Has anyone given thought to the effect of physical fitness?

[Spots]

Has anybody really thought about the role physical fitness would play in an end of the world situation? I have a gym setup in my garage, and regularly workout using a mix of crossfit and strongman style stuff. 6 days a week, with a run on my off day. Of course I'm also training to go back into the service this coming fall/winter. I learned a lot of good physical fitness habits in the Marines, and I'm training to go into the Pararescue Jumpers program, which is very physically demanding. Anyways, do most guys see physical fitness as a key requirment in being prepared for a survivalist situation? Physical fitness what allows a lot of SF operators and even normal service members to survive in extreme situations. Anybody else train regularly, and have pictures of your setup? If so, I'd like to see them.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Fitness never hurts. Depends on the scenario. If there were a famine scenario where all ya have to do is lay low and avoid getting offed-- I have "a few" extra pounds and a metabolism slower than a tree sloth. Purty sure I can gain weight on 1200 calories per day. Those fit fellers who need 3000 calories per day merely to maintain lean body mass-- By the time they've all died off from starvation, I'll be down to fighting weight and doing fine.

Edited May 11, 2012 by Lester Weevils

[Mike]

Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and are more useful in general.

[TN Outlaw]

physical fitness is a must IMO just my

[Jonnin]

I dunno guys. I am going the other way, building up a layer of fat so I can go longer on light rations!

[peejman]

Given it a lot of thought. Very little actual effort, but lots of thought. I think endurance training would be much more valuable than strength training. There's lots and lots of big, strong guys who would collapse before the 1 mile mark.

[enfield]

I use the fitness center down at the local Lowe's 3 days a week and they pay me to use it!

[personDJ]

A big yes..........In 1992 I had a major stroke and have not and will not be the man I was before. This is the reason I decided to always carry and be ready. My health problems will not be the reason I can't protect myself and my loved ones. 2 years treatment with powerful steroids to get my speech back and to be able to walk again put much weight on me. I weighed in at 360. I have lost 80 pounds now and that loss has been a big help but the thing that has surprised me is how much help finding this site has been to me, I look at things in a different manner now and have learned much from here that has given me an all around confindence boost that I had forgotten I lost. I will never be as fit as I once was but in several ways I am more ready to do what it takes to protect me and mine if things go south quick and this comes from my study of this site.

Sorry for the grammer and my sometimes wondering statements I may make on all my post I still have big memory problems but I want to post more. There are so many well stated post and subjects That I often don't reply to because I don't want people to think I am scatter brained but I am reading here daily and I am thankful to the members of this site.

Thanks to all the posters

Danny

[UncleJak]

I like to go all "Rocky" on fitness!!

[Caster]

I depends on how intelligent you are and how many fit people you know.

If one refuses to be physically fit, about the only option is to make yourself so indispensable that a group of fit people will carry your added weight. Remember the old fart in the movie "The Postman"? When asked how he managed to stick around so long...."I know things" The problem with that is the way of the Sith. Once you have taught your apprentice(s) all you know, you will be killed or left to die. SO, yes, you need to be in decent shape. I would say looking like a pro wrestler would be counterproductive but one should be able to carry a rifle and a BOB for 15-20 miles in a 24 hour period without lapsing into a coma.

[Timestepper]

I'll admit to not being nearly as fast and fit as I was twenty (or even ten) years ago, but I'm smarter now and that tends to be a bit of an equalizer. As far as workout equipment, well, in between sitting on my butt and shifting gears, I also tarp and secure flatbed loads 5 days a week, plus I've got a bow saw and axe at home that see a fair amount of use as does my canoe and my boot leather.

Also, in a true TEOTWAKI all out survival mode scenario, I'm reasonably sure that, given my background in primitive survival techniques, it won't take much time to get back into better shape - either that or I'll just go ahead and die and it won't matter anyway.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

A big yes..........In 1992 I had a major stroke and have not and will not be the man I was before. This is the reason I decided to always carry and be ready. My health problems will not be the reason I can't protect myself and my loved ones. 2 years treatment with powerful steroids to get my speech back and to be able to walk again put much weight on me. I weighed in at 360. I have lost 80 pounds now and that loss has been a big help but the thing that has surprised me is how much help finding this site has been to me, I look at things in a different manner now and have learned much from here that has given me an all around confindence boost that I had forgotten I lost. I will never be as fit as I once was but in several ways I am more ready to do what it takes to protect me and mine if things go south quick and this comes from my study of this site.

