Module 7

Health & Fitness For Survival 

[catlist name="Articles-Week 7"]

Some other materials

Weekly Challenge

The Health and Fitness Challenge

This week, we want you to take a good hard look at where you are at with regard to fitness. It can be difficult to take charge of everyone’s health and fitness (because you can’t exactly force someone to go for a run) but you can take responsibility of your own.

The Get-Home Challenge from Module 4, may have been a wake-up call for you, based on where you are right now. This week, we want to take that one step further.

Take a long, hard, realistic look at your personal level of fitness. You’re going to assess yourself and document this so you can see how much you need to improve.

  • Weigh yourself
  • Take measurements: chest, waist, hips, thigh, calf, and upper arm
  • Walk (or if you’re fit, run) one mile. How long did it take you? Note the route so that you can always take the same route on assessment day.
  • How many sit-ups or crunches can you do in 1 minute?
  • How many push-ups?

(For those with mobility issues, you may need to modify this assessment a little bit based on your abilities.) This is your baseline.  In one month, you’ll do this assessment again.

Next, we want you to make a plan to improve your fitness. No matter where you are, there’s always room for improvement, right?

  • Work in some cardio training 4-5 days per week. This can be walking, swimming, running, using in-home or gym equipment, hiking – the sky is the limit. But we all know it – we should be more active. If you are just starting out, begin with just 10 minutes of this activity.
  • Make a plan for 2-3 times weekly strength training. This can be at the gym or at home. Basic calisthenics cost nothing but can really help you become more fit.
  • Add in some flexibility. You can find some great yoga videos on YouTube. Add some gentle stretching to your day. Get the kiddos involved, too. Younger ones especially will love it.
  • Make family time more active. Instead of sitting down to watch a movie, do active things together. Play frisbee, go for a hike, go swimming, take a walk to the library instead of driving, go for a bike ride.

Use these suggestions to write out a specific plan for the month.

A very effective way to do this is to get a 1-month whiteboard and write your plan on the whiteboard. Then, get colored dry erase markers and assign a color to each type of activity: cardio, strength, flexibility, and family activities. When you accomplish one of these things, make a line through it with your colored markers. At the end of the month, you’ll have a rainbow to show you how much you’ve accomplished.

NOTE: This Health and Fitness Challenge is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We encourage you to consult a medical professional before beginning a weight loss or exercise program, especially if there are other health issues present.

Weekly To Do List

Sanitation

  1. How long will your current toilet paper supply last? Make this the week that you stock more.  A storage-area tip: check out space saver bags and vacuum-squish your TP supply.
  2. Stock up on baby wipes, even if you don’t have any babies.  Wipes can be used in place of toilet paper and are especially handy if someone has diarrhea.  They can also be used to wash hands and faces, or to take a quick sponge bath.
  3. Consider how you will get rid of trash. Practice re-using items as often as possible. If possible, set up a place to burn garbage that might draw flies or rodents.

Sustenance

  1. Switch to water as your beverage of choice. Even if you purchase it in $5 gallon jugs, it’s still the best deal around, with the added bonus of being good for your health.  Skip the soda pop, juices and sports drinks. Also, skip the individual bottles of water because those can be just as pricey as buying a soda. Coffee and tea that you make at home are also very inexpensive.
  2. Stock up on some things for celebrations. Even if you’re in the middle of a crisis, birthdays and special occasions should still be celebrated. Put back some supplies like cake mixes, frosting, birthday candles, party hats, and multi-purpose decorations.
  3. Buy some extra can openers – two is one, one is none. 😉

Survival

  1. Choose a home filtration device.  Look for a gravity fed device that doesn’t require power to operate. (Note from Daisy: I used to use a Berkey, but now, I have switched to ProPur and AquaPail. In the water emergency in West Virginia and the current emergency in Alabama, these devices were powerful enough to make the water safe to drink, while Berkey devices were not.)
  2. Look for some old wind-up clocks and/or watches that are in working order. You can often find these at yard sales or thrift stores. They won’t require valuable batteries, which could be important during a long-term disaster.
  3. Are you still walking daily? Commit to spending 20 minutes per day (at the minimum) moving your body or lifting heavy things.

Shelter

  1. Organize your supplies in kits to make things easier when seconds count. Some ideas for kits are Pandemic Response Kits, First Aid Kits, Power Outage Kits, Water Kits, and Irreplaceable Items Kits.
  2. Do you know how to build a shelter with found items in the forest? This article has 15 different designs. Pick one and head out with the family to practice.
  3. Get a wheelbarrow or a wagon. In a long-term situation, you may need to bring water or other supplies home on foot, and they’ll be difficult to carry. Some type of cart will help immensely. This is particularly important if you aren’t as spry as you used to be.

Security

  1. Buy some red paper. Look up official quarantine signs and print some off to store in your emergency kit. In a dire emergency, you can post these on the outside of your home to serve as a deterrent in a civil unrest scenario.  You can also stash away quarantine tape.
  2. Take a trip to the range and do some shooting. If you have children, discuss gun safety with them to insure against accidents.
  3. Read the book, The Gift of Fear.  This book discusses how learning to tap into your instincts and paying attention to survival signals can help keep you safe from violence.

Sanity

  1. Go on the internet and print off the lyrics to some favorite songs. Then, using a 3 ring binder, make a songbook of family favorites.
  2. Hit the back-to-school sales and stock up on craft supplies for the kids. Get construction paper, markets, glue, etc.
  3. Stash away some cosmetics. If you normally wear make-up, purchase duplicates of the most essential items.

Giveaway

Cat EllisHerbalist Cat Ellis has authored 2 books of interest to preppers. First, Prepper’s Natural Medicine: Life Saving Herbs, Essential Oils, and Natural Remedies For When There is No Doctor and then, Prepping For a Pandemic. Both these books will be excellent additions to your bookshelf, and this week one lucky winner gets both!

Be sure to join us for the upcoming Sunday Night Check-In, not only for some great networking but to find out the name of the winner.

Shopping List

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