Had an interesting, although brief, conversation the other day that I thought might be worth repeating.
For reasons that don’t need going into at this juncture, I have signed back on to CrossFit. After the last session the instructor asked me if there was anything in particular I wanted to work on in the sessions. I said that I wanted to work on stamina and endurance so that at the end of the class I’m not laying on the floor gasping for air (which is usually how I end a class). He then asked, ‘what about outside class?’ I misinterpreted the question and thought he was inquiring how things were in general in m life. No, thats not what I meant. he said. Then it dawned on me what the real question was. “Oh. I get it. Well, I need to work on things like being able to carry heavy objects over distances..things like water and fuel cans, climb over obstacles, run distances with gear, pick up people and things and move them around…you know, your basic end-of-the-world survivability stuff.” He nodded his head and said that was pretty much what he was shooting for as well.
That’s pretty much what made me interested in CrossFit, the notion that it wasn’t about being able to do one thing – like running, or lifting a record-setting weight – but rather that it purports to promote ‘functional fitness’. That is to say, the things you do in the real world…jumping up onto things, climbing things, running with weights, pushing/pulling things.
The way I figure it, no matter what flavor of apocalypse youre expecting, you’re going to need to do things like carry a spare tire a couple hundred yards to a vehicle, lift heavy debris off a roadway, unload a dozen 5-gallon fuel cans off a truck and then into another one, run distances while carrying stuff, etc, etc….all those physical things that are going to make the apocalypse such a pain in the butt. Thus far, CrossFit seems to support those sorts of physical tasks. So…back to CrossFit for a while.
I metnion it because it is so easy to get wrapped up in all the other sexy stuff in preparedness and ignore things like physical ability. And Im the first one to agree that it’s a lot easier and more fun to order preparedness gear off the internet and consider yourself ‘prepared’ than it is to do the really crappy, annoying, loathsome things like exercising regularly.
My brother and I snowshoed up to our cabin today, up and off the Blackfoot. As we trudged through 4 foot of snow, we joked about starting a discipline called mountain fit .
I was telling the instructor that there should be a zombie-themed or preparedness-themed series of workout classes. Things like 100-yard dashes with full 5-gallon jugs of water on your back, virtual machete swings, etc, etc.
Odly, I think that would fly. What with all sorts of marketing jumping on the zombie bandwagon, it seems like a sure thing. I think it would be especially popular with folks who secretly know that zombie is the soceword for prepper; you might not get a huge turnout for SurvivalFit, but ZombieFit would be a winner.
Actually, now that I think about it, I think there was a Crossfit Games somewhere that had a heavy zombie theme…Ill have to go look it up.
The water one is tough…having to haul water any kind of distance, while possibly having to avoid detection/be able to fight back…makes my skin crawl and the muscles in the small of my back clench up just thinking about it.
Good on ya! I need to get this gimpy knee a proper brace but then I am in the same boat – er – gym…thankfully, it is right upstairs. If I can just figure out When in the day…I think I shall have to do as you guys have and pre-pack meals on the wknds.
Fitness is the most over looked prep. Probably because, as you noted, it can’t be bought from a store or a catalogue. Look at the people who died on 9/11 because they didn’t have the fitness to make it down the stairs.
I’ve been doing CrossFit for about a year and a half. I am 55 Years old, and I am in the best shape since High School. I have lost about 18 pounds, and 10 1/2″ overall. At the same time I have gained strength and endurance. CrossFit has changed my life. I had some functional training prior to CrossFit, but have really enjoyed Crossfit. Especially the sense of camaraderie with the other athletes.
I have also changed my nutrition. I am eating better 95% of the time. Like one of my coaches says, “You have to enjoy your fitness sometime, so sometimes you gotta eat cake.”
I had not taken any training in about two years, so I was really pleased when I took a close quarters force on force class this last fall. I did alright in regards to keeping up with the younger guys, and did great up against the guys my age, and older. Combatives are fairly intense, short episodes, so CrossFit is the perfect training.
The one area I lacked in was my Combatives skills. I am looking for training to shore up that area.
I was listening to a YouTube video while I was working this weekend, and the guy was talking about your “Lifespan 401K” as a metaphor regarding your health. He said everything we do is either a withdrawal, or deposit, to our “Lifespan 401K”. Risky behavior, smoking, drinking, eating like a pig, and the like, are all withdrawals. Eating healthy, fitness of any kind, stress relief, meditation, sleep, are all deposits which extend your life. His question was, “How many deposits have “you” made lately?”
Anyway, thank you for your blog, and glad to see you encouraging people to get off of the couch.