How many people out there are really focusing on their fitness? While storing food, ammunition, weapons, and medicine are all important, how many of you really think that they are in good enough shape to run, jump, evade, and escape post shtf?
How many of you are staying in shape?
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I would like to think that I am. I spend about 8 hours a week lifting weights, and around 4-5 hours a week running (about 4-5 miles per day), and a few hours per week on my road bicycle on the mountain roads. I hike on the weekends and do practice ruck humps for my USMC Reserve obligation/privilege.
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Round is a shape................I eat allot. Lunge around the house, and never pass up ice cream. Think of it as storing fat for times of lean. Animals survive the winters this way.
Staying in shape is essential. Not just for prepping, but for everyday life. I don't like to judge other people, but I see some people who show up to training courses with very good equipment but who are 50 pounds overweight.
For me what has worked over the years is a balance between cardio and strength training. When I say cardio, I don't mean slow jogging. I don't see much benefit in this. Usually my cardio workouts consist of circuit training, sprints, or 3 mile run at a fast pace.
I don't eat a super clean bland diet, but I stay away from junk food. I think one of the most beneficial things for me has been fish oil and glucosimine/chrondroitin over the past several years.
Back to the main point; if you have to bug out and your life may depend on your physical condition all expensive prep gear will not help you.
For me what has worked over the years is a balance between cardio and strength training. When I say cardio, I don't mean slow jogging. I don't see much benefit in this. Usually my cardio workouts consist of circuit training, sprints, or 3 mile run at a fast pace.
I don't eat a super clean bland diet, but I stay away from junk food. I think one of the most beneficial things for me has been fish oil and glucosimine/chrondroitin over the past several years.
Back to the main point; if you have to bug out and your life may depend on your physical condition all expensive prep gear will not help you.
My girlfriend and I check into lifetime fitness m-f at 345am and lift and then do cardio and were out by 530am.
We don't have the lightest kit and I want to make sure we can run our asses around and not be fat bodies like most the tactical fools that you see at the ranges these days.
We don't have the lightest kit and I want to make sure we can run our asses around and not be fat bodies like most the tactical fools that you see at the ranges these days.
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Yep- doesn't matter what kind of gear you have or how good you are with it if you can't take it with you from place to place in any sort of timely manner.
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I will be turning 51 this summer and I have never backed off from PE. I buddy of mine turned me on to Beach Body's Insanity Workout. It's good old fashioned plyometrics, pushups, jumping, jumping jacks, running in place, etc. I feel like I am as fit as when I wrestled as a freshman in high school. Your entire body gets a work out. I changed up what I have been doing with Insanity and shortened it by doing what is described below with Phil Cambells Peak 8 Work Out.
What makes this such an effective work out? First of all, it will cut your work out routines to fractions of what you think you need. You can do in the woods on your "retreat".
More important, it promotes your body to produce human growth hormone (HGH). HGH is one of the foundational biochemical underpinning that makes your strength training and everything else work like a efficiently to burn calories and keep yourself "young". I weigh about 180, so weight loss is not an issue for me. But for anyone interested in loosing weight, this works!
I watched a few videos about the "Peak 8" work-out routine. In a nut shell, it's like a high school sprinters work out. I ran track in high school and detested interval training because it was so hard. We ran quarter mile repeats and it was horrible. The peak 8 workout is more like running a 200 meter sprint. You run balls out for 30 seconds and then recover for 90 seconds. I never feel like puking like I did in high school. 30 seconds is perfect. Rinse and repeat 8 times and you are done. You can substitute any exercise of your choice for 30 seconds as long as you are going as fast as you can go to get your heart rate up. The goal is to get to 225 minus your age. In my case,that will be 225-50=175 beats per minute. I am ultra runner with a very low resting heart rate of around 40 beats per minute in the morning. Don't be surprised if hitting 225 minus your age hurts. Be careful when you start any routine.
Here is quote from the website:
How to Perform Peak 8 Exercises
Here's a summary of what a typical peak fitness routine might look like using a recumbent bike (although you can perform this on an elliptical machine or treadmill, or with any type of exercise you prefer):
" Warm up for three minutes.
Exercise as hard and fast as you can for 30 seconds. You should feel like you couldn't possibly go on another few seconds.
Recover for 90 seconds
Repeat the high intensity exercise and recovery 7 more times
Be mindful of your current fitness level and don't overdo it when you first start out. "
The benefits are astounding because you actually start producing your own Human Growth Hormone.
What makes this such an effective work out? First of all, it will cut your work out routines to fractions of what you think you need. You can do in the woods on your "retreat".
More important, it promotes your body to produce human growth hormone (HGH). HGH is one of the foundational biochemical underpinning that makes your strength training and everything else work like a efficiently to burn calories and keep yourself "young". I weigh about 180, so weight loss is not an issue for me. But for anyone interested in loosing weight, this works!
I watched a few videos about the "Peak 8" work-out routine. In a nut shell, it's like a high school sprinters work out. I ran track in high school and detested interval training because it was so hard. We ran quarter mile repeats and it was horrible. The peak 8 workout is more like running a 200 meter sprint. You run balls out for 30 seconds and then recover for 90 seconds. I never feel like puking like I did in high school. 30 seconds is perfect. Rinse and repeat 8 times and you are done. You can substitute any exercise of your choice for 30 seconds as long as you are going as fast as you can go to get your heart rate up. The goal is to get to 225 minus your age. In my case,that will be 225-50=175 beats per minute. I am ultra runner with a very low resting heart rate of around 40 beats per minute in the morning. Don't be surprised if hitting 225 minus your age hurts. Be careful when you start any routine.
