Prepping your Personal Fitness

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I feel like this is a topic that many people overlook, but physical fitness is going to be a major factor in a SHTF scenario. The first rule of Zombieland is cardio, and yes, it's a joke, but there's some truth to be had here. (Besides which, an active lifestyle has untold health and quality of life benefits.)

How far can you really hike with your BoB, weapons, and whatever other gear you're planning on moving with? It's not advisable to load up with your firearms and hit the hiking trails, but your bags will not raise suspicion. I use to backpack and we'd train with our packs in all sorts of hiking and camping locations. Jogging is also obviously great for cardio.

You don't need a gym membership or a fancy weight set to do strength and conditioning training. I always say, "Why join a gym? I've got 140 pounds to work with right here." Simple as it seems, push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, dips, squats, and calf-raises can do a lot for your overall strength using nothing but your body weight and a table, or a bench, or something to support yourself on for dips. Do a little every other day, and when it gets easy, do a little more. Stretch out afterwords to prevent soreness and to keep your muscles from tightening and your joints from stiffening. Joint mobility can be as important as strength depending on the situation.

Also worth looking into is more advanced mobility training. Americanparkour.com has some excellent beginner tutorials on movements like basic vaults, running up walls, and dropping and rolling. Regardless of how far you get into the other techniques, I recommend that everyone learn how to safely land (safety tap) and perform a correct shoulder roll. Knowing these things can save your life if you ever need to drop or jump off of something. The key to parkour is safety and progression; start slow, start low, and be safe. Do some reading up on the philosophy of the discipline (efficiency, flow, precise application of power, etc) and they can be applied to any challenge, physical or otherwise. I can post some good beginner training videos if anyone is interested. Besides being a great workout, parkour is also a lot of fun!
 
yeah..being in the best shape possible and know the jump n roll..right along with the other need to know things,is very important..
 
In the pioneer days, when covered wagons roamed the countryside, a man consumed as much as 5 lbs of meat per a day.
There was no concern about physical fitness.
If you have to bug out for a prolonged period of time, being physically fit is not going to be an issue.

I would compare it more to deer and bears that puts on a protective layer of fat before winter comes to help starve off starvation in the early months of spring - when food sources are scarce and there reserves are depleted.

If I was prepping - I would want something left to loose rather then having nothing left to go on.
 
I disagree, simply because in the pioneer days those men consuming all that meat were considerably more active than we are today, unless we intentionally engage in active behaviors and exercise. And I'm not talking about diet, I'm talking about exercise. You think that body fat that you're trying to justify is going to magically turn into muscle when you need it?
 
There was no concern about physical fitness then because manual labor was the norm. Now its texting and facebooking while sitting in front of the boob tube for hours on end.

Huge difference. Healthier eating back then too. No manufactured crap like there is now.
 
Fat and muscle are not mutually exclusive. A "fat" guy that works out regularly (a 300 pound NFL linebacker for example) already has muscle, and also has a reserve of energy for lean times that nature intended for exactly that purpose.
 
Agreed, because as you say he works out regularly. Again, I'm not so much concerned with diet as exercise.
 
I got this covered. I cycle 7-8 hours a week, run 12 plus miles, and go to the gym 4-5 times per week and I haven't even started training heavy yet. When June comes I will begin training close to 20 hours a week at a minimum.

My resting heart rate is in the mid 40's and I can go for hours and hours at 180. Oh I forgot to mention I'm about to turn 49 in a couple of weeks.
 
In my humble opinion it's always good to be fit,you beeing fit gives you the opportunity to think ,without any need to think is my body working ok, oh my god this backpack is heavy
 
No doubt, fitness is important, but I think there are truths in most of what is posted here, really... It's good to have cardio in ANY situation, anyone that debates that needs to visit their doctor and ask if it's beeter to have a healthy heart and lungs or if it's better to NOT... Seems rhetorical to me....

I can also see the point of needing exercise more than a body builder's diet. You may not be thin(As a 300lb lineback isn't considered thin by anyone), but if you are strong and have endurance, then you can pace yourself and keep up through long hikes or long shifts in defense mode. You have to be able to KEEP GOING, regardless of whether you're bugging out or hunkering down. Unless you're a king and can have your minions do it... The zombies don't care that you're tired. ;)
 
Yes endurace is important as to keep a calm mind,that's why I like to do 10 km marches atleast 4 times aweek
 
If I was prepping - I would want something left to loose rather then having nothing left to go on.

Seems to be contradictory, but the fatter folks always last better than the skinny ones on Survivor. While the fat is good to avoid starvation though, need muscle to switch to a more manual base of labor. So, the exercise advice is still a good idea.
 
let's keep some fat and build muscle under that,then you have it all ;)
 

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