No Matter Your Age: Continue To Physically Test Yourself

I have two neighbors who live up the road from me, one is 75 and the other is close to 70 I believe.  Every morning at 9 am they meet up and walk 3 miles before sitting outside and enjoying some coffee.  That’s 21 miles a week of walking at 8500 ft elevation (barring inclement weather of course).  For gentlemen in their 70’s I’d say that’s a heck of an accomplishment, staying active and getting their heart rate up and I should mention that both of these men are lean and well built for their age.

I’m in my mid 40’s and yes it’s true, recovery for the body is not what it used to be in my 20’s.  Priorities have changed and I’m not pushing iron in the gym like I used to back in the day but I still do lots of cardio on my stationary bike and train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu multiple times a week.  I was in the locker room a while back and a guy who is younger, and fatter, and considerably more out of shape than I am told me:  “Yea, you know how it is, I’m just old and broke and not what I used to be.” I acknowledged his statement but in my mind did not approve.  He is 43, I’m 45 and could put 50 lbs on my back and walk 20 miles right now if I had to.  Not that I’m something special but the point is this:  If / when  T-SHTF your body is one of your primary assets, you must take care of it so that you can take care of the people you love.

The Mind is Strong but is the Body Weak?

If you read various blogs or watch videos people romanticize SHTF, living a simple life and working hard in order to exist.  For a small few this life is already a reality (homesteaders etc) but for many who are living the typical middle class life, it’s still a fantasy and a dark reality awaits, allow me to explain further.

I used to say that the hardest job I ever had was when I worked in a Goodyear plant part time while I was still enlisted in the Army.  I would go in on the weekends (we were broke, by the way) and stack tires in semi trucks by hand, I was paid $40 per truck load.  The forklift driver would position carts of tires for me and I would stack tires from the front of the trailer to the rear, in the Oklahoma summer heat, it sucked.  I thought that was a rough job until I found: fire mitigation.  I recently worked a week with a friend up here in the mountains which involved some chainsaw work but more than anything, steep inclines and hauling wood out to a trailer by hand…lots of wood…heavy wood.  It was very satisfying but truth be told at the end of each day, everything hurt.

So imagine a scenario where soft body “subdivision guy” who has never seen a calloused hand tries to bugout to the country / mountains in order to live the hard life after T-SHTF in order to survive.  You can’t imagine this because it’s a reality that does not exist.  They won’t make it, the mind is indeed strong but if the body is weak the chances of survival are slim.

The Bottom Line

Many are equipped, few are capable.  One of my favorite lines to quote because it rings so true.  I once knew a guy who was so fat that he could not bend down to pick up an empty magazine while on the range but his post SHTF plan was to “hang out in a tree with a sniper rifle.”  Right.  I get it not all of us (myself included) are super marathon studs, others are hampered by age or injury.  Yet I think it is incumbent upon all of us who claim to be preppers to take care of our most vital asset: our bodies.