Physical Fitness

[IrvJr]

45R's recent post (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=57944) got me thinking about physical fitness. The posts on this forum are often related to the cool and fun stuff (gear, weapons training, BOBs, etc.). However, I haven't seen too many related to the mundane, but critical topic of physical fitness.

Does your preparedness planning and training include a regime to stay in shape? If so, what is your current fitness level and what do you do to maintain/improve this level? I think that being fit is one of the most practical and important things you can do to be prepared for real emergencies.

As an example, during the recent blackouts that plagued the Northeast, I know some folks who got stranded in the city or on a train and had to walk miles (and up and down dozens of flights of stairs) to get someplace safe and comfortable. IIRC, one of the few fatalaties in NY city from that event was a person who had a heart attack climbing stairs.

Also, during 9/11, I know a couple of people (one was taking a day-trading class, the other works for one of the large firms in the area) who were down in the financial district of NY when the attacks took place. After the collapse of the towers they had to walk from near the bottom of Manhattan to somewhere in the Bronx (something like dozen or more miles?) to get eventually get transportation out of the city and back north their homes.

For my part, I have started running again and have incorporated a semi-regular routine of calesthenics (mostly just push ups and sit ups/leg lifts) into my daily schedule. My goal is to lose some of my mass (I'm not too heavy, but DEFINITELY not slim) and increase my fitness level a bit.

IrvJr

 

[La Pistoletta]

Stronger hands and arms mean better grip and less exhaustion when firing as well, I suppose.

 

[BerettaNut92]

45R's recent post got me thinking about physical fitness. The posts on this forum are often related to the cool and fun stuff (gear, weapons training, BOBs, etc.). However, I haven't seen too many related to the mundane, but critical topic of physical fitness.

If it took a highroad post to get you thinking about being in shape, chances are you aren't...just kidding

I started jogging but am kinda scared as people are saying I won't gain weight

10-ring was s'posed to help me shop for weights last week, but we got busy

 

[El Tejon]

Irv, could not agree more. However, I don't believe that is the proper characterization of THR. We've had many thread regarding the importance of physical fitness.

Try the following search topics: fitness over 40, martial arts, grip strength, conditioning. Perhaps as a percentage, most of the thread are on "Iwannacoolgun" virus or gear or bears/pumas/zombies, but here at THR we realize that guns are just a fraction of the science/hard work of fighting.

It's all about the footwork, THEN it's all about the bling, bling. Got to be in condition to do the footwork so one can fight the bears.

 

[BerettaNut92]

El Tejon,

And the UN and SWAT JBTs

Skunkabilly
Somali National Weightlighting Champion, 1999, 2002

 

[SapperLeader]

Or even Worse United Nation bears. You will definitly need some fancy footwork fighting something like them.

 

[pwrtool45]

Yep. They make bear-sized (13EEE) tactical boots. They're organizing...

*still waiting on 16" Marlin .45-70* Damn bears.

 

[Smoke]

You don't have to run marathons, bench 550#, or be Mr. Universe.

But conditioning helps.

I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old. I have to keep in shape to keep up with them!

Smoke

 

[JamisJockey]

Gym twice a week for a total workout
During the summer I road-cycle quite hard, over 100miles a week including serious climbing and have started racing some. Cyclocross carries me into winter a little bit. During the winter I'm a bit more lazy....man I hate snow, and riding the bike on the indoor trainer makes me feel like a hampster.

 

[Soap]

I stay in shape by letting El Tejon beat me up, running daily, doing push-ups/crunches/etc., and by trying to eat as healthy as a completely strapped-for-time college kid can. El Tejon, a few other guys, and I recently went on a nice hike. I discovered I was in much better shape than I had previously thought.

 

[Smoke]

man I hate snow

I looked at the pic....

Snow is for skiing and for kids to play in. I have no further uses for it.

Glad I don't have to deal with it.

I run all year. If it gets to cold or wet. (or the once every 3 years it snows for two days..) I have weights and a heavy bag in the shop. (And a dearborn heeater )

I love my enchiladas and chicken fried steak, so I have to go that much harder to keep teh weight off.

A lot can be done doing pushups and crunches at your beside. Doesn't take a lot of effort to do some good. If you watch what you eat it takes even less. Diets are no substitute for exercise though.

Smoke

 

[winstonsmith]

Well, before I came down with the dreaded mononucleosis (AKA mono) I was taking Hapkido a few times a week, and lifting weights and running. I've been out of comission since mid-November though. Slowly recovering strength. I lost something like 13 pounds. While some of you may think "WOW! Sounds AWESOME!" I didn't have that weight to lose. That was a 10th of my body weight. Original weight is 137, I'm at 129 now. It takes alot out of you. I've started lifting weights again, but hapkido is still on hold. I reinjured an old fracture in my foot doing god knows what, and now I have a bony protuberance next to my ankle bone. Also I have a persisting ache in the back of my knee which is tied to stress on the fracture, which leads me to beleive there is a tendon problem. Going to doctor on monday.