Here is quote from the website:
How to Perform Peak 8 Exercises
Here's a summary of what a typical peak fitness routine might look like using a recumbent bike (although you can perform this on an elliptical machine or treadmill, or with any type of exercise you prefer):
" Warm up for three minutes.
Exercise as hard and fast as you can for 30 seconds. You should feel like you couldn't possibly go on another few seconds.
Recover for 90 seconds
Repeat the high intensity exercise and recovery 7 more times
Be mindful of your current fitness level and don't overdo it when you first start out. "
The benefits are astounding because you actually start producing your own Human Growth Hormone.
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I think about this as well. Fitness should be every preppers first priority. You WILL not survive normal everyday life if you are a illness stricken fatbody. Why put your health on the back burner for surviving something that MIGHT happen. I'm far from perfect as well, I'm still in the mix of quitting smoking and I have about 10 or so pounds to lose. I'm far from where I want to be strength and cardio endurance wise. It is a priority for me though and I work on it every day.
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Thank goodness round is a shape!
We Americans do tend to be very out of shape (or in more of a round shape) than we should be. I'm guilty of it as well but for me "exercise" is hard to do. I have a really hard time settling down enough to just exercise. Its sort of like people who have their lawns by a company and then go out running - I just do the mowing.
The best thing for me is activity that makes me sweat like crazy. Digging holes and planting, cleaning out my garage or rearranging what I have stored there, Vacuuming the stairs. The only sort of "exercise" I can do is the treadmill where I can read something. I have to multitask I guess. I am very strong because probably 5 days of the week I'm doing some activity that has me sweating and it keeps me healthy.
Just an alternative for people who can't get into it.
I'm in the best shape of my last 20 years or so. Been doing a lot of strength exercises and more cardio than usual. Joints are stronger, endurance has increased, and I can do more push-ups nearing 50 than I could in my 20s.
I'm setting a few life-time highs. Feels good! The more I do, and more I want to do.
And it's not just for "prepping". Overall, I want to simply outlast my kids.
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I'm setting a few life-time highs. Feels good! The more I do, and more I want to do.
And it's not just for "prepping". Overall, I want to simply outlast my kids.
:
I would like to be more in shape than I am - my body type tends to accumulate fat at an alarming rate, and office/shift work doesn't help.
I always think that people who are still in subsistance societies would laugh at the idea most people seem to have that half a hour exercise a few times a week is hard work.. Normal is actually many hours a day of hard work.
I try to do as much manual work as possible - I have deliberately chosen to buy non-electric wherever possible. I don't have much space at the moment, but hope to move soon - and when I do i will be splitting my own firewood. Having done a little of this before, I think I will consider myself reasonably fit when I can split wood without dying.
I always think that people who are still in subsistance societies would laugh at the idea most people seem to have that half a hour exercise a few times a week is hard work.. Normal is actually many hours a day of hard work.
I try to do as much manual work as possible - I have deliberately chosen to buy non-electric wherever possible. I don't have much space at the moment, but hope to move soon - and when I do i will be splitting my own firewood. Having done a little of this before, I think I will consider myself reasonably fit when I can split wood without dying.
I was in powerlifting in high school. Ever since, I have been very dedicated to the weight room. Im not a big guy, but it is such a rush trying to get as powerful for my frame as possible. Recently I started running a mile every morning. I hate running with a passion. With that said, its amazing what a difference this has made. I don't get near as tired during the day and I feel much more refreshed. It seems that I can operate on alot less sleep now. Ive been doing this for about 3 weeks now, and it gets easier and easier each morning.
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I use the Nintendo wii to work out with. The exercise routines that are on some of the discs keep me motivated with their variety. I tend to slack off exercising if I'm doing the same monotonous routines day after day.
Having said that, I've been working on my core strength, cardio and overall fitness levels since Christmas. I think it's essential to stay as fit as possible. You never know when your gonna need it.::thumb:
Having said that, I've been working on my core strength, cardio and overall fitness levels since Christmas. I think it's essential to stay as fit as possible. You never know when your gonna need it.
::thumb:It's important to keep in shape for a lot of reasons. I'm in the gym at least 4 days per week and I always use the steps vice the elevator. I've had a couple of surgeries and have recovered in record time and I'm convinced it's due to being fit.
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1,254 Posts
Being in shape is somewhat relative. I'm in shape now low BMI, can run 10 miles just because I feel like doing it, pass the yearly PFT easy. Thing is comparing what my strenth/conditioning is now to what it was even 10 years ago or to the capability of the younger fireman I work with you realize getting old is not for sissys.
I lift oly weights 3-4 times a week and living in the city you get used to walking ALL THE TIME! But really lifting weights and bulking my weight have been great gives me a little cushioning should I be in a situation where I won't have access to lots of food.
MacDaddy: Hows the not smoking coming along? I quit a year ago and It has been one of the best decisions of my life!
MacDaddy: Hows the not smoking coming along? I quit a year ago and It has been one of the best decisions of my life!
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