Being physically fit is critical for survival situations. In dire times, we rarely have the opportunity to intake as many calories as we burn. That doesn’t mean you want to be overweight until the situation arises. Many people ask me what my bug out bag contains, what my weapons of choice will be, where I will go, and other questions that are good, but my first question I ask is this: How fit are you?
The best tools for survival are a sound mind and a fit body. The tools are just that, tools to help you do things with less effort than without. No one ever thinks about carrying their bug out bag for miles. Say your bag weighs only 30 lbs. Can you hike or run with that for 20 miles, 30 miles, 50 miles or more? Here are some things you may be doing in a survival situation.
- Carrying 2 gallons of water in each hand so you can boil it. Maybe a 100 yard or a mile from the water to your shelter.
- Running away from a situation for a 3 to 5 miles
- Chopping down a tree or sawing limbs off a tree
- Climbing a crag or a building to get to higher ground with your pack
- Carrying a kill that may weigh over 100 lbs back to shelter so you can prep it to eat
- Fight empty handed or with a weapon either at distance or close quarters
- Use a bow drill to start a fire
- Carrying a human that is critically injured
- And many more strenuous tasks
In a nutshell, you need to be strong, flexible, have endurance, have a solid sense of balance, and of course the skills to survive. Being large has its pros and cons. It’s all about strength to weight ratio over size. Have you seen a power lifter run a marathon anywhere near record time? Have you seen a marathoner that can do 30+ continuous pull ups? I will break down in detail what is the minimum and optimal physical capabilities you should have in this section. You will not get to the optimal point in minimal time, but it can be achieved and maintained. The key thing to remember is that muscle is the first thing to go during a survival situation with the small intake in food.