when we consider prepping for every conceivable scenario our greatest challenge will be having the physical and mental capacity to withstand the demands of the crisis we may one day face whether that's running from a disaster zone walking on foot to a safe location or exerting a great deal of physical activity we're more likely to survive a prolonged disaster if we are already fit before the event the only way to prepare ourselves is by starting right now to improve our health and well-being daily you have to approach your health as a daily endeavor a kind of a daily prep and beyond just a potential disaster focusing on your health will provide you with a much longer and enjoyable life a special thanks to athletic greens for sponsoring this youtube ad free video when you have to push your body beyond its normal limits having the right nutrition will be everything more on this in a moment this video will cover the three aspects you can easily focus on now to ensure you can rise to the occasion should a disaster necessitate you to do so these three critical elements are functional fitness and activity tolerance diet and nutrition and sleep now i hired a licensed clinician to help with this video who works with older individuals who have neglected these three principles and he has seen firsthand the detrimental impact it has had on them your fitness level nutrition and diet hydration and ability to get rest will all determine how well your body adjusts to a post shtf environment and really whether you can even make it through to the aftermath of a disaster treat your health like your most important prep because well it really is if you feel like all this information is overwhelming i'll put links in the description section with everything we'll cover so you can re-study at your convenience so let's jump in functional fitness most of us work out with a specific motivation in mind maybe you want to get back in shape build more muscle or become a better runner as a prepper training for real life situations you could face should be one of the main reasons for exercising living better now is the byproduct of that and equally just as important functional fitness is a term used for full body workouts during which you don't train isolated muscle groups but move your body the way you would use it in daily life instead of doing bicep curls or bench pressing to isolate vanity muscles you train your whole body to do everyday activities more easily and efficiently in its simplest terms a bicep curl machine may make your arms look great but it won't help you out one bit if you need to collect and process firewood for an hour which would engage muscles you may have overlooked training in the gym and could potentially result in injury someone with a whole body functional fitness approach may not look massive but their body would be better suited to handle real tasks that may be required after disaster functional fitness is also the approach that skilled clinicians use for people recovering from disease or injury and for those dealing with chronic illness namely focusing on those areas of fitness that improve your health and quality of life the most for example running on the treadmill boosts your fitness but it may not be the best choice if you're considering your preparedness for all aspects of a crisis or disaster situation treadmill running is very different than trail running or even street running even the slightest lateral twisting of the knees involved in navigating terrain is a small critical movement that isn't effectively accomplished on a treadmill unlike most workouts functional fitness doesn't just focus on building strength and endurance which are obviously important it does however develop more capabilities you need to function well flexibility dynamic balance and stability coordination and good posture by doing activities and exercises that mimic strenuous physical movements you may need to do after a disaster such as hiking long distance carrying a heavy load or processing firewood functional fitness trains your muscles to work together on tasks instead of only train your muscles for specific isolated motions which will be as important in a survival situation if you think you may have to walk over several miles with a heavy backpack as part of your overall survival then the best way to be prepared for this is to load up a backpack and go try and walk a mile this will give you a baseline to work with once you learn your capabilities from that hike you can begin to train your legs to handle greater distances and weight by doing squats lunges and step ups squats train the muscles you need to stand up sit down and pick things up from the floor lunges in various directions will assist you in traversing in the wild repeated crouching even gardening and foraging step ups with your body weight or the additional weight of a backpack support your body to climb elevations irregular terrain or stairs with supplies hopefully i've sold you on this concept of functional fitness versus isolated weight training that focuses on sculpting muscles or trying to build strength for real scenarios you may face in a grid down situation do these daily after consulting with a licensed clinician with extensive expertise with inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation here are some ways to approach improving your functional performance for daily living and disaster preparedness obviously consult with your own physician before engaging in physical activity may not be used to especially if you're over 40 years of age first if you want the health benefits of functional fitness to live longer and healthier you should have either 2.
