SurvivalBlog.com

JWR:
In his recent article, The BYU Kid offered some pretty solid advice regarding physical fitness, but neglected to mention a couple things that are important for some of the exercises he mentioned. 

1.) The pushup should be done slowly – most people when doing pushups tend to rush through them as fast as they can. While there is something to be said for explosive power training, for the purposes of functional strength the pushup should be smooth and controlled – two seconds for the descent, hold at the bottom for a second, then two seconds for the ascent. Make sure that your body is straight like a rod (flex your abs) throughout and focus on the ground in front of you instead of looking forward or down at your feet.  Its best to grab a baseball or brick or similarly sized object and place it beneath you if you’re unsure as to how far down to go. Place the object underneath you and ‘kiss’ it with your sternum – do not rest upon it.  Pushups can also be made more difficult in several ways other than simply raising the legs.

The first way is to simply slow the pace at which you do a pushup. Try descending/ascending for five seconds, then holding at the bottom for two seconds.  You’ll find that the number of pushups you can do will go down with this slower speed. 

The second way is to perform the pushups on gymnastics rings (hanging from above, the rings about an inch off the ground). These can be a little costly but their use for fitness makes them well worth it – I use Xtreme Rings because they can easily be adjusted for multiple kinds of ring work.  You’ll find that doing a pushup on a set of rings is far more challenging than normal pushups, as you need to stabilize your arms and balance them on the rings.  Increase level of difficulty further by elevating feet, or moving onto Bulgarian Ring Pushups – where you start with the rings beneath you, turned slightly outwards, and when you descend your arms should widen and your hands should rotate 90 degrees. 

Additionally, if regular pushups are too difficult, they can be made easier by doing them on the knees – the more your legs are piked beneath you the easier they will become. Work on getting your knees further and further away from you until you can do a regular pushup

4.) Pullups and Chinups are not the same exercise. While the movement is indeed similar the two exercises work the muscles in the arms and torso differently – Chinups will work the biceps more while Pullups will work the lats more.  For most, chinups are the easier exercise, while pullups are slightly more difficult.  Ideally you’ll want to work on pullups over chinups, as getting over fences, walls, etc will require that your hands go over the obstacle instead of under.  The ideal pull-up should be done from a dead hang – your feet should not be touching anything, (if your pullup bar is not high enough for this, tuck your legs back) and you should be hanging, completely relaxed as low as you can go while still gripping the bar. Pull up smoothly until your chin clears the bar, and smoothly let yourself down, try not to just drop after you make it to the top. Ideally your body should be completely loose except for your arms and upper torso. You should not be swinging, your body should not wiggle or buck while going up, and you should return all the way back down to the dead hang before you go back up to the top.

I see people in the gym all the time doing half range of movement pullups – where they buck themselves up to the chin position, and then let themselves back down, not going to a dead hang like they should. This type of action i’ve found to cause the occasional tweaked shoulder or neck muscle as it is very tense and frenetic version of the pullup.   If you can’t do a full range of movement (dead hang to chin to dead hang) pullup, then you should build strength by doing negative pullups; jump up to the bar with your chin over, and as slowly as you can, let yourself back down to the dead hang. I find that when you can do about 5 of these taking 5 seconds to descend, you should be able to do a pullup, or at least get yourself to the top of the bar.  

As with pushups, the slower you do the exercise the more difficult it becomes.  I like to alternate sets of smooth, slow pullups, with explosive, fast pullups, as I want to be able to do a muscle up, eventually. (A muscle up is when one does a pullup, but does not stop at the chin, and continues to press up until the bar is below their hips.) Pullups can also be modified to work different muscle groups – a wider grip will work the lats harder, where a closer grip will focus on the triceps more. When doing wider grip pullups its important to remember to let the Lats do the work – seek to keep your elbows out instead of inward. 

Finally, Lat Pulldown machines are great but are frequently misused – where possible always opt for regular or negative pullups instead of a lat pulldown machine. 

