Hammer Yourself Into Shape

Survival fitness is something I've talked about here a few times before, and I think it's important to bring it up again now and then to reiterate the importance of staying in shape to increase your odds of making it through a dangerous or stressful situation.

There are many ways to accomplish the goal of staying physically ready for events that may test your endurance or strength, the most common of course, being gym workouts with weights or machines, as well as cardio-intensive training such as running, cycling or walking.  Excuses for not using these methods are as plentiful as huge array of workout equipment you can find for sale at any sporting goods store, and range from time restraints to cost considerations.

There used to be a time when most people did enough physical work that none of this was necessary anyway, but unless you're in the really small percentage of those today who earn their living doing something like brick-laying or chopping wood with an axe, chances are you need to work out to stay in shape.  What if you could take a simple tool like a sledgehammer and use it to work practically your entire body without the need to buy dumbbells, barbells or a Bowflex or some other kind of machine?

This isn't the kind of iron-pumping workout designed to build muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but if you want to increase your functional strength and stamina, as well as speed and power that could make the difference in a fight or flight survival scenario, pick up a 16lb. sledge or even an 8 or 10-pounder and try these 23 exercises:"



I've done this routine a few times since discovering this video on YouTube and I can tell you that it is a great workout that will leave you feeling like you've done something when you're finished.  You can determine the intensity by the speed with which you execute each movement as well as by choking up or down on the handle of the hammer.  You don't need much weight to get the effectiveness, and in that regard it's much like working out with kettlebells; more about the technique than the weight.  If you want to try it, I would recommend first following along with the video using an unweighted stick or axe handle to learn the proper form.  Then start with a real sledgehammer.  He's using a 16-pounder in the video, but unless you're in great shape already, you'll probably find that's too heavy to swing with good form, speed and power.  The difference in this and merely lifting weight is that you have to overcome the inertia of all that weight swinging at speed to stop each stroke in the air with control, as he is demonstrating in the video.

You don't need a lot of time to do this entire routine, maybe one minute for each exercise, but if that's not enough you can use it for circuit training and go through the whole thing again when you're done:  two, three or even four times if you're able.

Almost everyone has a sledgehammer somewhere in the toolshed, and if you don't you can go out and pick one up for $20 to $30 at any building supply or hardware store.  It's a cheap piece of equipment compared to stuff designed specifically for exercise, and you'll probably find plenty of other uses for it as well.

Survival Fitness: What's Your New Year's Resolution?

This is the time of year when lots of people make New Year's resolutions, and many of those resolutions involve commitments to get back in shape.  A lot of those thoughts are fueled by guilty feelings brought on by eating rich holiday foods in excess, as well as general increased levels of depression from being stuck inside a lot more during the winter months.  Unfortunately, most people don't stick to their New Year's resolutions any more than they do most fitness goals they may set at other times of the year.

The reason is that most people see getting back in shape as a temporary problem that they think they can solve in a few weeks.  When it doesn't happen, they just give up and go back to their old ways, quickly undoing any fitness gains they may have made.  To be successful at long-term fitness, you must change your way of thinking about it and make it a permanent part of your lifestyle.  This doesn't mean you have to join an expensive gym and go work out with a bunch of sweaty strangers in public, but you've got to make a conscious effort to get regular exercise and eat sensibly if you expect lasting benefits.

I've written about this before, but when it comes to survival preparedness, nothing you can buy in the way of gear or equipment can make as much difference in your odds of getting through a disaster as having the proper mindset and the physical conditioning to deal with adversity.  Many people don't want to hear that, as it is easier to purchase a bunch of stuff than to actually get outdoors and subject themselves to rigorous camping trips, hikes, bike rides or survival skills training exercises.  But the more challenges you put yourself through physically, the more confidence you will gain in your abilities, and it is that confidence that gives you the mindset you need.

We live in a time when everyday life is easier than it has ever been, in terms of physical effort needed to accomplish necessary tasks.  For many people, seeking comfort is a primary goal and they have become so accustomed to always experiencing comfortable temperatures, safe and secure living and working environments and a limitless supply of infinitely varied food and drink that they would go to pieces if these things were taken away.

