Category: Health and Fitness

Hands-On Healing – Part 1, by Dr. Derek King, DC

In this four-part article, I will describe some gentle hands-on healing and mental/emotional trauma-release techniques that you can use on your loved ones. When the SHTF, the most important issues, long-term, will be: How do you handle your stress? As a practicing Holistic Chiropractor in private practice for the past 32 years, I have learned many techniques and methods; a few of which can be utilized by you. No, you cannot call yourself a chiropractor and no, you cannot be adjusting vertebrae without a license…so let’s not even go there. However, do you know what the original meaning of the …


The Art of Meal Stretching – Part 1, by Nurse Michele

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Meal stretching is the learned art of taking simple, low-cost ingredients and turning them into not just one appealing meal for your family, but with some careful planning and a few adjustments, several meals to meet your family’s needs. This is a subject I expect that most of us, at least SurvivalBlog readers, have already acquired a fair bit of knowledge. Sometimes it’s easy to assume then, that the ability to make one meal become three is all but ubiquitous. But recently something happened, making me re-think my assumption that folks at large are familiar with ways to help keep …


Physical Resilience for an Uncertain Future – Part 3, by A.D.

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(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Putting it all together In this section I’d like to distill all the preceding information into what it might look like in terms of an actual week of fitness. I will also show what a couple weeks in succession could look like, to give you an idea of proper progression. I mentioned in the anaerobic section the analogy of your fitness attributes like the many sliding dials on a DJ’s sound mixing table. For the purposes of this example, let’s say this person is just starting out and has decided to prioritize …


Physical Resilience for an Uncertain Future – Part 2, by A.D.

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(Continued from Part 1.) Anaerobic (non-oxidative) Conditioning In the last 20 years with the popularity of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), CrossFit™, Bootcamps, and similar approaches, the anaerobic system has prominently been featured center stage in the world of exercise. While certainly meriting training and attention, this trend has in my opinion pushed the needle a little too far that direction. The Anaerobic system (comprised of many subsystems likely beyond the scope of the current audience’s interest, but if not resources will be listed!) is responsible for rapidly creating cellular energy to fuel high octane tasks. Throwing a baseball, lifting …


Physical Resilience for an Uncertain Future – Part 1, by A.D.

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Oftentimes, in the circles of the preparation-minded, the focus centers around guns, grub, and gear. Areas most certainly worthy of attention, but in my opinion, second place to the state of one’s health, fitness, and overall capital in the realm of physical resilience. An individual with the best-prepared resources in the realms of food, water, and security yet neglecting their fitness and health, whether consciously or not, is missing a key component of their preparation program. My personal definition of fitness is an ability to perform any desired labor or leisure task at any time, with physical competence, and recover …


A Prepping Reality Check – Part 4, by Mama Bear

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(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article series.) Security/Defense There have been many articles on the blog about security and defense. Let me just throw out a few thoughts. What is the field of fire from each side of your grid-down retreat? Have you practiced with your family/group how to defend your retreat? Paintball is great for this. Have you thought about how far you are willing to go to defend your supplies, your home, your family? Have you thought about a procedure for admitting additional people to the retreat? Have you thought about which of your friends/family you …


Psychological and Physical Survival – Part 3, by K.B. MD

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(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) — Part 3 – Preventive Strategies Yesterday, in Part 2 we covered disaster’s effects such as depression, grief, and PTSD. Today in Part 3, we will focus on numerous preventive strategies. It is imperative to work proactively at protecting the psychological health of your entire group. This will require advance study and forethought for some unless you are blessed to have an individual in your group with medical and/or counseling experience to call upon. Nevertheless, it is crucial to think, read, and plan for psychological stress management as we do for other …


Psychological and Physical Survival – Part 1, by K.B. MD

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The three parts of this article will describe: Part 1 – Stress- Types and Tips Part 2 – Disaster, Depression, Grief, and PTSD Part 3 – Preventive Strategies — Part 1: Everyone has experienced challenges in life such as illness, injury, bereavement, unemployment, financial loss, social dislocation, overwork, sleep deprivation, hunger, pain, cold, loss of power, civil unrest, etc. The chance of encountering some or all of the above skyrockets during times of prolonged disaster or TEOTWAWKI.  How will you or your loved ones, adults and children, fare during disasters? In reality, all of us will feel tremendous stress and …


Rule 1 for Survival: Fitness – Part 2, by John H.

