If you want to be prepared for any crisis or emergency that might come your way, one of the first places to start is with yourself. You don’t need to be any kind of fitness fanatic to prepare – but your fitness for prepping can take you a long way towards achieving your state of preparedness.
The principle
You are not looking to train for any kind of Olympic medal. Rather, your motivation is likely to be inspired by the knowledge that, whatever your current state of fitness, you can do better. You might think yourself too old or be carrying too much weight but there is still room for improvement.
The fitter you are, the better your ability to enjoy life today. The fitter you are, the lower the risk of physical strain or injury during any emergency or crisis. And the fitter you are, the greater your chances of surviving and prospering during any type of disaster or emergency.
As the American website The Prepared puts it, getting yourself fitter and healthier now is always going to be worth your time and effort.
What’s involved?
An important part of prepping is being fit and healthy, says Survival UK. Whatever the level of fitness – or lack of it – you’re starting from, that means increasing your daily rate of exercise so that you become stronger and more resilient to the risk of injury, illness, and disease.
It means that you can walk long distances – if that is what is required by the situation in which you find yourself – and have the necessary reserves of strength to lift, pull and push any obstacles in your way.
Many preppers recommend establishing objectives for the personal baseline level of fitness you want to achieve.
For instance, writing on the website Backdoor Survival, Richard Broome, suggests you start by asking yourself some of the following questions about your current levels of fitness – and consider how you might improve on them:
- how far do you reckon you could walk in a day – when did you last put it to the test and what would be a realistic target?
- how far would you be able to swim – and, again, how would you aim to improve on your target?
- how far could you walk carrying a deadweight of 30lb in each hand?
- how far could you carry a person weighing around 150lb slung over your shoulders?
- what is the maximum weight you can lift above your head?
By asking yourself these and any other questions that can help establish your current baseline fitness, you can start to set goals for improving on them.
In that goal-setting, remember that you want to concentrate on several core fitness skills and measures focussed on improving aspects of your physical capabilities such as:
- your cardiovascular endurance – maximising the distance you can walk or run, let’s say;
- stamina – how long you can keep up an activity likely to be related to your chances of survival;
- strength – lifting, pulling, or pushing obstacles out of your way;
- balance – more than any physical skills, maintaining your sense of balance can prove a life-saving manoeuvre in a tight situation;
- agility and coordination – these require combinations of other physical and mental skill sets that test your flexibility and adaptability under stressful situations.
Effective prepping can start with yourself. Are you fit to prep? Are you prepared to tackle your current level of fitness, improve it, and keep fit throughout your prepping?
Further reading: Get fit for prepping
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