A truly excellent (and more difficult) variant of the pullup, that works both the legs, core, as well as the shoulders and arms is the L-Sit Pullup.  While in the dead hang position, keep your legs together, knees straight and toes pointed, and raise them 90 degrees so from the side, your body forms the shape of an L.  Hold this position throughout your set while doing pullups. It is far more difficult than a regular pullup, and requires a degree of stomach and quad strength.  Given that, there are two intermediate forms between the regular pullup and the l-sit pullup that can be done to work up to the L-sit.  The first is to simply tuck the legs – your thighs will be 90 degrees away from you as in the l-sit, but your shins and feet will be relaxed, and perpendicular to the ground.  After you can do sets of Tuck L-Sit Pullups, then the next is L-Sit Low pullups, where your legs are straight like the l-sit, but not as high, about 45 degrees less.  I recommend working up to the tuck l-sit by doing ab work in addition to the regular pullups.  Remember to listen to your body and don’t push yourself too hard.

5.) Sprints are great, but the writer forgot to mention that a warm up period is essential when doing sprinting training.  For one who is not used to running/sprinting, its incredibly easy to pull or tear a muscle. Before you begin sprinting make sure to stretch lightly, and jog a few hundred yards. For those new to sprinting don’t sprint at 100% effort for the first few weeks until your body gets used to the strain. 

6.) Another great variant of this is to drag a tire or two on a rope through the snow during the winter. Not only will this be difficult as the footing may not be sure and/or slippery, but it’ll also help you realize how easily one can sweat while bundled up.  Its best to learn now how to keep dry/ventilated in while exerting oneself in the cold weather than when bugging out or in a dire situation. “You sweat, you die”

7.) I agree that olympic moves are simply the best for both strength building and weight loss.  For those starting I would also recommend that particularly with the Squat and the Deadlift they begin with nothing but the olympic bar, so that they get the form down first.  With these two exercises form is absolutely key to both strength building and injury avoidance. Read up about form and watch videos of correct form on youtube. Remember to focus on contracting the muscles that are working while doing the exercises – with deadlifts its the hamstrings and the glutes, with squats its primarily the quads and thighs. 

Finally the exercises recommended, all of them, should be done by both sexes. I’ve heard from so many women that they want to get strong and in shape but don’t want to become like female body builders so all they do are ab exercises and cardio.  Female bodybuilders get that muscly by using testosterone, steroids, or workout routines that are both extreme and focus on muscle hypertrophy (increasing muscle size) and not simply by weightlifting. Women do not build muscle in the same way that men do, so the worry about appearance is a misinformed one.  Furthermore, Squats, Dead lifts, and Pushups/Pullups are excellent exercises for both losing weight and toning up, as they are compound exercises and work multiple groups of muscles, engaging focus, co-ordination and balance. I find myself soaked in sweat at the end of a workout doing olympic moves and pullups/pushups, more thoroughly worked out, than when I used to do exercise machines and bicep curls.  There’s a woman at my gym who squats 25 lbs less than I do — but she’s also 10 inches shorter than I am and probably 100 lbs lighter, and she’s by no means ‘ripped.’  – Z.H.

There’s one thing that’s guaranteed in any SHTF or TEOTWAWKI situation, and that’s the age old adage that only the strong survive. But how do we get to that point? How can we improve our strength with things that will actually be adaptable to a survival situation? I would like to lay out a few selected exercises that have direct carryovers to very important skills and suggest a program for you (not my own) and offer a couple workouts that you can incorporate into your current routine.

First, let’s talk about what’s not necessary: any routine found in a bodybuilding magazine. We’re talking survival, not show, and what you want are exercises that will help you thrive. Excess muscle is costly metabolically, so we’re not necessarily looking to gain muscle, but we are looking to increase performance. Another: any routine given by a personal trainer. These guys are alright for some people, but odds are you’ll get a copy and pasted program involving every single exercise machine in a straight circuit. And another: crossfit. While crossfit can be challenging and they use some of these exercises, they metabolic conditioning programming is not conducive to the ultimate goal of being able to be useful, functional, and simple.

