Category: Health and Fitness

Strength for Survival by Mick M.

Growing up, I was never the “Jock” in my family. As the youngest of four boys, I spent a good bit of childhood as a grappling dummy and punching bag. I played soccer and swam on the team but I really preferred spending time exploring nature, building forts, pyrotechnics, reading, and tapping into my imagination. My father is an Air Force Academy graduate and Vietnam veteran who instilled the basics of survival skills in us and focused on cultivating a strong work ethic and obedience amongst his sons. When I was about ten years old, I joined the Boy Scouts …


Advice for Less Able/Disabled Preppers, by M.D.M.

I was born and raised on a farm, lived military and worked all my life, so I am accustomed to hard work and understand the need for a strong physical body. After years of working 10-12 hours a day, I decided to go back to college at nights to get a degree in pastoral studies, so I could keep busy during my ‘retirement’ years. In August, 2005 my life changed with a bad accident, now, disabled and in a wheelchair, my life is upside down and for me it was TEOTWAWKI.  I have always been a prepper and I’m not …


Planning for TEOTWAWKI, by P.S.

Everyone is familiar with planning for “The End Of The World As We Know It” (TEOTWAWKI).  Our long and costly preparations that we make in order to survive the massive disaster that will one day change our present way of living. We try to predict what type of disaster may happen and plan accordingly. It may be plans to survive the coming economic collapse, some form of EMP whether be it solar or man made, or some form of a global pandemic, the list goes on and on. I enlisted in the US Coast Guard back in 1975 and took …


Fitness by the Acronyms, by Jeff in Texas

Let me start with this statement: You should be in good cardio condition to survive the acronyms, and I can help you get there. Like the guy that sells Men’s clothing say’s … “I guarantee it!” Why is it important? Because life ain’t a video game! Anyone that visits this site more than once, I would hope, has enough knowledge to know you won’t be playing this game sitting on the couch. And while it would be nice to think of all our fellow men as “good people” … we know when the going gets tough: the un-prepared and desperate …


Prepping the Space Between Your Ears, by Tona

I don’t recall a time in my life when I wasn’t doing at least some planning for “worst case” situations.  That may have come from growing up in an earthquake prone part of the country, and during the cold war when we drilled for nuclear attacks during the school day.  My mother, who was a single parent through much of my life, also modeled planning for “hard times” by storing food, following world and local trends closely, and being careful with money.  I became serious and more intentional in prepping following Katrina, when it confirmed my suspicion that we had …


SHTF-Oriented Fitness and Martial Arts for a Middle-Aged Couch Potato, by Dimitri G.

First off: English is not my native language. I apologize if this article is not easy to read. I hope that its usefulness will outweigh the inconvenience. I am 40 years old, overweight by about 50 pounds, and I regretfully admit that in the past 15 or so years I became a “couch potato”. In other words, my physical fitness is not up to the challenges of any survival situation. When I was a lot younger, I practiced karate, boxing, and weight lifting. I was pretty tough, and even back in high school there was no bully who would risk …


Post-Apocalyptic Healthcare, by Dr. Daniel Stickler

I first began prepping about two years ago so I am fairly new to this.  In those two years I have been fairly aggressive with my education and training on the topic with much of my real world education coming from reading blogs.  I have found an area where there is a great deal of misinformation and limited preparedness so it has prompted me to address this topic since it is the one area where I possess a skill set that I can share.  The topic is healthcare after the SHTF.  I think it is difficult for any of us, …


Family Planning, Post-TEOTWAWKI, by Lisa F.

Bring to mind one of the post-TEOTWAWKI scenarios you most frequently imagine, be it the after-effects of a worldwide flu pandemic, series of natural disasters, economic collapse, or nuclear war.  Is this a world into which you’d want to bring children?  At least for the short-term aftermath, I bet you wouldn’t.  Not while you may be on the move or actively defending your retreat or community from danger.  However…”birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it”…c’mon, sing along with me and Cole Porter…”let’s do it, let’s fall in love!”  As the song says, love is natural and …


Bowel Issues – Part 3, by Dr. Bob

IBS and TEOTWAWKI Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), is a difficult and tricky topic to cover.  First, let’s get some of the politics out of the way and then some pretty interesting facts about IBS to start with, then we will move on to some helpful management tips.  The actual definition of Irritable Bowel Syndrome is this:  a gastrointestinal syndrome characterized by chronic abdominal pain and altered bowel habits in the absence of any organic cause.  Obviously, if there is no way to actually test for a disease, then there is a wide interpretation of who has it and why they …


Letter Re: The Importance of Foot Care

Hello James: I stumbled across some excellent advice for foot care.  The advice targeted diabetics.  Diabetics need to be especially mindful of their feet are more susceptible to circulation difficulties.  Foot problems can rapidly escalate.  This advice is also very sound advice for after the Schumer hits the fan.  It is likely that we will all be putting more miles of pounding on our feet. – Joe H.


Letter Re: Staple Foods Storage By The Numbers

JWR- Dr. Ted is incorrect. "Dropping below 15% protein risks Kwashiorkor – it’s the reason why those starving kids in the television commercials have fat bellies – lack of protein actually causes more fat to be deposited!" More fat is not deposited. [A swollen belly in these cases is a symptom of] edema (fluid) that collects in the abdomen or feet. It comes from the capillaries when there is a lack of protein in the diet and the liver cannot produce enough albumin. Thus the blood is hypo-osmotic and fluid is lost into the peritoneum, also called third-spacing. – J.W.M.


Letter Re: The Occupy Protests as an Illustration of Refugee Camp Living

JWR,   I found this article interesting: Protesters Coming Down With the “Zuccotti Lung”. Park conditions put demonstrators at risk for variety of sicknesses, officials say. The weather and conditions at the “Occupy” protests are likely a microcosm of a post-Crunch refugee camp, along with the attendant diseases and problems associated with lots of people living close together in raw weather.   I think this should give pause to those who believe they can simply pack up and head out into the local woodlot and survive a Crunch-type event. You may leave home healthy, but inevitable contact with other folks will …


Letter Re: One Strategy for Bugout Bag Foods

Sir: I would like to follow up on my recent article, Some Thoughts of How to Live in Times of Hunger, with a few actionable implications that might make a difference to my fellow preppers. As always, I eagerly look forward to the contributions of the worldwide prepper community to add to or correct my conclusions.             If I ever have to bug-out on foot it will be under dangerous circumstances, and I will need to move quickly and cover at least several miles. This on-foot bugout is my truly worst-case scenario: minimum supplies, emergency escape. If I can plan …


Letter Re: TEOTWAWKI Fitness Planning

Dear JWR: Well, hallelujah for Dr. Bob’s practical attitude toward fitness!  I’ve been working our homestead for almost 20 years, now, and I’ve been amazed at what the workout crowd can’t do, hurting because they had to shovel manure and those particular muscles weren’t on the look lovely list.  I’ve worked many a man into exhaustion, although I do pay when it’s time to try to buy a dress that fits – women aren’t supposed to have biceps.  For years I’ve wondered about spending big bucks to go to the gym when the push lawnmower and a few other practical …


TEOTWAWKI Fitness Planning by Dr. Bob

First, I must state that I am not a licensed physical therapist or personal trainer.  You may be expecting some type of disclaimer of “consult a physician before starting an exercise program” fame.  Nope.  The way I look at it is, I am that physician giving out helpful, free medical advice for prepping–so take it or leave it.  Much of this article references my life and personal experience, and for that you will either be impressed by the thoughtful, personal example; or you will be disgusted and bored by my shameless self-talk.  For this I am sorry; but I try very …