5 to 5 hours per week of moderate intensity or 1.25 to 2.5 hours per week of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity or some equivalent combination of the two so the absolute minimum of physical activity you should have is two and a half hours but getting five or more hours is best second you need to make an honest assessment of your current physical condition take an inventory of yourself just like you take an inventory of your preps what are your limitations what are your challenges is going out on a hike or city trail a challenge because you have difficulties with prolonged walking or standing are you fit enough to lead a normal life but you still need to catch your breath each time you climb stairs which slight improvement could you make today would make everyday life better what physical tasks would you need to complete for your disaster plan then start focusing on gradually improving your endurance and functional fitness by incorporating more activities and exercise routines that simulate what will be physically required such as brisk walks or long walks with your bug out bag picking up weighted items from the floor and carrying it to a location shoveling dirt or snow or lifting an object above your head build your total body strength by practicing squats and lunges push-ups against a wall or floor or simple exercises with resistance bands also try walking backward and sideways getting up from your chair without using your hands standing on one foot or using a stability ball to train your balance identify your most significant problems and start where you are now even if that means only doing a one minute workout a day do something every day to start and then build up a routine athletic greens ag-1 is a daily supplement that provides critical vitamins minerals and whole food source ingredients while spending 20 weeks training for a marathon i needed to ensure my body had the necessary elements to fuel my muscles to push further than i'd ever gone and to help with recovery having a convenient option only had to consume once per day was not easy to find in the typical preppers pantry the focus on carbs proteins and fats is front and center but micronutrients are often overlooked ag-1 is a daily supplement that helps round out your body's nutritional needs recently while doing a 20 mile jog at around mile 15 my buddy completely gave up after working with a nutritional consultant we discovered i wasn't in taking enough nutrients and as a result i depleted my reserves with the foundation of a proper diet based on whole foods and vegetables using a supplement like ag-1 has allowed me to ensure i'm providing my body with the essentials to go the distance if the grade goes down and important nutrients are hard to obtain providing your body with the necessary micronutrients will be vital you can pick up ag-1 by visiting athleticgreens.
com forward slash city prepping two approaches now that we've explored some of the concepts of functional fitness let's look at the two approaches that make you more successful for everyday living as well as for crisis scenarios the first approach is incorporating more activity through your day and being less sedentary this will help you cover your basic cardiovascular requirements for health and endurance so that you can make it through those dire situations without running out of gas it will help you stay focused and productive by having the stamina you need without frequent rest breaks to accomplish this try working into your daily life one of these things even if you consider yourself fit take the stairs instead of the elevator intentionally park further away from your destination if you take public transportation get off one stop early and walk the rest of the way walk or bike to work run errands or visit friends or cluster your errands in one area so you can park your car once and then walk to each destination take a short walk during your lunch break after dinner or on a regular work break instead of sitting down to watch tv try doing a few simple exercises or stretches while you watch or make a new rule no sitting during commercials stand up or walk around while talking on the phone better yet catch up with a friend or brainstorm with a co-worker while taking a walk together don't let housework gardening or lawn maintenance build up they're all opportunities to get moving cleaning out the garage or attic is another way to be productive and active at the same time find ways to get more exercise from your current hobbies and activities for example if you play golf walk the course instead of using a cart if you have the child who plays sports walk around the field or court while the team practices plan family outings that involve being active like hiking swimming or outdoor games don't camp solely to drink beer and eat unhealthy foods but instead go for a long hike eat well then sleep even better build outdoor adventures into your family vacation it can be an opportunity to try something new carry your pack or bug out bag with you on any one of your outdoor walks or adventures the second approach is to begin and maintain a basic home and outdoor functional exercise routine that improves your performance in real life situations the american college of sports medicine recommends that a strength training program be performed a minimum of two non-consecutive days each week with one set of eight to 12 repetitions for healthy adults or 10 to 15 repetitions for older adults focus on performing eight to ten total exercises per workout