The Chubby Survivalist

As part of becoming a survivalist, I realized there are a couple things everyone can do to train for the worst and improve their odds.  So far, I’ve uncovered four categories: Defense, Medical, Fitness, and Research.  I’ll tell you about my experiences so far, and what I have planned for the near future.  This is Part 3, Fitness.

I make no secret about my current level of survival fitness.  I weigh almost 300 pounds, and in a survival or disaster situation, this would be a huge (pun intended) liability.  I made a really good attempt to lose weight a couple years ago, and I lost 45 pounds as a result.  But I made the mistake of running a really long race, and afterward I needed a week of recovery time.  That week turned into a years-long vacation that only ended a few weeks ago.

I’m starting my current fitness effort the same way I did back then, with two differences.  First, I’m approaching this from a survival point of view.  The faded glory of that one great accomplishment, the race, is long gone.  I even gained back all the weight I’d lost, plus five pounds.  The slap in the face is that at the end of the race, I was one of the last finishers and they’d run out of medals.  Must have been an omen.  The second difference is that I’m in this for the long haul (survival is a lifetime pursuit, heh), and won’t let my daily regimen get too difficult to maintain.

All that said, I’m basically starting the same – by walking.  My recent 8 mile survival hike was sort of a baseline, after just a couple weeks of elevated walking.  I wear a step counter (pedometer) at all times, and I know that without trying, I average only 1,500 steps a day.  I work a desk job, which doesn’t help.  I’ve ramped up to walking 3-4 times that much every day.

I started by looking at the opportunities that exist without even leaving my house.  I have a large yard, and if I mow it the good way (overlapping 50% on each pass) it takes an hour and a half.  If I split the front and back yards into separate mowing days, I get about 3,000 extra steps each of those days.  I’ve also tried to be more diligent about taking out the trash more often, getting the baby, and even cleaning.  Those chores add up.

Next, I’ve started walking more with my family.  I’m using the opportunity to impart some survivalist training to my young boys while we’re at it.  They’re learning to read simple maps of the neighborhood to tell me where we need to turn next to reach out destinations.  It’s fun, and quality time.

Finally, as a last resort, I insert solitary walking time into my day.  I’ve figured out I walk about 1,000 steps every 10 minutes.  It’s crazy, I can double my usual amount of steps in a day, simply by walking 15 minutes.  That’s why it’s so easy to find 30-45 minutes a day to squeeze in that extra walking, and average around 5,000 steps.

The goal is to eventually get to about 10,000 steps a day.  It’s a big effort, and last time around I ended up eventually jogging those workouts because you get your steps in faster, and it’s the natural evolution in fitness training.  I just need to keep the focus on survival training, and that means striving for longer distances (walking or jogging) instead of faster times.  It also means that no matter how much running I start to do, hiking will need to remain as a staple of my workouts.

I have a good mid-term goal in mind.  Last winter I finally went deer hunting with my dad, after years of not being able to coordinate schedules.  Last year was brutal – hours a day of trekking through the Nebraska Sandhills left me out of breath and almost unable to continue more than once.  I want to be able to put in a good 4-8 hours of hiking per day to get the most out of the trip.  I want to be able to track a trophy buck for miles without tiring.  The advantage of hunting mule deer is that they only run until danger is out of sight, so if you’re in good shape you can make multiple attempts to approach the same animal until you succeed.

I hope that one day I’ll be in good enough shape that the name Chubby Survivalist will seem like a misnomer to people who didn’t know me before.

As part of becoming a survivalist, I realized there are a couple things everyone can do to train for the worst and improve their odds.  So far, I’ve uncovered four categories: Defense, Medical, Fitness, and Research.  I’ll tell you about my experiences so far, and what I have planned for the near future.  This is Part 2, Medical Skills.

While a firearm is a good step toward safety, I’m not ignoring the other aspects of preparation.  One is basic medical training.  July 10th, I’ll be taking First Aid and Adult/Child/Infant CPR training through the Red Cross.  This is typically broken down into three separate courses: First Aid, Adult CPR, and Child/Infant CPR.  These are considered the staple certifications for basic preparedness, and are often required in jobs that involve the care of others.  Taken separately they can add up to over $100, but you can take them all together in a one-day course for just $60 in Kansas City.  I’m sure pricing is comparable in other cities.

This gives you 3 year certification for First Aid, and 1 year certification for Adult/Child/Infant CPR.  More importantly, it gives you the life skills necessary to care for yourself, your family, and others in times of need.  I’ve taken it before, but it’s been years.  My certifications have long expired, but more importantly my knowledge has too.  Just as I’m spending time at the shooting range to sharpen my shooting skills, I plan to volunteer at local events to practice and internalize my first aid training.

As an additional step, I want to take CERT training.  CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Teams.  This training is more extensive than the Red Cross training, spanning several weekly evening sessions involving disaster preparation and response.  For around $60, you get the training along with a pretty handy emergency kit.  You get a helmet and vest that identify you as a CERT member, along with a flashlight and other goodies.  There’s no obligation to serve in times of emergency, but you’ll likely be willing and able to coordinate your neighborhood in such a time.  Sadly, no classes are scheduled in my area in the near future, so I’m on a waiting list.  Perhaps there’s just not enough interest.  There should be.

As part of becoming a survivalist, I realized there are a couple things everyone can do to train for the worst and improve their odds.  So far, I’ve uncovered four categories: Defense, Medical, Fitness, and Research.  I’ll tell you about my experiences so far, and what I have planned for the near future.  This is Part 1, Defense.

I recently purchased my first handgun: a Glock 21SF, which is a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol.  The SF stands for Short Frame, and fits in most people’s hands better.  Even having grown up around long guns (rifles and shotguns) I opted to take a basics class on handguns.  I live in Kansas City, and I highly recommend Targetmaster Shooting Academy after taking their three hour course.  It’s offered in the evenings, and for $80 I was taught by the president of the Kansas Rifle Association.  It also included a $20 annual membership to The Bullet Hole shooting range to practice your new skills, and all the gear (gun rental, ammo, eye and ear protection rental) that would normally cost about $25.  You also get some very informative handbooks, so it’s a great deal.

Of course, it’s important to realize that a class like this is just a starting point.  If you haven’t bought a gun, the class alone won’t protect you.  But with the skills learned, you can safely rent and fire a number of guns to see what works for you.  You can try out guns for just $5 at The Bullet Hole, which is a heck of a deal.  If you’ve already purchased a gun like I did, then practice is the next step.  I’m doing that regularly.  I’ll have to post some target pics!

I’ve joined the NRA, to help protect my gun rights.  The cost for a 1-year membership is $35.  I could swear I saw a deal for $10 off your first year somewhere, but I couldn’t find it when it came time to signup, so I paid full price.  That’s okay, because  it almost pays for itself in member discounts.

My next step with firearms will be to acquire my Kansas Concealed Carry permit.  This requires an 8 hour course, which can also be taken through Targetmaster Shooting Academy.  The course will be $100 after my NRA membership discount ($125 regularly) and the permit costs $110 in county and state fees.  I’ve already spent several hundred dollars on my gun, bulk ammo purchases (wal-mart has the best deals, but it goes fast when it’s in stock), class, and range fees, so I’m going to wait on this one.

I don’t plan on walking around everywhere with a gun, but I’d definitely like to carry it on hiking/camping trips when I’m away from “civilization”, and if I need to go somewhere unsafe, especially at night.

There are other forms of defense, including hand-to-hand combat and knife training.  I have friends who study Krav Maga and it seems to be an excellent martial art.  Personally, I’m starting this process very out of shape, and I have an eye condition that makes me prone to detached retinas if I’m hit in the face.  For those reasons, I’m postponing martial arts training.  Even with my eye condition, though, I plan to find a way to build some basic defense skills.  All in good time.