Prepper fitness: Exercise regularly so you can survive in a post-SHTF world
By zoeysky // 2022-05-02
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Aside from skills and supplies, your physical fitness is crucial to your survival when SHTF. No matter how much food and ammo you have in your stockpile, you won't survive that long in a post-SHTF world if you're not healthy. (h/t to PreppersWill.com)

Improve your eating habits

The Western diet, also known as the American diet, is the unhealthiest diet on the planet. Many studies have proven that following a Western diet can cause weight gain and impair cardiac function. This unhealthy diet can also increase your diabetes risk. While eating fast food is considered convenient, you need to have good eating habits to reduce your risk of getting overweight, which can be bad for your well-being. Instead of dining out or ordering in, cook healthy meals at home. If you want a quick snack, eat a piece of fresh fruit like an apple or snack on veggie sticks. Cooking balanced meals at home also ensures that you know what goes into your food, unlike when you order meals at fast food restaurants.

Exercise regularly for your overall well-being

After disaster strikes, survivors will need to be physically fit so they can endure any physical challenges that can hinder their recovery. You might also need to travel by foot after SHTF to reach a safer location, so staying fit should be your priority before anything happens. In a post-SHTF world, you will be required to do some heavy lifting and even some climbing. These tasks require some strength and endurance. If you're not strong enough or if your endurance is lacking, you should focus on your fitness just as much as you prioritize learning new survival skills. You also need to be physically fit if you plan to evacuate or bug out after SHTF. After all, bugging out requires traveling, either by car or by foot. And if you have no choice but to walk to your safe haven, you have to be strong enough to carry a bug-out bag full of gear and supplies. If there are young children in your family, the adults might need to take turns carrying them if they get tired as you travel to your bug-out location. When this happens, being fit and increasing your stamina are important for everyone's survival.

Tips for staying fit

Like other prepping skills, being fit requires discipline and hard work. You can't take shortcuts so you need to follow a balanced diet and exercise regularly. Focus on building your cardiovascular health if you want to stay fit. If you're in your 40s or 50s, you should still be able to walk five to 10 miles without getting too tired. If you belong to this age group and aren't physically fit, start working out more and improve your eating habits. Go jogging or take brisk walks regularly. If you're too busy to do a full workout in one sitting, you can break up your routine into smaller chunks. After all, you can still get the same benefits from 10 minutes of aerobic activity at several points throughout the day as finishing a full workout all at once. If you don't have the right equipment at home, enroll at a gym and get helpful advice from professionals on how to safely reach your fitness goals. And if you don't want to spend money on gym membership fees, develop a workout regimen that you can follow at home and invest in the right workout equipment. (Related: Prepper fitness: Want to survive when SHTF? Follow these doomsday workout tips.) You don't need to break the bank on expensive gear or exercise machines. You can just invest in a decent pair of walking or running shoes for brisk walking, jogging or running. Commit to a regular workout routine and exercise regularly. Take a walk in the park or jog around the neighborhood. You can also opt for a more scenic alternative and hike in your free time. Before SHTF, assess your physical fitness. Are you strong enough to carry a heavy bug-out bag for several hours? If you run out of breath after doing chores at home, start exercising more. You can also test your fitness by testing your bug-out bag and traveling for 20 miles in one day. Camp at a safe location, then head back home. Once you're back from your trip, assess how you feel and use that as a gauge to determine if your fitness level is appropriate when compared to your emergency preparedness plan. Tasks around your homestead also counts as exercise, especially if your daily activities involve a lot of lifting and walking. These include carrying supplies, gardening and chopping firewood. Before SHTF, ditch the unhealthy snacks full of preservatives and cook at home. You can also improve your physical fitness by exercising and improving your stamina. Watch the video below for some leg training tips. This video is from the Fitness World channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Here's why self-defense fitness is crucial to your survival. Why run when you can walk: 8 Tips on walking for weight loss. Exercise 13 minutes every day to increase your life expectancy by 3 years, advise experts. Survival strength: Here’s why every prepper needs to be physically fit before SHTF. Health and prepping: Why your physical fitness is an important aspect of your survival plan. Sources include: PreppersWill.com StLukesHealth.org Brighteon.com
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