In short, no hapkido for me. Probably not for a while either.

Staying in shape is very important. The body is a tool, just like a gun or a knife or a trowel or a screwdriver. Why let it get rusty or dirty? No, you gotta keep it in fighting fit and working order.

 

[Dorian]

motovation:

down: more pushups

up: better sex

down: more pushups

up: better sex

down: more pushups

up: better sex

down: more pushups

up: better sex



Another good reason to stay in shape

 

[Wedge]

I weight train 4x per week in the morning before work and then do cardio after work 3x per week. I eat breakfast, I eat throughout the whole work day and then I eat dinner when I finish running.

For cardio I strive to keep maximum intensity the whole time. So I jog for 20 minutes as fast as I can go. I am not super fast, but I can run about 2.5 miles in that time frame and I am getting better.

By splitting up the weight training and the cardio you get maximum benefit from both. Your body has time to heal and get fed protien throughout the day and then you can run to strengthing your heart and raise your metabolism. This way you can gain strength as well as lose fat...the more muscle you have on your body, the higher your metabolism is the more you will burn fat.

Unfortunately you can excerise all you want but you have to have a good diet. I don't eat sweets and I try to balance my protien with my carbs and I take protien and vitamin supplements.

After working out I feel better about myself and by feeling better about myself it adds confidence to everything I do. My hunting and shooting is a much more enjoyable experience when I don't mind lugging around a shotgun and a pistol and some binoculars and shells and stuff. The cardio makes me feel more confident if I had to flee a situation.

 

[VaughnT]

Physical fitness has come to be very important to me. In 1999, I weighed 450# and had just started working at my curent job. The physical nature of the job really burned the blubber off, but there was a lot of tylenol involved in the recovery process.

Six months ago, I joined a local gym. Having lost 150# in the first two years, I had hit a plateau and just rode it out. It was one of these types of threads that motivated me to get in to the gym.

Now I'm down to 300# and working hard to lose it all. I'm able to run a mile on the treadmill in under twelve minutes (just under, but that's still under!) and have seen all of my lifts increase.

The motivation? To be ready when that fight comes. Truthfully, most folks equate a larger man with strength even though most of his size is blubber. Unfortunately, there will come a time when someone wants to test the fellow to see who's better. If you don't have the wind, strength and flexibility to go the distance, you can expect to fall hard. That's not a good option.

 

[IrvJr]

Folks - great posts! It's fun to hear how other THR-ers do to stay in shape.

El Tejon - Thanks... I did some searches in this forum you're right - there are several good threads in this forum related to conditioning/fitness.

Skunk - you need to eat more Cantonese food (dim sum, roasted duck and glutinous rice) to pack on the weight. Watch out, though, as you age, your metabolism may slow down, and you might have trouble keeping the weight off (rather than putting it on). I was a skinny (but fit) 163 pounds for many years (6'1"), but now I'm about 21 pounds heavier! I'm working to get down to about 170 by summer.

I also agree with Dorian - there are a lot of good reasons (besides preparedness) to stay fit.

VaughnT - Congrats on losing the initial 150#'s. That's great! It's tough when you hit a plateau, but it sounds like you're definitely committed to losing the remaining extra weight. Stay motivated and good luck!

 

[aroshi]

Yeah, I have gone through quite a few phases in the past. I was around 270# about 6 years ago... and I'm down to about 260# now, but the difference in the body composition is what's important.

I went through a phase where I walked everywhere, ate all day, and exercised atleast twice a day between martial arts, racquetball, soccer and others. But that was in college, with the mental stress that goes with it.

I did start to hone down my diet slowly, little bits at a time, which I've kept doing. Eating better, at better times of the day, and on schedule. All of those things had significant effects.

I've had a lot of high energy exercises in the past, but now I'm limited to some once every week or two with paintballing and volleyball. I'm doing more calisthenics, more regularly. Only pushing a little, so I don't get into a habit I won't keep for too long. Anything done with weights, I do with less weight and more reps and sets. This helps keep from impacting the body or lifestyle too much and keeps my flexibility (key in martial arts) and muscle fitness moving in the right direction.

Stretch! Very important. Doesn't matter your shape, size or ability. Stretch. In all the sports I've played over the years since high school and college, I've found that's the MOST important physical aspect of training. Attitude is the most, overall.

 

[Devonai]

My fitness routine for the past three years has been weight training three times a week (1 hour) and walking four miles three times a week (also about an hour). Without regulating my caloric intake, however, my weight remained a rock-solid 220 lbs.

Deciding that I should weigh 185, I started regulating my caloric intake last July. I discovered that while I should have been limiting myself to 2400 calories a day, I was in fact somewhere around 4000. Add pizza, beer, and Gatorade to the equation and some days I was up around 7000. It's a wonder I didn't weigh more than 220!

I cut my daily intake by 500 calories. This was supposed to result in the loss of 1 pound per week. In fact, the first 20 pounds were gone within ten weeks. After that the average went down to about one pound per week. So I got to my goal of 185 lbs after 25 weeks of dieting.

I can maintain this weight by limiting myself to no more than 1950 calories per day. Exercise can add calories to the day, so by sticking to my fitness regimen I can allow myself a little more food. I still eat more carbs than I should, but I avoid ice cream, soda, and Gatorade like the plague. I also drink alcohol a lot less than I used to (1 beer = 150 calories).

 

[The Goose]

Most of my adult life I have studied some form of martial art or boxing coupled with running and weight training. At 52 I really can't run or jog much as it bothers my knees. I take my dogs for long walks in the woods and go to the gym at 5:00 AM 3 days a week where I do 45 minutes of cardio, bike, eliptical, treadmill etc. I am also in traning for strongman competition so 3 days a week I do stuff like flip 650 lb truck tires, lift stones, and generally carry heavy objects. We also do things like repetitive 100 foot sprints with 200 lbs in each hand. Pretty good conditioning actually. Also sprints pulling a steel sled loaded with weights wearing a harness, quite grueling. Also a lot of grip and forearm work. I like to eat so despite all the work I still have a belly, but it helps to rest the stones on when you have to heft them up onto a platform. Strongman belly, oh yeah!

 

[LynnMassGuy]

I weight train every other day. Mountain bike in summer and hike in winter for cardio.(Although not as much hiking as I would like/need.) I have some martial arts training that I have pretty much put my own twist on over the years and I am mentally comitted to fighting dirty. Of course all of this is in a constant battle with the fact that I love good beer (I brew my own) and I LOVE good barbecue.(Hard to find around here, luckily.)

 

[TonyB]

Round is a shape right????

 

[mtnbkr]

Cyclocross carries me into winter a little bit

Cyclocross always looked neat to me. It was making a comeback of sorts in the late 90s. I never got into it because I poured my bike money into my mountain bike. But my next bike, whenever that is, may be a cyclocross oriented bike since I don't do as much hardcore mountain biking as I used to. A cyclocross rig would be about right for pavement and mild trails.

I hate doing indoor cardio work of any kind. I too feel like a hamster on a wheel. I having a tough time staying on the Eliptical trainer for at least 30 minutes. Not because it's hard physically, but because it's so damn boring!

I keep at it though because I want to see my toes again.

Chris

 

[garrettwc]

Devonai, how did you determine your calorie target? I think thats part of my problem the last few years. I used to be a manager and part of my job was going to different areas of the facility to check on progress so I was always on my feet and moving.

In my current tech job, the only thing moving is my fingers and the weight snuck up on me. I was looking in the mirror the other day and saw a stranger looking back and me and he was a chunky fella

 

[JamisJockey]

A cyclocross rig would be about right for pavement and mild trails.

mtnbkr:
Cross bikes are very versatile. I've got a Surly Crosscheck, kind of a tank, but there are aluminum/carbon ones that are down to about 19lbs with Ultegra or Durace. Other then the different gearing (46x38 front, vs. 53x39 on my road bike...both have 12-25 rear cogs), a cross bike with Road tires on it is nothing but a road bike. I've ridden mine with road tires on it, and loaned it out about a half dozen times to a friends son trying to get his boy scout merit badge.

There was a point for me where I couldn't see my toes, and carrying my weapon IWB was out of the question! I'm only 5'3, and I used to be 193. Right now, I'm 161, with winter fat.....although I've been hitting the gym, so I'm probably building some muscle.
I can't stand indoor cardio. I barely can stand the trainer 3 times a week, 40minutes each.......

Happy trails,

 

[R127]

For about the past half decade I've been training with indian clubs. If you're looking for fighting strength I don't think there is a better system of exercise for the upper body out there. Speed, dexterity, sustained strength though motion, and they work the hands much more than barbells and free wights do. I'm something of an anachronism you could say, the clubs I use are more than 100 years old, the book I train from is 138 years old, but there's a guy out there I found just last week who's promoting a modern incarnation, you can check him out at:

www.clubbells.com

There's a lot of fitness fads out there promising all kinds of results. This one's no fad, it has a history going back at least to the Rennaisance in Europe with Giacomo Di Grassi. If you try, you will be amazed. One of the key advantages for me is that whereas bench pressing the 80lbs that comes with most weight benches I've seen is really not that big of a deal, a pair 4 or 5 pound clubs will smoke you in short order. That means I don't have to lug around 100lbs of bulky weights and bench when I move, or hope there facilities where I'm traveling. I just throw the clubs in the trunk or in my baggage and that's that.