Zombie survial fitness

[killnburn]

for z-day, i believe that even the best equipped, best planned survivor will have a greatly reduced chance of survival if they are not physically fit.

so, what do you do to train?? what is the best type in your opinion?

muscular training has its advantages, with melee and barricading places, while endurance training help with the sneaky escaping people.

my weekly training is usually,

2 periods of 2:30 of intense sport aka basketball (include lots of running jumping push ups sit ups and other great stuff)

every night, some weight lifting, some push ups sit ups, and most important, cross country running!! the longer the better!

edit:thank weirdbeard for reminding me! hiking is also a very efficient way of preparing, long distance with good loads on your back in the mountains. nothing better to get some preparation and a breath of fresh air, i also do it from time to time but not enough if you ask me.

[weirdbeard]

have you started to condition your body to carrying weight for extended distance and time?

[Trumble0]

I do alot of upper body free weight routines, tons of pushups in my room when I have nothing else to do, Running and cycling at the gym, and if I could have my way I would be swimming everyday, but there's not a pool on Campus to do laps in. I already have pretty solid calves and thighs, and as far as carrying weight goes, nothing major besides my backpack filled with stuff, probably 30 pounds on my heaviest workload days. I could carry more in my Northface Recon Pack comfortably, but my Mil-Surp equipment bag has really thin straps that tend to dig in during extended wear. I'm not looking to get massive, just some upper body to fill out my uniform better, and get lean everywhere else.

[Jimmy]

My Department's SWAT members and alot of our Officers (Including me) do this program. If you're not already in somewhat good shape, this may not be the best program for you to start with. >_>

www.crossfit.com

[weirdbeard]

if your already doing cardio, weights and are working on endurance. i would suggest for the minimum amount of gear. Go get a kettle bell, as well as one of the workout dvd's. If you've never used them before get ready to be worked over, lol. they will definatly tear you up, they build explosive strength and endurance, you can take them anywhere, or if you can find them try out Indian Clubs, those require alot of coordination and do an overall workout in a short period of time. Both of these systems are being adopted by the US Army for troops overseas.

you said that the mil-spec ruck is digging into your shoulders, what kind of ruck is it? For carrying training weight, go buy a surplus alice ruck with a set of suspenders, fill it with sand bags, not the most comfortable but it will season your shoulders to carry weight for some distance. Also you can get weight vests at most sporting good stores. I train for distance with body armor, plus the associated gear and a med size ruck. (normally referred to as a three day assault pack). One thing to remember is DON'T RUN when your carrying all the weight, it will destroy your knees and other joints, walk fast. You will get the same benefits for your cardio. Also stay hydrated, water or pedia-lite. stay away from sugary sports drinks. On occasions in the past while training in hi temp areas, i have hooked myself up to an IV while rucking, but remember to drink as well. I can gauge my level of fluid intake pretty well by how fast the bag empties.

Oh also if you have access to one or a place to hang them, get a heavy bag and speed bag. the heavy bag is great for overall strength and endurance, the speed bag is good for cardio and eye/hand coordination.

Out of curiosity you said to fill out your uniform, what uniform are you referring to?

[secretcog]

The absolute best way to prepare for the outbreak would be an enlistment into a governments' military establishment.

You'd learn valuable combat/survival skills, along with maintaining a physically fit body.

Then I'd suggest academic study in epidemiology, and/or in public and environmental affairs.

If your don't meet the criteria to become a soldier and /or, for what ever reason, you are not able to attend a university...self-train.

Developer a home-based workout routine, or join a local gym to "get in shape." Study combat tactics, survival, and volunteer in your community regarding emergency management. Then...spen allot of time in your public library...study everything!

Or...strip down, baste yourself in butter, sit on a dinner plate, and wait for the zombie hordes to eat you.

[Trumble0]

Originally Posted by weirdbeard

Out of curiosity you said to fill out your uniform, what uniform are you referring to?

Cadet Uniform for the Police Academy this summer, and then Later the Sheriff's department uniform.

Not really sure what kind of mil-surp bag it is



I guess it's European? Mine's Black though, I got it at Herb Phillipson's in the Mil-Surp section as a future "battle bag" to hold equipment/medical supplies. I'll keep it in the trunk on my shift with my Level IV and w/e long gun I'm allowed to use on Duty, hopefully the department let's us have M4gery's otherwise I'll probably just have a Mossberg 500. It's got a nice big zipper pouch on the top that could hold quite a bit of stuff, and the inside closure is a drawstring rather than a zipper. real thin canvas straps and I guess I could throw the waist retention band back on it, It was just a Web-style belt with a plastic buckle really. Nothing grand it was like 10$ it was the biggest bag they had besides the huge ass OD green duffle bags, They had smaller Medic Bags as well that matched in style, I'm sure I could rig up an attachment point with just some canvas loops to attached the medic bag to the top of the big zipper. I have to take First aid for first responders next semester so IDK what that consists of, btu Im hoping to get some "quik-clot" training... probably won't happen though I think Civilians can buy it though. If not I'll just wait until I'm sworn to get it.

