Search Results for: exercise

Letter Re: How and Why to Get Physically Fit

…summer months, when everyone is physically active and the days are longer, very few folks are thinking about exercise. Folks are too busy enjoying their summer months to exercise indoors. These “junk” and thrift stores generally cannot sell them and don’t want to fill up valuable floor space with retail “dogs” when there are items that will move fast. With all the garage sales, flea markets, and yard sales, that are going on the supply is great and demand is low. They don’t tend to sell well there either so they accumulate at the local thrift stores as donations. This rule of thumb also applies to treadmills, weight benches, and other high quality seasonal items. One thing to remember about this kind of equipment is that everyone has great intentions about exercise equipment but very few of us ever really dedicate ourselves to our lofty goals. As a result, why…


Maintain The Tool: Weight Control and Preparedness, by N.H.

…the 5BX Plan developed by Bill Orban in the 1950s for the Royal Canadian Air Force (later adopted by a number of Air Forces around the world including the USAF).  It is based on 5 Basic Exercises and uses 6 age-based charts arranged in a progression so your fitness improves over time.  The five exercises include warm-up and stretching exercises.  You perform the exercises in the same order every time for a maximum of 11 minutes each session. The theory behind this program is that the intensity of exercise yields better results than the duration of the session.  It works and many elite athletes now use this approach in their training. Numerous resources can be found about this topic, but here is one that is appropriate for most of us. Exercise, alone, will not help you burn fat.  The following table shows you how many calories the average person burns…


When the Antidepressants Run Out, by Dr. S.V.

…disorders accompanying depression. Symptoms of rapid caffeine withdrawal include headache, fatigue, decreased energy/activeness, decreased alertness, drowsiness, decreased contentedness, depressed mood, difficulty concentrating, irritability and foggy/not clearheaded. These symptoms may last for 2–9 days.  Even for those without depression, caffeine withdrawal will be an unpleasant exercise for many when coffee/tea/chocolate become unavailable. Reference: Expert Rev Pharmacoeconomics Outcomes Res. 2009;9(5):445-459. Exercise Regular exercise is one of the most effective and inexpensive ways to improve mood.  Exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, releases mood-elevating chemicals in the brain and decreases stress hormones, though the precise mechanism is unknown. Preliminary evidence suggests downregulation of 5-HT2C receptors or GABAA receptors, enhancement of slow-wave sleep, enhancement of perceived coping ability, and change in focus from ruminations and worries One of the best options to combat depression is taking a brisk walk outside each morning for at least 30 minutes five days a week. Non-aerobic weight training has also…


Survival Health and Fitness

…you’ll do if you follow Step 7. Following those recommendations, a 180-pound man would eat about 145-155 g per day. First convert pounds to kilograms by dividing by 2.2. Then multiply by 1.9 to get the target daily amount of protein. (The math looks like: 180/2.2 = 81 kg; 81 kg x 1.9 g/kg = 155 grams.) Step 7: Resistance Train At Least Twice Weekly. Like in the case of avoiding fat, mainstream health advocates have been tireless but misguided in their promotion of endurance or “aerobic” exercise. Certainly, that type of exercise is beneficial. However, resistance training provides benefits that endurance training alone does not, such as an increased basal metabolic rate (which aids in weight loss/maintenance), reduced potential for injury, and increased strength and work capacity.[8] A well-rounded exercise program includes both endurance and resistance training. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends resistance training 2-3 times per…


Survival Fitness and Health- Part 3, by JBH

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…body when other parts are injured can be helpful. However, if you habitually neglect one aspect of your fitness, it will as a rule stagnate or deteriorate. Specificity says you need to exercise your whole body with enough variety to keep your whole body strong. There are ways to do this that are not overly time consuming or complicated. In practicality, the specificity principle leads to some recommendations. Time Effective Exercises Do exercises that involve multiple major muscle groups and joints. Squats are usually better than leg presses. Rowing exercises or chin-ups are better than curls. By better, I largely mean more time effective. If you have all the time in the world to exercise each individual muscle, that is great. I do not. Although manual labor is an excellent source of exercise (perhaps the best for managing body composition IMO), it fails in specificity. As previously stated, most manual…