Sorry for the grammer and my sometimes wondering statements I may make on all my post I still have big memory problems but I want to post more. There are so many well stated post and subjects That I often don't reply to because I don't want people to think I am scatter brained but I am reading here daily and I am thankful to the members of this site.

Thanks to all the posters

Danny

You did fine, Danny. Sometimes afflictions like that awaken other abilities not previously recognized. Like that one armed drummer who is still good.

[Guest ThePunisher]

A big yes..........In 1992 I had a major stroke and have not and will not be the man I was before. This is the reason I decided to always carry and be ready. My health problems will not be the reason I can't protect myself and my loved ones. 2 years treatment with powerful steroids to get my speech back and to be able to walk again put much weight on me. I weighed in at 360. I have lost 80 pounds now and that loss has been a big help but the thing that has surprised me is how much help finding this site has been to me, I look at things in a different manner now and have learned much from here that has given me an all around confindence boost that I had forgotten I lost. I will never be as fit as I once was but in several ways I am more ready to do what it takes to protect me and mine if things go south quick and this comes from my study of this site.

Sorry for the grammer and my sometimes wondering statements I may make on all my post I still have big memory problems but I want to post more. There are so many well stated post and subjects That I often don't reply to because I don't want people to think I am scatter brained but I am reading here daily and I am thankful to the members of this site.

Thanks to all the posters

Danny

Hang in there Danny. Your post was well written, and I'm sure you could contribute very well on other topics.

Edited May 11, 2012 by ThePunisher

[Guest zort]

common sense is that you have to be fit. but being fit isnt everything

[greyofk]

I use my bicycle as everyday transportation in summer months. It means March to October. It is average 24 miles every day. I definitely feel better than in winter time.

[Romad7]

6 months in Afghanistan as a radio operator/CAS coordinator supporting the 10th Mtn Div showed me that if I ever have to move cross country, on foot, in the winter, with your whole life on your back, you had better be in great shape. I am not a big guy, just lean and strong. That's why Crossfit is popular among guys who operate in the worst conditions. So if you aren't fit to travel, get good at building fighting emplacements:-)Here is my indoor gym (edit: There's my drywall square, been looking for that)One of my outdoor gyms, move a pile of rocks from one place to another.

Edited May 13, 2012 by Romad7

[Makiaveli]

Sadly I'm like peejman, more thought than action. Though on the plus side my "new" job (I left Police IT for Metro IT) has a fitness center downstairs that is 24/7 so once I have a steady shift to work, I am going to set a regimen. I expect to be on 2nd shift for awhile, so hopefully I can work out before and not have to worry about offending too many people

[TMF]

I would say its important to be in shape just in general, but if SHTF I'm gonna be done doing anything intense. Takes too many calories to sustain if food is in short supply.

[Timestepper]

I would say its important to be in shape just in general, but if SHTF I'm gonna be done doing anything intense. Takes too many calories to sustain if food is in short supply.

^This^ Plus, while slow and steady may not always win the race, at the end of the race you'll still have enough wind and energy to kick the crap out of 1st place and take his trophy while he's recovering. (Work smart, not hard!)

[mcurrier]

New report -

Fat reaches waist just three hours after a big meal

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9264356/Fat-reaches-waist-just-three-hours-after-a-big-meal.html

I wonder how true this is.

[BigK]

Have you seen how mad dog mean a fat guy gets when he misses a meal? Then imagine how determined we'll be in a SHTF situation...just sayin'.

[Will H]

I have not worked out in 18 years. That is when I got out of the Army. That said I do work around the house building things, repairing things, and I hike. I am significantly overweight, but I am strong from physical work. I have not noticed any physical effects from my extra weight, so I ignore it. I like the idea of being strong enough to survive, but yet having a vast energy reserve. I hope I never have to find out if I have reached a good balance or not.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

From caveman days up thru a few thousand years agriculture, mother nature seemed to select for famine-tolerant folk. People that can live long enough to raise kids before they fall over dead.

