Fitness for 2014

[dizzydays]

I'm getting on a bit now, and beginning to think about my old age and make preps for that. The main thing is health, and mine has never been great! So I've recently made some changes which I hope might count as preps and after much reading I think they're valid changes.

I've learned how to make lacto fermented veggies - mainly sauerkraut or kimchi type mixes. These are vegetables fermented in the old way, without boiling /pasteurizing. The idea is that they contain loads of probiotics/vitamins/digestive enzymes. There have even been mutterings about anti cancer properties but I've no proof so don't yell at me
Apart from the supposed health benefits, this is also a great way to keep veggies, as if you do it correctly they can keep for years.

On a similar line, I've learned how to make kefir - a similar probiotic rich substance, but a drink. Also I'm making yoghurt..probiotics again. You probably get the idea by now.


Another prep I've introduced is learning yoga. Can I just mention yogatoday.com (I'm not affiliated or anything) but they have a subscription service where you pay $9 (£5.40ish) a month and get access to amazing yoga classes - choose from starter/beginner/more advanced. The brilliant thing about this site is that most of the yoga is filmed outside, in the stunning surroundings of the Wyoming mountains. It's worth it to just look at the scenery, never mind the yoga! They have a free trial month.


So, I hope that gives someone some ideas

DD

[steviesun]

I am still recovering from surgery, so although I have regained most of my mobility I'm still limited. I went for a walk today. Only 5km and relatively easy going (compared to some of the walking I was doing before I had surgery) and my surgery area has swollen and is giving me more pain. It's very frustrating as I would love to be building up more strength.

My grandmother lived to 100. She was very frail for the last decade due to her bones being frail but otherwise she was robust. Before she lost much of her mobility (only really in her last decade) she would walk every single day. I honestly believe that it was a big factor in her health. Walking is good for mind and body, AND should all over transport options fail there is always my own two feet.

When I'm not recovering from surgery (although I've going to be doing that more than not for the next few years as more surgery to come) I like to do stuff which encourages flexibility and strength. Swinging a kettlebell or doing body weight stuff.

I really can't wait until I'm more healed and can exercise again. It doesn't hurt when I exercise but I end up in pain for a couple of days afterwards.

[FEISTY]

A big part of survival is in the general fitness of it's practitioner, hence the "survival of the fittest" phraseology generally banded about. I personally am preparing for natural disaster over anything else such as flooding/fire/snow/storms however I will be ensuring I am in good physical condition should I have to combat or work in such scenarios and environments.

I was wondering how many people are preparing fitness wise and if it is generally geared towards your idea of what your SHTF moment is or if you are generally blanket training to be generally fit.

I'm hoping to get lot fitter this year - at the moment though there are so many things sapping my energy. Just wanted to rectify this "survival of the fittest" thing though. It means that the person/group/race/creature will have the highest chance of survival if they fit their environment. So, if you are a muscled, fit vegetarian in the middle of the desert and your chum is a puny, seriously unfit omnivore, he's more likely to survive than you because he'll chow down on the odd frog, beetle or even dead camel (a la Bear Grylls) given the chance. You would be toast . Having said that, I'd rather be a fit omnivore . I always laugh when stuff comes on TV about evolution. As far as I can see, stuff doesn't evolve, it just dies. You either fit or you don't.

[Le Mouse]

This week I started my own kind of 'Couch to 5k' programme, except I always do the full distance (in this case about 3.8 miles, which is a bit more than 5k) and just keep moving. So if I just walk the entire route, then that's a success. I do the route in a run/walk stylee, hopefully increasing the running bits over time until one day I might be able to run it. I'm not one of nature's runners, so it'll take a while... Currently the only bit of the route that I'm guaranteed to run is the bit through a local wood, where I run as if I'm being chased by zombies!

I'm hoping to improve my lung strength so I can reduce my asthma meds, stave off the family history of high blood pressure and strengthen my joints. On a totally shallow note, I'd also like to drop a dress size...

I leave the house at hideous o'clock in the morning so I get it all done before I get ready for work. This first week has been a joy despite the early rise. I've seen my local park look more beautiful than I'd ever seen it later in the day. I've also met a number of lovely dogs and their equally nice owners 'Crack of dawn' people seem terribly friendly

[cpslashm]

Mid 50s.

Knees won't take cycling up those hills and country lanes are not healthy.

I still do the weekly .5k to take the rubbish to the end of the lane and occasionally run up the field.

