You have your bug-out bag, evacuation plans, caches everywhere, an underground bunker, and security tools. What more could you be missing when it comes to surviving? You might be overlooking the most important aspect of survival which is your physical fitness. Improved physical fitness helps survival by making it easier to handle the cold, improving memory and mental toughness, increasing endurance, strengthening the heart, increasing mobility and balance, and improving the immune system.
Start with assessing how physically fit you are. Can you run a mile in 10 minutes? Can you walk for an hour without resting? How much strength do you have in your upper and lower body? Are you flexible? What is your BMI? These are all important questions we should ask ourselves when ascertaining our physical fitness levels. There are lots of standards that you can use to determine physical fitness levels. However, any level of physical fitness is better than none. Some basic things you should be able to do to survive in the wilderness would be to walk 12 miles with 25 pounds on your back, lift your weight with a pull-up, complete a triathlon, climb a rope, and endure any extreme weather. If you can do these things, then you are more likely to survive.
- 12-mile ruck with 25 pounds- when you’re in the wilderness there are no cars to drive you from point A to point B. The only way you’re going to survive out in the wilderness is using your own two feet. Sometimes that’s going to mean walking miles and miles. You can start building up this endurance by walking a mile a day and gradually increasing the distance.
- Body lift Pull-up- If you’re out in the wilderness going up often means climbing and that means pull-ups. Being able to lift your own weight is essential to climbing anything. You can start with your basic push-ups, triceps dips, and pull-ups. Adding weights or machines to your routine to build muscle will increase strength gains.
- Rope Climb– Being able to climb a rope isn’t just about physical strength, it’s about technique. Knowing how to use your feet to push off the rope and your arms to pull simultaneously takes practice. Having that practice before going into the wilderness will definitely help you survive.
- Triathlon- out in the wilderness there’s no pavement, but there’s a whole lot of running, water, and climbing. A triathlon would help you to get into shape for cardio training. It also increases your swimming ability, which in the wilderness there are rivers and lakes. In order to survive, you will have to have water safety training and the ability to swim under extreme circumstances.
- Extreme Weather – There is no air conditioning outside. In order to survive in the wilderness, you need to be able to handle extreme temperatures. Physical fitness does help deal with extreme temperatures. However, you also have to be very smart. In the heat, it’s important to know how to stay cool, stay hydrated, and avoid sunburn. In the cold, it’s important to know how to stay warm and avoid hypothermia. While learning about these things is important, practicing in extreme weather is even more important as the body can adapt somewhat to these extremes.
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