[DarthJoe8]

Besides having a somewhat active lifestyle I lift 12 oz at a time.

[stark55]

kind of depends on your situation if your in a siege a good layer of fat to start with will serve you well. a zed at your door will give you allot of reason to get in shape. as far as getting to and from places in fine but throw me in a hike and im going to tire fast. battle is how im going to get in to great shape. until zeds are at my door im going to keep some fat on my bones in case im left in a situation were i may not get a meal in awhile.

[Lian]

Initially I don't think physical condition will matter much as long as you can run a little and don't get completely drained from it. If your in a city, a good level head, transport, and a fair amount of luck will serve you better. However maintain good physical condition can help people with discipline, that most lack, and have to learn.

You can bulk up later when your building a wall around your small village.

As for me, I'm of average shape really, I still work for a living, I can run if I have to but I'm not a track star. I'm strong enough to accomplish most things, I'm flexible enough for the climbing around, I do have a high level of endurance though so when the SHTF I'll be able to hang in there for longer than most people, especially if I get on a role and build up momentum.

[JakAttak]

I'm In pretty good shape I hike mountains and have tough work out schedule. and ran the paris island obstacle course in like 4-5 min.

[stizzorm]

In all the talk of preparedness, I'm really surprised that this topic doesn't come up more often. I've thought about this a lot. Strange as it may seem, I think walking (with preference to hiking in your area) would by itself be good as a base, but it is definitely NOT a stand-alone plan. If walking doesn't seem cool enough, see www.urbanranger.com for good reasons to walk, a few interesting twists, and some bad poetry.

IMHO, the next thing to add to the base of walking/hiking, would be a calisthenics program. I like bang for buck, so if I had NO equipment whatsoever, I'd do this, without the whole incarceration thing:
http://www.geocities.com/rutgerseskrima/art_prison.html
These are ridiculously hard, and really get you used to moving your body around. The first few times I did these, I fealt like I'd had the life drained out of me. Usually I do these as part of a circuit now. I'd go for movements that would help climbing too: pullups, chinups, rope climbing, and body rows are all good.

I also like kettlebells. The KB swing might be one of the most devastating conditioning exercises I've ever done. One workout, I was doing one-hand swings and I pushed it too hard. I wanted to get just a few more when I was already flagging. In the "float" portion of the exercise, I began dry heaving violently and had to drop the weight. KB's are also portable and the lifts are easy to learn and master. I'd recommend them to anyone looking to get into survival shape. They carry over to other things that are unrelated too, and no one knows why. Pavel and his crew call this the "what the hell" effect.

If you have a barbell or set of adjustable dumbbells, you can do tremendous things to develop limit strength and conditioning. Dan John has great stuff on this.

THis has gotten too long for a newcomer to yammer this much. Apologies.

[Jester]

I agree with what all of you are saying.


Fitness would be vital.


But something i have never seen mentioned is, martial arts.


I did martial arts for ten years


It is THE MOST PHYSICALLY GRUELLING THING EVER.


Well, once you get into advanced stuff.


Basically with american kenpo, the first three years are spent building muscle memory and getting you in basic shape. My last 7 were hardcore conditioning and advanced techniques.


Not only do you build insane stamina, but you also build a sharp eye (stopping punches to where they dont even damage your arms takes precision), muscle mass (a lot of muscular training)


But on top of this you also will know an effective way to defend yourself unarmed against a plethora of situations.


Im to the point where unarmed i do not fear:


A knife

A club

A group of three to five my size, unarmed or wielding clubs/knives (thats about my limit

A group of seven unarmed

If within three feet of me i dont fear a man with a pistol.


Plus all the grapples and escapes would work wonders on zombies, not to mention being able to lop a head off with a kick

[kiltedninja]

Alright, everyone here seems to have some good ideas for how to survive, where to go, and what to bring. But how many of us could actually carry our packs, rifles, and other weapons? How many of us could walk all day long when our gas runs on empty?

What tips and ideas do you have for getting in shape? What workouts or activities would you recommend? And not just your body, but your mind, reflexes, skills, etc...

I work across town, and I ride my bike to work, other than that, I'm a boxer, practice Kali, parkour, and I read quite a bit.

I'd recommend little more than walking a few miles, getting out on a bike, or something similar. Cardio is going to be your biggest ally when it comes to your strength IMO. It may be impossible for some to get to the gym even once a week, but what about calisthenics, Isometric(progressive resistance), or even just exercise you get through hard labor?

So let's hear the ideas ladies and gents.

[Militaris]

I am going to take my chances and hope I would never meet a zombie.


If it is the slow zombies I could easily out walk them , well at least for the first 8-12hrs, longer then that my endurance starts to suffer. If they are running zombies I might be able to outrun them for 1-2 minutes before getting puffed.

I feel the best exercise for zombie invasion would be running. With alot of effort and dedication it is possible to get very fit and run up steep Terran without needing regular rests. I am a fit Kayaker and can paddle for hours without needing a rest but would be lucky to run 100m.

Practice with guns would also be worthwhile, loading them, shooting them, shooting them while moving ect....