Festival Prep – The Workout

Based on my totally non-scientific research process which involves looking around me in lines and theatres I can conclude that the majority of the hardcore (20 or more films) TIFF attendees are not necessarily in peak physical condition.
This is ok. TIFF goers engage in an activity that involves sitting alone in the dark. As long as you don’t start texting like a total douche during the film for at least 96 minutes at a stretch no once can see your muffin top.
Attending more than 20 films can be physically grueling if you do not prepare. You need to be able to wait, move up and down stairs and sit.
This is more punishing on a body than it sounds.
You need to wait, most often standing, usually outdoors. Including the ticket pick up and drop off process you may spend as much time waiting in lines as you do watching films. Your body will get stiff, your back will get sore and your feet will swell. On hot days you will start to sweat. You will not smell your best. You can train for this. If you have a Wii Fit, dust off the balance board and do the simple tests – the stillness test will tell you if you heavily favour one side and you can attempt to balance your weight better while in line. If you do not have a Wii Fit go to the house of a friend who does – get on, use their Mii to do the simple test and ruin their Wii age. This isn’t worth the 5 minutes to create an avatar. Practice standing still.
You need to move up and down stairs. This will be challenge for a couple of reasons. One, you are most likely not in peak physical condition (see intro). Two, you will have to move up or down stairs immediately after standing still or sitting with limited time to stretch, groan, let your joints pop or adjust yourself. You can train for this. Occasionally take the stairs or walk (left) on an escalator in the months leading up to the festival.
You need to sit. If you are a hardcore TIFF goer you have already been training for this one all year. Just keep doing what you are doing.
Happy Festival.