Secondly, a few principles; namely:
-Bodyweight strength is the foundation
-Free weights beat machines
-The more work you can do daily the better off you are (if you’re sleeping and eating properly)
-Movements are trained in a progressive fashion- either by adding weight, doing more, doing it faster, or doing it longer (that’s what she said)
-If you’re unfamiliar with an exercise, ask for help
-If you can do an exercise with no fatigue, find a way to make it harder

1) The Pushup

The pushup is an exercise everyone is familiar with but no one gives the credit it needs. You don’t need any equipment to perform it, and there’s a number of ways to make it more difficult. The pushup transfers into all overhead pushing that may be required, and it helps you to lift your own bodyweight. Pushups can be made more difficult in one of two ways (I don’t recommend combining them, but you can if you’re ambitious): first, feet elevation, secondly, adding resistance through bands or weights. Strong shoulders, pectorals and a core are vital to survival. When doing pushups, you can go to failure, but I suggest doing 4-5 sets of 10-12 reps with very little rest in between.

2) Sledgehammer

Using a sledgehammer has been a hit lately in functional fitness, and for good reason- pounding the crap out of a tractor tire is fun, it is work, and it makes you explosively powerful. It directly carries over into many aspects of survivalism from chopping down trees and splitting logs to construction or demolition. For this, the key is to find the balance between explosiveness and sloppiness- once you reach it, step away. Remember to go with both arms, or each arm individually.

3) The Deadlift

The deadlift is perhaps the king of exercises. It requires the whole of a person to perform correctly- from your feet to your neck can be activated and benefited. Proper form needs to be exercised- when you deadlift, don’t focus on pulling, instead focus on sitting back and having the weight ride up your legs. Wearing longer socks is recommended. The carryover is perhaps most important- notably, the deadlift improves your grip, and grip will be an important thing for any survivalist- from climbing to pulling to breaking, grip work is extremely beneficial. One can increase the grip difficulty by adding fat grips or making their own. The other aspects of the lift- holding heavy weight- will have enough of a strength carryover that no other lift would. With the deadlift, focus on lower reps (4-6) and heavier weights. You can always add in a straight set of higher reps if desired.

Another aspect of the deadlift I want to make clear is the psychological one. It is a true test of strength- getting a weight off the ground, your own bodyweight, maybe even doubled. That is something that is so hard to describe. I personally have deadlifted over 650 lbs, and the mental aspect of that lift was more important than muscle or mechanics. I can’t say for sure the deadlift activates the fight or flight response, but it really separates the men from the boys.

4) Pullups/Chinups

Pullups and chinups are essentially the same exercise in function- you pull your bodyweight up. The movements themselves are much better and effective than machine substitutes. A chinup is performed with your palms facing you, a pullup is performed with your palms facing away. Either way, being able to pull your body up with just your arms is a skill that you will want to cultivate. For simplicity’s sake, I’ll refer to either as pullups. Again, grip strength is a benefit and these require a lot of it. If you can’t perform one, then looping an exercise band around the bar, or using a partner to help you during the concentric (contracting) portion of the lift are good ways to build up strength. As you are able to do 15+ pullups, you can add weight through a vest, a backpack, or a weight on a belt or held between your legs. You can also make these more difficult by using thicker bars, or using towels to pull yourself up.

5) Sprints/ Jumps

Sprinting is the best cardio. Odds are you won’t need to plod along anywhere at 7 mph, but a quick 1-2 minute sprint session may absolutely be required of you in any survival scenario. Sprints can be tricky to program, but I highly recommend that they be done in a way that’s referred to as Escalating Density Training (EDT). It essentially means that you try to do more in less time, or do more total. Jumps I included with sprints because it’s the explosive nature of the movements- they can be thrown in in any situation you want and they are easier to recover from. Remember, the more work you can do and recover from, the better.