Chopping firewood is energetic.

Injuries take ages to heal.

[urbanprepper]

Getting fit is high on my priorities thought I was quite fit being a mountain biker but having jogged to work this morning for the first time was quite shocked at myself. Treadmill running and outdoor running are completely different when shtf u won't be running on a machine but over rough terrain and I found out today it hurt my ankles alot.

[featherstick]

Oh this is on my mind at the moment.

Used to be very very fit - triathlon and marathon fit. Then life changed, I went back to school, started commuting, met a girl, settled down - put on 2kg a year for 10 years.

Now I'm 45, I have a 6 year old and a 1 year old, and I want to stay alive as long as I can for them. I get up early so I can get a 2.5 mile run in on the way to work from the train station, and the same on the way back. 5 miles a day, 3 or 4 times a week. I have stopped eating biscuits at work - this has made a HUGE difference. We eat healthily but I eat too much so stopping biscuits was difficult but a really good move. I don't do enough upper body/strength work apart from working on the allotment and landscaping the back garden, but I try and do a few press-ups and planks in the toilets at work when I think about it.

All my vitals are good - blood pressure, cholesterol, bloods etc. so I'm base healthy and the regular running is great, but knackering, so I'm off to bed now!

[Le Mouse]

Treadmill running and outdoor running are completely different when shtf u won't be running on a machine but over rough terrain and I found out today it hurt my ankles alot.

^^^^ This with knobs on! This is why I haven't gone out this morning because I have a sore ankle from yesterday and I'll only knacker them if I don't give them a rest. I've decided to limit running to 3 times a week for the first couple of weeks to build up my muscles slowly.

[featherstick]

Treadmill running and outdoor running are completely different when shtf u won't be running on a machine but over rough terrain and I found out today it hurt my ankles alot.

^^^^ This with knobs on! This is why I haven't gone out this morning because I have a sore ankle from yesterday and I'll only knacker them if I don't give them a rest. I've decided to limit running to 3 times a week for the first couple of weeks to build up my muscles slowly.

PLEASE if you are starting to run, get fitted for the right footwear for your weight, running style and pronation/supination. Any decent running shop will have a treadmill with a video camera nowadays. Running on hard surfaces is extremely wearing on joints so take it easy and build up slowly. I am sure you know all this already and I am being terribly patronising, forgive me.

[FEISTY]

Treadmill running and outdoor running are completely different when shtf u won't be running on a machine but over rough terrain and I found out today it hurt my ankles alot.

^^^^ This with knobs on! This is why I haven't gone out this morning because I have a sore ankle from yesterday and I'll only knacker them if I don't give them a rest. I've decided to limit running to 3 times a week for the first couple of weeks to build up my muscles slowly.

PLEASE if you are starting to run, get fitted for the right footwear for your weight, running style and pronation/supination. Any decent running shop will have a treadmill with a video camera nowadays. Running on hard surfaces is extremely wearing on joints so take it easy and build up slowly. I am sure you know all this already and I am being terribly patronising, forgive me.

I agree, but I have an a-typical problem. As someone who used to do a bit of cross-country at lunchtime for fun at school, yoga, a bit of dancing, etc, I am now only doing Pilates once a week at most and get the rest of my exercise from housework, gardening and humphing shopping around. I tore my cartilage in my 20s and struggle to run because I get a crippling pain across my feet. I would love to get sorted out for this, but my problem is that I'm petite in pretty much every way and have tiny feet. There just are no proper trainers out there. I can kit myself out with most type of shoes which cost a fortune, but walking boots and trainers have to be kids ones which don't have the technology built in (I buy the least child-like ones out there and no-one but me ever knows ). The walking boots are never waterproof and the trainers are always a bit too wide for my narrow feet and have almost no support for arches, ankles ... If you know how this can be sorted out, I'd love to know, but I'm 50 now (a well-held-together 50 ) and I've yet to find the solution. I'm gearing up to get a lot fitter in the next few months, but anything like a 5k run is out of the question at the moment. Will be heading for the great outdoors with the kids (and OH if I can convince him to take his nose out of a book when he's not working/sorting out stuff for me) in the not too distant future and getting kitted out for that. Long distance walking in the fresh air is the goal for the moment. Looking forward to it. I may even go back to Zumba and archery is in the plan too. I'll be doing yoga at home and using the rebounder to strengthen joints. The gym is just too boring for me and there's no point in going 'cos I just won't keep it up.