and one to three sets per exercise since we lose muscle mass and bone density as we age strength training helps maintain and mitigate these losses to prevent functional decline in fractures even if you don't have a gym membership these type of activities we'll cover can be done at home with some basic gear you don't need a lot of equipment but adding a weighted bag elastic bands or dumbbells can be helpful consider combining a few exercises each day from these compound and core exercise groups a compound exercise is any movement where you're using more than one muscle group at a time these are squats deadlifts lunges dips lying pullovers push-ups pull-ups flat pull-downs shoulder presses jumping ropes step-ups and single legs standing while bending and reaching pick a random two per day from the compound exercises and build a routine from yourself core exercises are any exercise that involves the use of your abdominal and back muscles in a coordinated fashion flutter kicks seated knee tucks crunches bicycle crunches vertical leg crunches leg raises planks and plank jacks are all easy to perform without additional weights carry a low risk of injury and will have an almost immediate effect on your functional fitness i'll post links to each one of the items in the description section below if you'd like to learn how to perform any one of these movements increasing your daily activity habits and sticking with a functional fitness routine that incorporates compound movements and core strength will increase your activity tolerance and performance and improve your ability to perform everyday tasks when disaster strikes your body will be functionally conditioned to meet the challenges and additional rigors better implement these now to ensure you won't succumb to injury and you'll be able to perform the critical functions you'll need to be able to perform nutrition and diet when considering essential nutrition related to functional fitness you want to get back to the basics whole foods not processed that are nutrient dense as opposed to calorically dense a balanced variety of foods and hydration are the keys our diets now will likely be radically different from our post-shtf diets as a prepper your diet will change after disaster and how fundamentally different and body jarring that change is will depend on your efforts to optimize your diet now your largest meal with all three macronutrients carbs protein and fat should be breakfast each subsequent snack and meal should be smaller and with fewer calories fewer carbs and sugars dinner should be your smallest meal in terms of calories and you should avoid carbs eat nutrient-dense foods whole foods like veggies fruits nuts and meats you probably don't get enough vegetables in your diet right now still after a disaster many people get almost no vegetables in their diet in my training for a marathon this has been the number one lesson i've learned when you push your body to an extreme you have to provide your body with nutrients otherwise your body will be depleted of essential components it needs also stay away from calorically dense foods like candy pastries bread cakes cereals and processed foods processed foods get their name because they typically lose their nutrients and gain calories in the process of manufacturing read nutrient and food labels in everything you buy and consume if the first four ingredients are junk or you don't know what they are don't buy it are there more than a dozen ingredients with some additives you don't know what they are pass on it and reach for something healthier the nutrients and food label ingredients are listed in order based on volume for this reason the first four ingredients make up the majority of the product will help you determine what makes it into your final body's gas tank typically if you need a chemistry degree to read the ingredients on a food label it's not real food so stay away for a macronutrient guideline for normal adults who are non-athletes consider keeping a daily consistency of about 45 to 65 percent of your calories from carbs focus on green leafy vegetables and complex carbs that are low in sugar or don't have sugar at all these carbs should be high in fiber if you have sugars have them from whole fruit not canned or dried where extra sugar has been added 20 to 35 of your diet should be derived from fats stay away from trans fats saturated fats and hydrogenated oils although there are pros and cons to each diet philosophy a more plant-based diet will more likely prevent disease later in life however fat from egg yolk is acceptable since it is a better source of cholesterol stick with fats from olive oil coconut oil nuts seeds and fish to make 10 to 35 percent of your diet which should be from protein for fluid intake you already know the answer is to drink water and more of it inadequate water intake or excessive caloric intake can lead to dehydration affect thinking mood cause headaches can lead to overeating constipation overheating and urinary tract infections proper hydration maintains kidney health and reduces the chance of kidney stones i can't stress this point enough two out of one thousand people are currently on dialysis three times per week just to survive we are woefully dehydrated as a society you don't want to start thinking about hydration only after disaster strikes your target water intake for men is one gallon per day or 3.
7 liters and for women it's roughly three quarts of water or 2.
Source Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zve2OwV6jO4
