Could You Survive?

Can your training help you survive?

If you mention the word, “survival” in fitness training you often run the risk of coming off like a nut. Yet the reality is that your physical training, whatever your goals or sport, ought to be building a body capable of use in a real world emergency. Now depending on your goals it might not be the “optimal,” body for survival of an emergency. For instance a super heavy powerlifter is often not well equipped to travel long distances or over obstacles or fight for an extended period of time. They do however have overwhelming power for short bursts and can pick up and carry heavy stuff. All skills useful in an emergency just not usually well balanced. That is the point, even if you pursue a goal(s) that go in the opposite direction and need to devote most of your time and energy to them, at least some of your training ought to be building other real life qualities. In fact can you really say you’re getting “fitter” if what you’re doing only makes you look better but doesn’t add to your ability to survive?

This question is especially poignant for military, law enforcement/security and emergency professionals or people who by some other reason have potential to be in “harms way” or find themselves in places where the potential for “accident” is high. (Back country guides, hunters, forest rangers, etc.) Yet when you think about it, it really applies across the board. Many countries around the world just aren’t very stable and if the last two years has taught the world anything that even super powers aren’t too stable economically, emergency response or from an infrastructural stand point. Add to that the potential for crime and or violence anywhere and really any thinking person should want to be prepared.

Don’t take any of that as doomsday talk or cracking up from the stress of the world. Parts of the world are safer than they’ve ever been and yet if you open your eyes you’ll see that it’ll never by truly safe. Ultimately laws and governments and progress doesn’t really protect you, you must be responsible for you and your loved ones. If you’re going to train anyway, why not get results that help you do that as well as whatever your other reasons for training might be.

Think this over. It’s your training multi-functional? Does it produce results outside the gym? Results you could take anywhere under whatever conditions you might find yourself? What do you want it to do for you? Where is it lacking? Stay tuned for the next post in which I’ll tell you some things it ought to be doing for you that it might not be.

God bless,
Bud Jeffries