6) Loaded Carries/ Sled Drags or Pushes

These are fun exercises. You grab the heaviest dumbbell in each hand, a loaded barbell in each hand, put on a weight vest, throw a bag over shoulder, however you can, you get a weight and you carry it for as long as you can as many times as you can. The carryover is immediately evident and aside from that, it gets you grounded. All these exercises are designed to keep you in touch with the basic human movements- push, pull, jump, run, hold, etc. Farmers walks are also fun to combine with sled drags- get a harness on yourself, throw a bag over your shoulder and drag a sled. Combining the two movements is challenging. Pushing a sled for distance or for time is a conditioning workout that will challenge you but also improve your physical performance and has a carryover to many movements. Building your own sled using a tire and rope is fairly easy and plans can be found with a quick web search.

7) Olympic Moves

These are last on the list because while they are great exercises, they may or may not be as useful as the others. The thing about olympic exercises is for many people they’re too technical, or weird, and they’re worried they’ll mess it up. If you feel that way, don’t bother. These are slightly more dangerous exercises and as such you should be very careful with them. I personally love the power clean and the power snatch and I work them into my workouts every week. Learning to generate explosive force has a better carryover to things that require an extended time of work than extended work has to explosive movement. Go and look at videos or train with someone who can coach you through these lifts.

I highly recommend Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 Program. It is a simple, basic strength training book that will get you on the right track for strength and health. If you are interested, please go ahead and purchase it- it’s a worthwhile investment. It’s not just about survival of the fittest though, it’s about survival of the most useful. If you do, I recommend these setups for the exercises:

Main Lift: Bench
Accessory Lifts: Pushup, Dip, Pullup

Main Lift: Deadlift
Activation: Power clean (performed before the main lift to activate the nervous system)
Accessory: Sledgehammer, Jumps

Main Lift: Squat
Activation: Power Snatch (performed before the main lift to activate the nervous system)
Accessory: Sprints and either Sled Push/Pulls OR Farmer’s walk

Main Lift: Overhead Press
Accessory: Face Pulls, Pullups, dumbbell presses

 But if you’re happy with your gym setup and are just looking for a workout that you can do here are two that will get you on track:

Workout A
Power Snatch 3 sets of 3 at a lighter weight
Deadlift Pyramid up sets of 5 reps until you can’t do 5 reps (add 20-30 lbs each set) with 1-2 minutes rest between sets
Pushup 5 sets of 10
Sledgehammer 30 reps (either 30 overhead or 15 per hand)

Workout B
Jump to a box 4 sets of 6
Pullups as many sets of as many reps- aim for 100 reps total per session (over time)
Loaded carries- the heaviest weight you can carry for as long as you can carry
Sprints- 4 x100 meters working up from there.

Remember, the more work you can do, the better. We’re not looking for excessive amounts of muscle, we’re looking for the ability to perform. Good luck and happy surviving.

Vitamins and minerals are a multi-billion dollar business currently in the US.  Our food is plentiful and fortified, and the use of these pills are generally completely unnecessary.  Medically, the recommendation for vitamins and supplements–from multiple sources–is as follows:  There are no vitamins or supplements needed for typical adults eating a balanced diet with regular sun exposure or consumption of fortified dairy products.  That being said, WTSHTF there will be obvious changes to our typical fattened-calf diets.  Plan accordingly, but there is very little that some people will do, stretching the valuable resources of the rest of us.  Depending on the circle of people that you may need to support, you may be facing less than you were planning too.  Our Christian natures will bring more to the table than we might plan for…so there are likely to be shortages of “plenty” and we may be at “adequate” or even worse “survival” diets.  Starvation is not an option for the survivalist, and there is no good reason that starvation will plague the knowledgeable prepper.  Now that we have established that you will have some food, but not necessarily a balanced diet, we can start to talk about different vitamins and minerals.

