brother's Father and used to wear a crown on his head..can you say hemophilliac?

Being too old (not as old as Jim) to do the stuff the young 'uns do... well... I have one word VICODIN. Don't worry I get it legal from my doctor. But when you've been hacked on the way was 2 years ago it's either cope or quit. To me quitting is not an option.

As far as cuts and scrapes go;
take care of them quick. I got a poke from a rose bush 2 summers ago, thought nothing of it. long story ,short version- got infected (MRSA) , got in the blood stream,about killed me, had 50% of the meat cut out of my right thigh. 6 weeks hospital, 9 days ICU. Learn from my mistake.