Prepping – Fitness

—

by

Allyson
in

I’m writing this while I pant heavily, sitting in my chair at my desk. I’ve just finished cleaning bunny cages and exercising, and I’m dripping with sweat despite it being a mere 58*F in my room. I’m exhausted and aching. I am not fit.

I’ve seen this topic touched on a few times in the prepping world, but not really in a practical manner. Fitness is something that doesn’t really exist in the “Rule of Threes” or in common prepping documents. It does matter, though. So much so, that I feel it belongs under “three minutes without air” because right now, I’m panting. I mentioned that.

I get practical exercise every summer. I spent the weekends (2 to 3 overnights) living in a tent and cooking over a fire with cast iron. I’ve had some of our (very fit) fighters carry my cast iron pots to the table for me at the end of a long day, and they’re always astonished at the weight that I “seemingly easily” lug around all day. And it’s that weekly practice (or daily really) that makes it possible for my fat ass to haul this stuff over and around camp.

Our bodies were made to keep us alive under horrendous circumstances. The whole “fight or flight” thing is part of our basic human wiring. This means that our metabolism likes to find sugar, salt, and fat. We crave it! When you’re a Scotsman in the highlands above Edinburgh, dodging the English invaders, it makes sense. You need to find those things that will keep your body working. When you’re sitting at a desk typing emails all day, not so much. It works against us. We want to sit and do the things that stimulate our brains, but unlike even 20 years ago, pretty much everything that stimulates our brains is right here at our fingertips (with Doordash being a thing, doubly so).

It behooves each of us to get up off our duffs five to seven times a week, and move around. I don’t mean doing the dishes (though do those too). I mean exercise of the hot, sweaty, uncomfortable kind. If you’re very out of shape, going for a 20 minute walk five times a week will improve pretty much everything: mind, body, and spirit. Lifting weights for a similar amount of time will do the same thing. Ditto with using a ski machine, swimming, playing a physical game like tennis or soccer, going roller skating or ice skating, and running bases with your kids.

If you can’t do any of those things, chair exercises exist. That’s where I started, so don’t be embarrassed. You have to start somewhere, and no one needs to know. But you need to do it. This is a NEED, not a want or a desire. If you can’t pick up and go because of your lack of fitness, then the problem is 100% you. Please note, people with physical disabilities and such, who simply *cannot* do it, are exempt from this shaming. If you can’t, you can’t, and I get that. But if you can and you just don’t want to, that’s on you.

I really do get it. I don’t like getting sweaty except in one way. I don’t like it when my body aches. I don’t like being on a treadmill or bike machine. It’s boring and stupid and I hate it. But I need to do it, because if I don’t, I won’t be carrying even a half load in my pack, never mind a full load. If I can’t carry a full load, there’s not a whole lot of point in my bugging out, because I won’t get far.

So… what are you doing to make yourself more able, more fit, and more in shape?

        

Comments

3 responses to “Prepping – Fitness”

  1. CBMTTek Avatar
    CBMTTek

    (Going on a short tangent here, but stick with me. There is a point.)

    As I age, and yet another decade lands on my bones, I look to the future, and I know that I do not want to be one of those “old people” who cannot do much except sit in a chair. Barring some disability, I plan on walking myself around the shop until I have moved to the great beyond.

    So… what do you need in order to do that. Three things. (See, the rule of three shows up again.) Strength, flexibility, and balance. Strength does not mean benchpressing twice your body weight, flexibility does not mean you can fold yourself into a tiny box (yoga experts, I am looking your way… ) and balance does not mean you can slackline across the Grand Canyon.

    What is the thing that puts most elderly folks into the hospital? Falls. Good balance will prevent most falls, but if you do fall, you MUST have enough flexibility and strength to get back up.

    Build those three things now, maintain them, and your golden years (and your prepping) will be that much better. Seriously, what good is knowing how to build shelter when you cannot lift a large branch? Who cares if you know exactly what fruits, nuts, and fungi to harvest if you cannot reach them.

    What am I doing to ensure I keep this up? I started a home based physical therapy program about a year ago. (Bad lower back) The plan, delivered via an app, includes short 10 minute or so workouts that focus on those three things. Chair, floor, and standing exercises and the exercises get more challenging as you move up levels. I used to be about as flexible as a sheet of plywood. I’ve improved significantly, but I still have a ways to go.

    Final note, re: work versus exercise.
    Work is designed to be as efficient as possible. Exercise is, by design, inefficient. You do not have problems moving around heavy pans at the Fort because you have developed a system that takes minimal effort to achieve that goal. You made it as efficient as you could.

    What is efficient about a push up? Nothing. It is the very definition of difficult. That is why it is such a good exercise. It forces your body to build muscle because it has to. Same applies across the board. Free weights, jumping jacks, etc… Did someone create the burpee because they wanted to get a lot of work done? No, they created the wheel because they did not want to work.

    Keep it up. I am very happy when I hear about people who are taking their ability to live well seriously. l am proud of you.

    Reply
    1. Allyson Avatar
      Allyson

      It’s funny you mention doing things the efficient way at the fort (and other places). I actually go out of my way NOT to be as efficient as I could, for a number of reasons. Partly because I really do want to make as many steps as I can, and include as many bends and crunches and lifts. My brain hates exercise, but cooking is a joy, so if I can combine them in a way that fools my brain into quiet slumber, all the better. The other part is that I am doing the outdoor and hearth cooking as a demonstration, so I will do each part of it separately rather than doing what I do at home and combine things to make it go fast. I want my work to last all day, so that people can enjoy learning.

      But you’re right, at home, I do it the fast and efficient way. And thanks 🙂

      Reply
  2. Archer Avatar
    Archer

    I recently moved into a place with a large park nearby, that has a walk/run trail, more than 3/4 mile but not quite a full mile.

    Since it’s been a while since I’ve hit a gym or treadmill, I started walking a few laps a few days a week. Then I threw some heavy items into an old backpack and started walking with weight (I believe they call this “rucking”). I intend to start jogging it without weight soon, and then add more weight to the backpack and alternate jogging and rucking days; running with a weight bouncing around is probably not a great idea for the back and shoulders.

    That and stretching. This body has been feeling very tight lately, and doesn’t like to move like it used to. I’m trying to fix that.

    Personally, my strength has usually been sufficient; it’s stamina/endurance and flexibility that have always been my weak points.

    (I also need to find and join a gym to keep up strength exercises. No sense in letting that slide.)

    Finally, CBMTTek makes a great point above: Work tasks are efficient, exercise is not, by design. It’s not that work can’t be active or physically demanding; it certainly can! But the purpose of work is to complete tasks; it must be efficient or it cannot be sustained. The purpose of exercise, on the other hand, is to strengthen and condition the body, to extend the “comfort zone” by pushing beyond it; exercise must be at least somewhat inefficient or it cannot produce growth.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *