As with millions of others in the world one of my new years resolutions was of course, to lose weight and get back into a shape other than round! Just like any other year that I may have made this a goal, I have many reasons for it, so what makes this year different?
I don’t believe that my reasons are any different than others, I want to feel better, have more energy, and be more active in general. While I have been in my routine of exercising and eating more appropriately, I have also been doing a lot of thinking and have realized how important being physically fit for a survival situation could be.
Pro athletes are given a personal nutritionist, a personal trainer whether is be with the team or on there own, and of course a routine to stick with. When these athletes are paid up to the MILLIONS of dollars that they are paid a year, franchise owners and coaches want to make sure that they are in the best physical condition that they can be in for many reasons, but one in particular that I would like to discuss . . . INJURY!
Let’s take football for example, whether you are an offensive or defensive player you are in a very vulnerable situation for injury, the only thing that can help prevent from injury is conditioning. When I played football in high school or course “Hell Week” or two a days were extremely dreaded all summer long, but were there for a reason to kick start you into better shape and get you ready for the season. Conditioning was a way to ensure that even if you did get injured, and it wasn’t a season ending injury, that you could work through it and get back into the game. Without the appropriate conditioning, even the smallest injury could put you out for weeks to months.
When I think about survival I would like to relate it to football, if we are not physically prepared for any situation that we could come across in the wilderness there is a possibility that we could get ourselves in a very dangerous situation. Making sure that we are physically prepared to take on whatever challenge is thrown at us will not guarantee that we will be free form injury, but could be the determining factor in making it out of the situation.
So while you are mentally preparing yourself for survival, as well as practicing the skills that you would need in a survival situation, you might want to consider physically preparing yourself for as well. If you are an avid fan of the wilderness and tend to get out and enjoy it as much as I do, you should prepare for what could be your ticket to getting out of the roughest situations imaginable.