Survival Fitness and Health- Part 4, by JBH

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…It yields stagnation, injury, and frustration. You do not get stronger when you are exercising. You get stronger between exercise periods. You can only benefit from what you can recover from. At Least Stretch If you work physically hard for a living and I can’t convince you to exercise at all, at least stretch. If you don’t work physically hard for a living, you better exercise anyway. Otherwise, eventually you will be working hard just to climb stairs. Don’t necessarily try to lose weight. Sometimes it is a fool’s errand. Try to gain muscle and lose fat. I can almost guarantee you will get better results. Sometimes, after you increase muscle mass, you then lose weight. Diet Diet is a very debatable subject. A favorite writer of mine recommends you consider what was eaten and what was not eaten 100 to 200 years ago. The stuff invented or drastically increased…


A Silver Conversion Exercise, by M.J.

As an intellectual exercise, I converted the price of some of my recent purchases from U.S. dollars to ounces of silver. I did this out of curiosity to see how well I would do in a precious metals-based economy. I used the spot price of silver per ounce that was quoted at www.apmex.com on 09-16-2023: $23.31. The other spot prices for that day are as follows: Gold: $1,937.50 per ounce Platinum: $945.70 per ounce Palladium: $1,286.00 per ounce Here’s what I bought:1 gallon of 30% vinegar: $21.07, or 0.90 ounces of silver. (Regular grocery store vinegar is 5% and costs about $4.00 per gallon, or 0.17 ounces of silver.) 10.8 pounds of baking soda: $11.98, or 0.51 ounces of silver. Last year, that same bag was 12 pounds. Yay, shrinkflation – another corrupt result of the use of fiat currency. My most recent grocery bill, which included some ground meat,…


Knowledge For Outside The Norm, by Phoenix WEA

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…successfully changed my prescription on my glasses as a result. Now to be completely honest, I still wear glasses while driving at night but my prescription was altered, and I feel if I would have continued these exercises, especially in a long-term grid-down situation without access to new eyeglasses, this method would be a great option to try. However, like most exercises, you must do them frequently to stay strong. If nothing else, it feels good to do when there’s nothing else to do on a nice sunny day. There are several exercises you can apply to your daily routine, but to get started, here is a basic rundown on a few of the exercises you can experiment with. You can look at more info on this online, if you find it as interesting as I do. Sunning and Other Exercises For Eyes Start with something called sunning. Sit with…


What Does Your Survival Portfolio Look Like?, by J.H.

…system should be established between participants, such as using emergency whistles. Zombie Intruder Drill– The purpose of this drill is as a readiness exercise in the event of a “Zombie” intruder. Now, obviously this exercise is not solely for “Zombie” intruders. I have chosen this theme based on my family’s interests and what I thought would be the most fun and exciting for the participants in this drill. This is a multiple level drill wherein participants are able to go through the motions of an intruder in the home and what the responsibilities and procedures are for each and all individuals participating in the event. Level 1 will be a scenario in which all participants are able to gather in a central location and work as a tight group to defend the home and establish secure perimeters. Level 2 will be a scenario in which all capable members of the…


Four Exercises To Stay In Shape While Holed Up, by Zac T.

…cooped up, you begin to grow weaker. You begin to grow slower, and your energy levels begin to plummet as well. Before The BIG Event, you were in reasonably good shape. You could run a few miles with no problem and spent a couple of evenings per week at the gym. However, during this survival situation, going to the gym is out of the question. Sure, for the beginning of any survival scenario, you’re probably not going to be worried about your level of conditioning too much. You’re gonna focus on surviving. However, if this scenario begins to stretch out for any extended period of time, maintaining a high level of physical fitness suddenly becomes a much bigger issue. So, what can you do when you’re stuck in the same one-story cabin for who knows how long? The Exercises Well, here are four exercises that can be done with minimal…


Getting Home in a Crisis Will Require Gear and Fitness, by Vin F.