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(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) You are the expert on your body, and it is within your ability to train it effectively. Just like with anything, there are a million exercises you can do. Don’t worry! Here are some simple tips that will be helpful. Strength train 2 – 3 times per week. I like to include strength training on my cardio days, but with a break in-between. Mix it up. You can do back exercises on Day 1, shoulder and arm exercises on Day 2, and a combination on Day 3. Also, you can and should …


Rule 1 for Survival: Fitness – Part 1, by John H.

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Introduction Rule #1 rule of any survival situation is physical fitness. True fitness provides you the ability to respond to any situation without failing. Based on our age, health situation, and more, physical fitness is different for each of us. It is not a win-lose situation. You do not have to choose between being either an extreme athlete or a couch potato. Everybody’s journey is different. However, the most important thing is that you always continue to work towards your goal, one step at a time. Any improvement is worth it. A Bit About Me In this post, we will …


Post-TEOTWAWKI Pest Control – Part 2, by J.S.R.

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(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) and Lyme disease are two bacterial tick-borne infections of particular concern. The ticks that transmit both of these diseases are found all over the United States. The CDC states that RMSF is most common in Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. After the three- to twelve-day incubation period, the early signs (days 1-4) of RMSF include a high fever, severe headache, gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, anorexia), and edema around the eyes and on the back of the hands. Two to five days after symptoms begin, the …


Post-TEOTWAWKI Pest Control – Part 1, by J.S.R.

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Historically, guns and knives make barely a blip on the charts in their ability to kill when compared to mosquitoes, lice, and ticks. These killers trigger no motion sensors or metal detectors. They don’t need night vision goggles. They spare no one and are entirely indiscriminate in their attacks. It was true historically, and it is true now. It will continue to be true in the future. Focusing too much attention on Hollywood’s distracting scripts for doomsday scenarios where firearms do all the killing prevents people from preparing for the far more likely assassins that will find, wherever you bug …


A Healthy Infancy and Beyond, by O.R.

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Author’s Introduction:  I have five years experience breastfeeding my two children. I am an accredited La Leche League Leader, which is a volunteer breastfeeding counselor who is active in providing breastfeeding support to families and communities, for three years. I am the chair of a local breastfeeding advocacy organization and have started an organization that encourages breastfeeding in marginalized populations. Additionally I have taken classes, attended conferences and am part of local breastfeeding coalitions. I recently sat for my board exam to become an IBCLC (Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant) and am currently awaiting my test results. — Our community …


The Pharmacy Around Us – Part 3, by Jen R.

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(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the three part series.) LOMATIUM Why you want it:  Lomatium is the go-to antiviral for influenza.  It’s much cheaper than Tamiflu, you don’t need a prescription, and it doesn’t have to be started within 24 hours to be effective.  During the Spanish flu, when it was used on patients thought to be lost causes, even these patients fully recovered. Lomatium is an herb that most people have never even heard of.  And yet, it’s something you really want to be able to identify and harvest if possible if you live west of the Mississippi, …


The Pharmacy Around Us – Part 2, by Jen R.

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(Continued from Part 1.) BERBERINE Why you want it:  With actions similar to penicillin and amoxicillin, it is used for treating cholera, acute dysentery, diarrhea, E. coli, infected wounds, giardia, and yeast infections. While there are not as many uses for extracts from berberine plants as for juniper and Usnea, a berberine tincture is still very nice to have on hand in case of cholera or giardia.  The most common plants high in berberine content are Japanese barberry, Oregon grape, Nandina domestica, Hydrastis canadensis, and Phellodendron amurense (not to be confused with the common philodendron houseplant).  And you’ve probably got …