We don’t have long now, right?
The end of the world is coming, according to the Myans, December 21st 2012.
Well, you are going to be incredibly happy that you are reading End of Three Fitness, about 1,300 of you now, three weeks before this all comes to a screeching halt.
You may want to print this one off before the grid goes down and you don’t have access to the internet anymore. You won’t regret having this “how-to†in your back pocket come December 21st.
This is assuming the world goes post-apocalyptic and we all survive the initial catastrophe!
Learn to Ruck
Your initial thought may be to stay in your house as long as possible, but you’ll soon find that over time your house is nothing more than protection from the elements.
You’ll have to go on many long journeys to either hunt or gather, so you are going to need to learn how to ruck.
Ruck = Long, but generally slow-paced, walk with a heavy backpack that contains all of of the supplies you will need for the journey.
Rucking is no easy feat, and if you have never done it before, you may want to start practicing. It takes quite the toll on the body; especially the back and knees. Right about now you are probably saying, “It’s just walking, what do I need to practice?â€, man am I glad you are reading this.
Your Mission (even if the world doesn’t end): Try some rucking!! Rucking is a great workout, the key is to start of light and work up to the heavier weights, however, going heavy is not even necessary. A long slow walk with some additional weight on your back will get the heart rate more elevated than your normal walk, and get you in pretty good shape!
Ruck Workout:
- Ruck with 10-20% of bodyweight for 1 mile
- 100 push-ups
- Ruck with 10-20% of bodyweight for 1 mile
- 200 sit-ups
- Ruck with 10-20% of bodyweight for 1 mile
- 300 squats
Ruck Tips:
- Use broken-in shoes/boots, nothing new. So either start breaking them in now, or use something already broken-in.
- Pack the weight in the ruck evenly. Not too high and not too low, try to pack towards the middle.
Alright! you are now ready for the long journeys!!
Start Sprinting
We have the long, slow and heavy down. Now, we need to get the quick, fast and in a hurry down.
More than likely, in a post-apocalyptic situation, there will form a band of rebel bandits who will have no sense of integrity or humanity.
If you encounter such a group, lose the ruck and run!!
Being able to quickly get away from dangerous situations will come in handy in any end-of-world situation. Building up some of those fast-twitch muscle fibers will go a long way…but how do we get it done?
Guts!!
This is an old End of Three Fitness favorite. Guts is a workout that will kick your ass and make sure you can sprint, run and everything in between.
Your Mission (even if the world doesn’t end): Do a sprint workout! Sprinting is a rare occurrence is today’s society. So much so, that if I were to ask most people to sprint in their daily lives, they would most likely pull a hamstring or throw-up. Try a sprint workout and find out who you really are.
Guts Workout:
- Run: 2 miles warm-up pace
- Sprints:
- 4×400
- 4×800
- 2×1600
OR
Half-Guts Workout:
- Run: 2 miles warm-up pace
- Sprints:
- 4×200
- 4×400
- 2×800
Notes: Rest 30 secs. to 1 min between sprints.
Guts will whip you into shape! Get ready to run, just pretend you have someone chasing you…always helps.
Assemble Your Army
Plain and simple…You can’t do this alone.
You will need a small, relatively fit and intelligent crew to help you survive. Don’t pick any idiots, just because you feel sorry for them.
Pick some people you know who will contribute to the daily grind. Luckily, here at End of Three Fitness, a guide to creating a fitness army has already been published; check it out here.
Your Mission (even if the world doesn’t end): Look for a few accountability partners who can keep you honest. Keeping fit can be tough, having a few people around who are in the same boat as you will keep you motivated.
Basically you are looking for someone with the following characteristics:
1.) Form over fashion
- A cool term that means the Eo3 Army cares more about doing things correctly as opposed to how ‘cool’ they look.
2.) Muscles for go, not muscles for show
- While we all want to look good, to some degree, without clothes. It is more important to be able to do certain things than it is to look a certain way.
3.) Strength rules all
- One thing that seems to ring true with all the of the Eo3 community members is the importance of strength. The women realize that strong is the new sexy and men know that raw strength is the coolest thing on the planet.
4.) Not afraid to roll up the sleeves
- The Eo3 Army is not afraid to do it themselves with a DIY project, a recipe in the kitchen or even rolling around in the dirt for a workout.
5.) General lack of interest in fitness norms
- The Eo3 Army doesn’t like to be spoon-fed. We do not enjoy being told how to do everything. We like to be shown the door and we will decide if it is good enough for us. Muscle mags and popular workout DVDs are generally seen as taboo anduseless.
6.) Mental toughness practitioners
- The Eo3 Army knows that the only way to get better at fitness and to accomplish more inlife is to become mentally tough. That is why we always go for the extra rep, the extra push, and the extra bit of effort that will make us better than yesterday.
7.) Mutual Respect
- The Eo3 Fitness Army has a strong sense of mutual respect for each other and others. Mutual respect is what does, and will, always separate us from other poorly crafted fitness communities.
Forget Paleo…or should you?
Two things are going to happen in a post-apocalyptic world.
First, you are going to go 100% not paleo…We are talking about survival!! Forget about the all-natural-grass-fed beef or fresh organic vegetables! Get used to sucking sardines out of a can and peas with a ten year shelf life. This will be your bread and butter for a while…till it’s all gone.
Second, you will go 100% paleo…You will eventually learn how to hunt and gather, thus becoming more like our prehistoric ancestors. You will learn to eat fish, poultry, meat, nut, seeds some fruit and you will pretty much be as paleo as they come.
So the main takeaway here is….
- Eat what you must to survive
- Develop some skills that will help you thrive
Hey it even rhymes 🙂
Your Mission (even if the world doesn’t end): If you are in survival mode eat whatever you have to, but until then…Learn what you should be eating and what you shouldn’t be eating. Maybe try out the Paleo diet, or just try a weeks worth of meal planning to see how much better you feel when you are eating healthy.
Today, survival mode is running to Burger King when you are short on time…let’s cut that out!
Never Give up!
A post-apocalyptic world isn’t easy!
Your Mission (even if the world doesn’t end):
Always…
- Keep moving
- Know you aren’t alone
- Do something today that will make you better tomorrow
- Strive strive to be a better human
Never give up!!
-Jerred