Essential vitamins include both long-lived (fat soluble) ones like A, D, E, and K; and shorter-lived (water soluble) ones like B and C.  Vitamin A is also called Retinol and is found in meat, some vegetables, and eggs.  Vitamin B1 is Thiamine and is found in pork, grains, and yeast.  Vitamin B2 is Riboflavin and is found in leafy green vegetables, legumes, almonds, and yeast.  Vitamin B3, or Niacin, is found in meats, fruits, vegetables, grains, and yeast.  Vitamin B5, Pantothenic; B6, Pyridoxal; and B7, Biotin are all commonly found in many foods and are unlikely to be deficient in any non-starvation diet.  B9 is Folic acid and is found in green, leafy vegetables, fruit, grains, and meat. Vitamin D is found in fish, tuna, eggs, and is nicely made by our skin with proper sun exposure.  Vitamin E is found in wheats and green, leafy vegetables.  Vitamin K is also prevalent in green, leafy vegetables too.  Important minerals include Calcium, Iodine, Iron, and Zinc.  Calcium is found in dairy products, many vegetables, and eggshells. Iodine is found in [most] table salt [in Western countries].  Iron is found in meats and green, leafy vegetables.  Zinc is found in seeds, beans, and grains.

Important deficiencies to worry about depend on the age and situation of a person.  Folic acid deficiency can cause an anemia and also birth defects.  B12 and Iron deficiencies can also cause anemia and is most often found in strict vegans, which will be a thing of the past WTSHTF.  Vitamin C deficiency will affect those with limited stores of fruits and vegetables after they run out.  Vitamin D will be important to consider in northern climates with limited sun in wintertime, especially for those that are older adults.

Now, after stopping at my local megalomart, recommendations are pretty easy to make for TEOTWAWKI.  Pregnant women need supplementation of vitamins and minerals, specifically B9, or Folic acid.  This can be accomplished with either Folic acid supplementation specifically, or a good multivitamin, or both.  So, if you have a supply of multivitamins, make sure that any likely child-bearing female is taking one regularly.  Older adults should also take a good multivitamin or Vitamin D supplementation.  This will help bone strength and prevention of falls.  As diets get more “lean” and approach “survival” levels, a good multivitamin will be important for everyone to take at least weekly.

Which one?  Good question, really.  Turns out there are some differences in your basic store vitamins.  Nature Made “complete” is a very good multivitamin that covers all the basic needs of a person across all vitamin and mineral recommendations.  The other name brand vitamins are decent, but in almost all the major brands the “women’s” versions are a better vitamin and are superior to the basic or “men’s” vitamins.  If you can get enough, there is no reason you would ever be deficient in a essential vitamin or mineral.
Vitamin C is unique and needs special mention.  Anyone suffering from an illness or wound should take Vitamin C twice a day to help with healing.  Those with potentially deficient diets or kids should take a chewable Vitamin C twice weekly.  Chewable Vitamin C is usually just as cheap as the tablet form, either will do.
Zinc is found in sufficient amounts in any of the multivitamins found on shelves, but there is one group needing additional zinc.  Kids with diarrhea lose zinc much faster than adults and are more sensitive to this deficiency.  Zinc lozenges are the best form to buy for this specific use.   One tablet twice a day will help supply the zinc lost through frequent stools and will increase survival and decrease the length of the diarrheal illness.

So, to sum up:

1. My recommendation is either a “women’s” blend or Nature Made multivitamin.  Everyone with a deficient diet should take one weekly, older adults and potentially pregnant females should take one daily.  
2. Everyone with a deficient diet in fruits and vegetables should take Vitamin C twice a week, along with any children.  Anyone with illness or a wound should take Vitamin C twice a day until resolved.  
3. Zinc should be taken by children during any severe diarrhea spell until normal stools return.  
4. Specific supplementation of Vitamin D or Folic acid is best approached replacing those along with the other vitamins and minerals found in a multivitamin. There is no need to buy specific supplements other than Vitamin C and Zinc lozenges.  Hope this helps, stay strong.  – Dr. Bob

[JWR Notes: Dr. Bob is is one of the few consulting physicians in the U.S. who dispenses antibiotics for disaster preparedness as part of his normal scope of practice. His web site is: SurvivingHealthy.com.)