Rigorous exercise is one way to quickly snap your body out of the comfort zone.  By stressing your muscles and aerobic capacity you can gradually condition yourself to become comfortable with increasing levels of activity to the point where you will actually begin to enjoy it and want to push harder.  The key to this enjoyment though is to find exercise activities that you actually like doing.  For me, hiking, paddling a canoe or kayak or riding a bicycle are all things I look forward to.  I may not get as much enjoyment out of the dumbbell workout routine I do three times per week, but by keeping it sensible and limiting the amount of time it takes to complete it, it's been easy to stick with it.   I've also been involved in the martial arts since my early teens, and while I'm not actively practicing Kenpo in a school these days, I still do a daily stretching routine first thing in the morning and often go through forms, techniques and basics to maintain at least some of my ability.

This year one of my main fitness goals is to increase my weekly mileage on my road bike and participate in several century (100-mile) rides.  I've found that long-distance bike riding is one of the most enjoyable aerobic workouts for me, and I like it much better than running, which seems like drudgery.  If I can get in a decent ride a few times per week I feel a whole lot better, have much more energy and can eat just about anything I want without worry.  If I had the time to do it, I would prefer to spend my days canoeing or kayaking or back country hiking in some stunning mountain wilderness, but that's just not feasible nearly as often as a one or two hour bike ride.  I'm fortunate to live in an area where I have many miles of quiet country roads with little traffic, good hills and smooth pavement right outside my door.

With two major book projects to complete in the next few months, I'm forced to spend a lot of time sitting in a chair with a keyboard in front of me as are many people in this strange lifestyle our modern technology has enabled.  For me, it's essential to take frequent activity breaks and use other parts of my body besides my fingers.  Fitness has to be more than a New Year's resolution.  It has to be a lifestyle, especially as you get older, if you want to continue doing the things that were effortless in your teens and twenties.

A lifestyle of fitness is also essential you are to have any hope of surviving the kind of major upheaval many preppers are concerned about.  If you're reading survival blogs such as this one, you've probably at least given some thought to scenarios that could snap you out of a high-tech life of ease in a heartbeat.  If so, what are you doing to keep your mind and body prepared to deal with it?  Have you made a New Year's resolution to get back in shape?  If so, will you give up on it by February or March, or are you ready to go beyond temporary resolutions you can't keep and change your lifestyle permanently?

On Survival Fitness

Last week I posted about the importance of maintaining a positive attitude, and how attitude is just as important as gear and supplies in getting you through a survival situation.  Equally important to the survival mindset is basic physical fitness - another part of the equation often overlooked or pushed too far down on the list of priorities by preppers fixated on amassing stuff.  If bugging out is any part of your emergency survival plan, then maintaining at least a minimum level of physical fitness is essential to your success.  A bug-out plan means survival on the move, and any situation requiring such action will be both mentally stressful and physically demanding.  Even if your plan involves transportation by motor vehicle or boat, any long-term grid-down situation will require a lot of hard, physical work in one form or another. 

The problem for many people in our modern high-tech world in times of normalcy is that we don't have enough physical activity incorporated into our daily lives to maintain an adequate fitness level.  It gets worse the busier we get, especially with the demands of making money, spending time with family and other obligations and driving to and from all the places we have to go.  Sitting in front of computer certainly doesn't help either. During the second half of 2009, I spent more time at the keyboard than ever before in order to complete my forthcoming Bug Out book in time to meet  my deadline.  Fortunately, my other part-time work in the afternoons doing carpentry work and building my boat partially offset all that chair time.  Even so, I have to make an effort to do a maintenance workout with free weights three times per week and try to take a decent walk every evening. 

Back when I was doing my long-distance sea kayaking trips, as well as backpacking or bicycling at every opportunity, I never had to worry about staying fit.  My travel time has been cut dramatically lately, but I do plan to spend some time paddling, hiking, cycling and camping this spring.  The other big project is to complete my boat - the 26-foot catamaran that I've been building over the past three years.  My goal is to launch sometime before the end of 2010.  So if my posts here seem too infrequent, it's because I'm out doing something other than sitting at the computer.  After a bit of spring fever passes, I'll settle into a more regular writing routine. 

I urge anyone who is interested in survival, whether by bugging out or bugging in, to consider the importance of physical fitness and the implications a lack of basic fitness will have on you in a real SHTF scenario.  Like a proper mental attitude, physical endurance and toughness will get you through a lot of stuff even if you don't have all the skills and equipment you would like to have.  It's just another part of the necessary preps when putting together a survival plan.