Modern life with plentiful food, non-strenuous work, and expected average longevity better than age 40 or 50, we are somewhat trying to make the machine do what it wasn't optimized for.

Have an old aunt in her 90's, who still works part-time. Her entire life she has been energetic, perfect weight, optimistic mood and eats like a horse. Great natural-born metabolism for health and longevity in a time of plenty. The only drawback to her genes was that she tended to be a little high-strung and excitable, but not intolerably so. Dunno if her metabolism would be successful in a famine. Maybe her metabolism would switch over just fine to colorie-miser mode, or maybe she would starve real quick. Dunno.

Wife and some of her relatives are "naturally skinny" with no willpower involved, though they are blessed with moderate appetite and don't have to "eat like a horse" to maintain normal weight. They don't get fat because they "just naturally" eat "just the right moderate amount" of calories not having to watch every calorie or feel deprived. Perhaps they have good genes for either feast or famine, not needing lots of calories to keep going but not having natural inclination to gain weight in times of plenty.

My genes seem optimized for heavy labor and possibly un-remarkable lifespan. Any time I do some work I put on lots of muscle real quick. But I don't really like heavy work and don't HAVE to do heavy work, and have a slow metabolism, so it is easy to pick up pounds. Would probably be healthier as a stonemason or blacksmith because I don't mind work that "has a purpose" but excercise playing games or going to a gym seems a foolish boring waste of time. Ain't fast or nimble but have aptitude for toting heavy loads at slow speed. If some strenuous recreation happened to be fun it would be easier to do it, but it is mostly just boring and hard to make myself do it for no other purpose than stay active.

Just sayin, had a few extra pounds up thru college even playing high school football and running interminable laps and lifting weights, working menial labor jobs early on, etc. Not morbidly obese, just a few extra pounds along with the muscle. So in college went on a diet and got down from 200+ lb to 180 which is ideal weight. Get any lighter than 180 and people think I look sick. Just by knocking back to about 1 meal a day took off all the extra pounds in a few months.

Growing older the body switches over to famine mode fabulous. Had to eat less and less to stay in normal range. Have to practically quit eating to lose a pound. Weight just gradually gets a little heavier over the years hardly eating anything, and feeling deprived about it. Have read that is a fairly common metabolic syndrome, slow metabolism, insulin resistant, type II diabetes. Weight gain causes diabetes and diabetes causes weight gain. Positive feedback.

Maybe I did something wrong to get in that condition, but maybe it is just a set of genes that would do better as a ditch digger or blacksmith but not too great as a computer programmer. Just sayin, you young guys who can drop weight quick by skipping a meal, don't assume it will always be thataway, and extra exercise isn't necessarily the answer but maybe it helps if you can enjoy it enough to make yerself do it. Maybe do some reading and keep up with research to try to avoid the eventual metabolic problem of starving yerself and gaining weight in spite of it.

[Guest ab28]

I work out 6 days a week, intensive pushups/sit ups/crunches with running and some weight training as well.

If you are not in good physical condition, anything else you do to prepare is pretty much a waste of time. There are exceptions, for medical reasons, ect.

Fitness never hurts. Depends on the scenario. If there were a famine scenario where all ya have to do is lay low and avoid getting offed-- I have "a few" extra pounds and a metabolism slower than a tree sloth. Purty sure I can gain weight on 1200 calories per day. Those fit fellers who need 3000 calories per day merely to maintain lean body mass-- By the time they've all died off from starvation, I'll be down to fighting weight and doing fine.

That's me, I am 5'11, and 148 lbs. I eat constantly. I won't be laying low. My gear is lightweight and everything I do is made for mobility. I won't starve unless there is absolutely nothing edible for miles around, which isn't very likely. I did a thru hike of the 2,179 mile Appalachian Trail in 2010, so I know I can cover some ground with a pack, the trail was up and down some steep mountains the whole way, with a few flat areas. I hike regularly as well, and can do mid 20 mile days with a pack now. This is in addition to my normal workout routine. I can't gain weight if I try.

Edited June 3, 2012 by ab28

[Guest Victor9er]

So, what you're saying is I should probably back off on playing Halo:Reach and Call of Duty:MW3?

damn...