Survival Fitness: Walk the WalkDaisy Luther, Contributor In many different survival situations, your personal fitness level can mean the difference between life and death. Weve already talked aboutmaintaining and achieving a healthy body weight now lets talk about being fit. A preppers forte is playing what if so lets play that game right now and look at some examples where being able to move quickly for a long time, possibly in adverse conditions, would be vital. These examples, of course, are what happens immediately, when you must escape something. What about those long days after the initial disaster, ones of plowing fields, chopping wood, and lugging water? As a prepper, your personal health and fitness level can be your most valuable asset. Just as important as tools, weapons and plans, your ability to simply move your body for a long time without stopping can be the difference between life and death. And it all starts with walking. Just Walk Of course, there are many components to fitness and eventually we will talk about all of those. But the best place to start is to lace up your sneakers and walk. (This is where I tell you, as I am legally bound to do, that you should seek the advice of your physician before starting this or any other exercise program.) When people start a walking program, they tend to make one of two mistakes. 1.) They push themselves way too hard and end up getting so sore on the very first day that they are virtually crippled from Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. 2.) They dont push themselves hard enough and stop the second they begin to feel out of breath. Your starting point depends on your current fitness level, of course, but that can be hard to judge if you have been moving from sitting on your rear at your desk at the office over to sit on your rear on the sofa at your house. So I generally recommend that you start with 30 minutes. If you are truly sedentary, dont kill yourself by trying to set a rapid pace for your 30 minute walk. You should walk at a very comfortable pace for at least 5 minutes to warm up your body. Then, speed up to the point that speaking is possible but not super-easy. Your heart rate should be elevated enough that your speech is limited to short bursts of words, not Shakespearean monologues. If you get to the point that you can only gasp out a word at a time, you are pushing yourself too hard, and you need to slow down. If you need to slow down, that doesnt mean stop! Keep going, just at a slow, easy pace. This is you, building your endurance. Unless you are having the symptoms of an actual heart attack (extreme shortness of breath, faintness, dizziness, pain down one arm, etc) keep moving at a slow pace as you catch your breath. About 5 minutes before your walk is over, drop back your pace a little to cool down. As you become more fit, you can make things more difficult and more akin to survival situations. You can add hills, obstacles, increase your speed, carry a loaded pack, or walk for longer to add to the challenge. Motivation Some things that help: Safety note: I recommend only using one headphone. Whether you are in the city or out in the woods, like me, wearing two headphones and making yourself deaf is the equivalent of wearing a Prey t-shirt. Its important to always be aware of your surroundings. Remember that you can have all of the preps in the world, but if you cant walk far enough to get to them, they will do you no good whatsoever. In fact, theyll feed the next guy, you know, the one whos out there pounding the pavement every day! He is in shape enough to get to them. Your physical stamina can mean the difference between life and death, not only for you, but for those who depend on you. Just get out there and walk and within a month, you will see that your 30 minute walk takes you a lot further than it did when you began. Excuses And a word about excuses. Okay, a few words, because there are oh-so-many excuses. Unless I am going to be struck by lightening or die of hypothermia because Ive gotten soaked in sub-zero temperatures, I walk. There are many days that I look out the window at the gray skies and think, oh, man, I dont want to walk today! But I do it any way. Why? Because, if you are a prepper, you are training for life. You are training for events that happen at the most inopportune times. Rarely does a disaster conveniently time itself on a sunny day of moderate temperatures. Nope, if you have to hike away from a car accident, it likely happened because of ice or rain on the roads. You will be hiking away from it through the pouring rain. If a crime has been perpetrated on you, and you must flee, are you going to take your chance when it presents itself, or will you say, Yeah, its raining, dude. Im just gonna hang out with this serial killer until it clears up. You arent made of sugar. You arent going to melt. Just walk. And yes, you do have time. Unless you are moving from the moment you get up in the morning until the moment you go to bed, you can find 30 minutes to go for a walk. Trust me, after you get used to it, your body will crave it and youll feel so much better! If you really truly are that busy, break your walk up into two 15 minute walks, or even 3 ten minute walks. There really are very few days that you cant take 30 minutes from your day to do something wonderful and potentially life-saving. Youre sick? Are you really, truly sick? If you are, youre right. You should stay home, tucked under the covers. But if you have a bit of a headache, low energy, some female problems, or just general lethargy, you may be surprised at how much better you feel after a bit of exercise and fresh air. Exercise is natures anti-depressant and sometimes those minor aches and pains are related to mood more than they are actual physical maladies. You dont have to start with a Marine Corp Mud Run. You see all those big buff dudes running down the road in fatigues, carrying an 80 lb. pack? Let em run! You, my friend, are just going to walk today. You are going to get started and you are going to find your own path to fitness. This isnt about comparing yourself to those who are more fit or more strong than you. Everyone is not capable of doing what an Ironman Triathlete does, but just about everyone is capable of more than they are doing right now. If you challenge yourself, you might just be amazed at what you can do once youve built a base of fitness. Today. Right now. If its the middle of the night when youre reading this, then you can wait until tomorrow. But remember that the sooner you start, the sooner you are ready to face survival challenges head on. You, keeling over from a heart attack while you bug out, will be one less thing that you (and those with you) have to worry about. Getting into better shape is something you will never regret. Even if you never need to be more fit because of a survival situation, you still get all the health and well-being benefits from doing it. Your body and those who love you will thank you! I got fit and I never even had to escape from a deranged stalker! What a waste of time! said no one, ever. Daisy Luther is a freelance writer and editor. Her website,The Organic Prepper, wherethis article first appeared, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions. You can follow Daisy onFacebookandTwitter, and you can email her atdaisy@theorganicprepper.ca 