As an avid reader of SurvivalBlog, I have read a countless number of articles on communications, food storage, tactics, weaponry, and a long list of almost every topic involving survival during a SHTF or TEOTWAWKI situation. One major area that directly effects all of the aforementioned topics is physical fitness. As a certified Health and Physical educator that is working on receiving a Certified Personal Trainer certification I take physical activity very seriously. One term that is used frequently in my field is GPP or General Physical Preparedness. GPP is the base level of fitness that a person must have before they begin a training regiment. As the infamous power lifter Louie Simmons states, “You have to be in shape to train, not train to get in shape.” Relating this to a survival situation, a person can be mentally and emotionally prepared for any situation that comes their way-economic disaster, nuclear fallout, EMP, etc.- but if you are not physically prepared to meet the demands of living in a SHTF or TEOTWAWKI situation you are doomed to fail or at the minimum will have an extremely arduous physical adaptation period. One thing that many people take for granted is the belief that you will just fall into a routine that will help you adapt quickly and efficiently to different activities that must be completed on a day-to-day basis. Though there is some truth to this, the adaptation will not be pleasant by any means and in some situations will be painful. Walking long distances with a heavy load is a perfect example. Your body will be sore from your pinky toe all the way up to your neck. I know from experience what the effects of a lack of GPP can get you. When I was younger I spent a summer working in a fishing camp in the Alaskan wilderness. One week I was carrying 4 foot sections of logs a half a mile back to our base camp through the undergrowth the next week I was digging six foot deep latrine holes, the week after that I was carrying 15 gallon gas cans 100 feet to fill our boats up, and the list goes on for the 10 weeks I was there. Not only did it take me several days to adapt to the climate, my body was forced to go through physical adaptations week after week which are daunting to say the least. Overall, general physical preparedness is something that people need to seriously consider when preparing for any situation.
As previously discussed in several different articles, everyday life will change drastically after an event. To name a few physical activities that will become commonplace:
- Chopping firewood
- Carrying firewood varying distances
- Carrying water (5 gallon buckets weigh 40 lbs.)
- Carrying food pails of varying weights
- Lifting 50 or 80 pound bags of foodstuffs or livestock feed
- Shoveling materials into sandbags
- Moving sandbags for defensive positions (typically 25 lbs. or more)
- Digging caches
- Driving stakes for fortified positions or fence posts
- Mending fences
- Moving car batteries for charging electronics
- Bug-out situations carrying different weights and hiking varying distances over various terrain
The list is never ending. Each person’s situation will be different. If you have a dedicated retreat your physical responsibilities may also require moving hay bails for feeding livestock. If you are in a suburban area you may need to push cars off the road to travel to bug-out location or in come instances push them into place to help set-up a defensive position. In an urban area your physical responsibilities will be even more drastically different then the rural and suburban environment preppers. Also, as the event that has occurred pushes into a longer time period such as in Mr. Rawles’ book Patriots and the financial collapse, physical responsibilities will be even more drastic for everybody no matter where you live.
Many people are prepared to stockpile food, buy weapons and ammunition, and educate themselves on a range of survival skills that will help them in any scenario imaginable. Though, people will not take time out of their schedules to physically prepare themselves to use those stockpiles, weapons, and information they spent countless hours studying, practicing and preparing. Personally, I would not want to be the person that is as welled armed as Fort Knox, is as prepared medically as Mount Sinai hospital, has enough food to feed 100 people but can’t manage to walk miles in a bug-out situation to get to my retreat or abandon my retreat if it ever came to that.
I am frequently asked by friends how to lose weight and get into shape. I tell people that they must start slow (especially if having not done any physical activity for more then several months.) I would recommend the same thing for preppers who want to get into shape. What I would prescribe requires no special equipment, only items that would be found in any preppers already created stockpile. Developing a proper level of physical preparedness does not require any high-tech equipment or “one machine fits all” gimmick that are being marketed today.
One simple place to start is going for long walks. Not only does the walking help prepare your legs for an environment that does not have any other means of transportation but it will also help you slim down (in conjunction with eating healthier which is key.) Something I recommend is filling up your CamelBak and walk with it. A three liter (100 ounce) CamelBak weighs about 6.5 pounds. The additional 6.5 pounds will come as a surprise to those who are not used to carrying any extra weight on a day to day basis. This is also a great precursor to carrying heavier weights on hikes. You can add more and more weight as your body adapts.
The next place to start is doing various calisthenics. Pushups, pullups, sit-ups, doing bodyweight squats (squatting with not additional weight,) lunges, walking lunges, and a countless number of other exercises that help the body get into shape.
- If you are unable to do 20 pushups in a normal fashion on the ground begin by doing incline pushups against a wall or table depending on your physical ability.
- For pullups, you can begin by doing negatives: jumping up so your chin is above the bar and slowly lowering yourself down fighting your bodyweight. Eventually your body will get stronger allowing you to do pullups. Another useful exercise is lying underneath a sturdy table, grabbing the edge and pulling your chest to the table edge while your feet remain on the ground. These are called bodyweight rows, which strengthen your back and help with various pulling motions.
- When performing bodyweight squats, make sure you squat down to parallel. An easy way to understand when your body reaches parallel is using a bucket, table or chair that allows you to sit down with your legs at 90 degree angle when sitting. If you sit down then stand back up you are performing a proper squat. Work your way into not using the object after you become strong enough and can physically reach the parallel level of the squat.
- Lunges and sit-ups are fairly well known and are tried and true methods of developing strength.
There is a much longer list of calisthenics/bodyweight movements that can be performed that can be researched by those interested in developing strength and endurance.
The next method of getting into shape involves two empty five gallon buckets. Fill the buckets almost up to the brim with water, squat down and pick them up, then walk various distances with them. That will be approximately 80 pounds of weight being carried. The task of carrying water or other objects in buckets (especially stored food) will become commonplace after the SHTF.
You can also pick up different objects and carry them. Logs, rocks, sandbags, loads of firewood, and anything else that you will use at your retreat or other location. Not only does this help develop your overall strength and endurance, it also prepares you for the tasks that you will be performing in the future. Also, a wheelbarrow filled with sand, dirt, rocks, firewood, etc. can be pushed different distances.
Finally, one of the most physically demanding and overall physically active things that someone can do is chop firewood. One of the newest crazes to hit the world of training is sledgehammer training. People are buying sledgehammers and old tires and striking the tire over and over again to develop physical strength and endurance. Why waste your time striking a tire with a sledgehammer when you can chop firewood that you will use to cook, and heat your home.
Although I did not list any activities that are “scientifically advanced” or mind boggling to those who think physical activity is simply moving your preps from you car to your storage area every few weeks, they are effective and will help you when the SHTF. I encourage everyone to challenge their bodies not just their minds when preparing for any situation.