…gives everyone an idea of the physical capabilities of the others in the family. Now the legal disclaimer: Your should not start an exercise program without consulting a doctor and you should discontinue if you feel faint or short of breath. You should also start an exercise regimen slow and gradually build up to where you want to be. If you try and do too much you increase the possibility of injury and then you are no good to anyone WTSHTF. ENDURANCE. Being able to travel long distances over varying terrain with or without gear and with the possibility of little to no water or food. This is one of the things that will occupy the most training time because it is not something that you can build up twenty minutes a day, three days a week. This requires you to dedicate some real time, hours sometimes. One good way…


Preparing Your Body and Your Mind, by H.F.

…for life and survival at no cost?  No need to live in the gym or become a marathon runner, unless you want to.  Remember that health is about balance; if you only run, that hike with all of your gear, physical confrontations, or moving heavy objects might disappoint you.  By the same token, if your only focus is packing on freakish muscle with no cardiovascular exercise, your endurance and speed will be sacrificed. Though many pieces of exercise equipment are useful, you do not have to have anything other than a decent pair of running shoes to be fit.  I recommend some dumbbells, a kettlebell, and a pull up bar, but what you use is completely up to you and your goals.  To be fit, you need muscular/cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, speed, agility, and flexibility training.  Do not skip the flexibility portion because it drastically decreases your risk of injury…


Survival of the Fittest by Mike Hussle

…basic principles of functional fitness. After that, we’ll take a look at how this can be done at home, for little to no expense. Example Exercises: 1. Front Squat 2. Romanian Deadlift/Deadlift 3. Kettlebell Swings 4. Overhead Press 5. Pullups 6. Pushups 7. Ring Pushups/Bench Press Body Mechanics and the Real World: Programs based on aesthetics tend to use movements that isolate muscles. But the body was designed such that multiple muscle groups work together. Furthermore, in real life, very seldom will you lift or move anything without using multiple muscle groups. While this doesn’t mean every isolation movement is therefore useless, it does mean that exercise should be focused upon compound and whole-body movements. Fiber Over Filler: Most non-functional exercise programs utilize a 3×10 format: three sets of ten repetitions (“reps”) of each exercise. This is the bread-and-butter of a program designed to maximize the growth of muscle cells…


Letter Re: Influenza Exercise Shows the Potential for Major Infrastructure Disruptions

Jim: I thought you and your readers might be interested in this flu pandemic exercise recently carried out by financial services firms. An article in Computerworld describes the scenario: “If a pandemic strikes the U.S., it will kill about 1.7 million people, hospitalize 9 million, exhaust antiviral medications and reduce basic food supplies…”, and, “Among the other things that may happen in an actual pandemic are school closings, as well as blackouts or brownouts in major metro areas because of degraded service as a result of absenteeism. Internet service throughput could be reduced by 50% due to congestion, and Web browsing timeouts would become common. Airlines would cut schedules, and garbage would pile up on streets.” The article’s fairly standard mainstream media flu pandemic coverage, the kind I’m sure we’ve all seen before. What makes this really interesting is that the scenario information used for the exercise has been posted…


Living Proof: It All Comes Down to Diet and Exercise, by Midwest Hiker

…I was eating. Once I went back to my old habits, the gout never returned, but I regained all of the weight I had lost and more. Exercise had proven to be even more of a challenge because I was perpetually tired. It’s amazing how just a day at the office can exhaust you when you are carrying an extra hundred plus pounds. In my mind diets always represented a short-term state. The problem is that as soon as you stop dieting, even if you had reached your goal, you begin to regain the weight because you go back to your old habits. In order to be successful at permanently losing weight, I knew I would have to make lifestyle changes. I studied the Paleo diet and the South Beach diet. I even revisited the Atkins diet, which had even been revised since the time I had tried it to…