Strength Training to Survive

[jdhaines]

I've looked into doing RKC before but the prices are simply insane for someone not in the industry and who won't be using the certification to make money.

 

[Dragon]

Exactly. The knowledge is out there to learn without the certificate. Honestly I don't think the RKC teaches anything I don't now know.

 

[ghunter]

Any physical training is good, but only if it's consistent. I like the heavy bag myself. I plan to slowly add weight training and "encumbered running" to my routine.

 

[misconfig]

I do a 3-day split "Stronglifts 5x5" I only work on compound exercises for the bulk of my routine. ( Squat, Bench, Deadlifts, Standing Rows ) and I only spend the last 15 minutes of working out on a random isolated muscle.

I started working out again after a 6 year hiatus, I've already seen significant gains.

My diet is the hardest part if you ask me, being an ectomorph I find it very hard to put on weight. So I must eat 6-times a day totaling over 3,500 calories per day!

 

[Dragon]

Misconfig, I know exactly how you feel, I gain very slowly as well. The lifts you're doing can definitely gain you some strength and a bit of mass. Your first 12 weeks the gains you'll be making will be primarily from synaptic adaptation(neurological system adapting to being under load and allowing the muscles to fire when necessary) and those gains are always great. I'm still making the same gains myself actually.

Just be ready to alter your workout so you don't plateau as easily in the future. I change my routines every 3-5 weeks and it works out pretty well for me. Now as far as diet goes man, if you wanna gain 3,500 is a maintenance goal. lol If you wanna gain then up your intake to 5,000. Eat a really good breakfast EVERYDAY, eat your normal stuff you like, then eat a cup of cottage cheese before bed everynight.

 

[misconfig]

Misconfig, I know exactly how you feel, I gain very slowly as well. The lifts you're doing can definitely gain you some strength and a bit of mass. Your first 12 weeks the gains you'll be making will be primarily from synaptic adaptation(neurological system adapting to being under load and allowing the muscles to fire when necessary) and those gains are always great. I'm still making the same gains myself actually.

Just be ready to alter your workout so you don't plateau as easily in the future. I change my routines every 3-5 weeks and it works out pretty well for me. Now as far as diet goes man, if you wanna gain 3,500 is a maintenance goal. lol If you wanna gain then up your intake to 5,000. Eat a really good breakfast EVERYDAY, eat your normal stuff you like, then eat a cup of cottage cheese before bed everynight.

Yes sir!

According to my BMR, my maintenance level is 2900 calories a day, I'm adding 500 calories to that in order to stay at a 'lean mass'. I eat TONS of fruits and vegetables, drink milk and water.

My protein normally comes from lean meat, ( Fish and chicken ) but if I'm really having a hankering I won't skate on eating a huge meal.

I eat cottage cheese ( slow protein ) every night before bed, I also take whey 30 mins after my workout ( that's the only time I supplement ).

I appreciate your feedback, I'm constantly learning and looking for ways to maximize my gains.

 

[Dragon]

Awesome Misconfig, just don't forget your fats. 80/20/20 is normally a healthy baseline, 80% Carbs/20 Fats/20 Protein.

I don't worry about doing it for lean mass because I regularly do cardio conditioning and burn some cals so I hover around 6-8% body fat everyday.

 

[misconfig]

Awesome Misconfig, just don't forget your fats. 80/20/20 is normally a healthy baseline, 80% Carbs/20 Fats/20 Protein.

I don't worry about doing it for lean mass because I regularly do cardio conditioning and burn some cals so I hover around 6-8% body fat everyday.

Wow that's a good body fat percentage to be at. I'm anywhere from 10 to 12% right now. Thanks for the tips man!

 

[Dragon]

It's not good if you're trying to gain weight. Haha but thanks, it's a struggle to get the weight on and maintain it but overtime I've learned that if I'm healthy and strong I don't care about the scale.

 

[GPD177]

You guys are lucky, I am the exact opposite. I can gain weight just looking at food LOL. I have to eat very clean to keep the fat down to a decent level.

 

[Dragon]

The grass definitely is always greener on the other side. lol

 

[Dragon]

Here's a question I pose for all of you. Which attribute of fitness would you consider to be the most important in a survival or SHTF scenario? Speed and agility, strength, power, muscular endurance, cardiovascular capacity?

You can't have them all peaking at once so there is always an imbalance.

 

[RichardR]

I would say that would depend on the survival/shtf scenario.

But I think "endurance" would probably be the most valuable across the greatest spectrum of potential scenarios.

 

[GPD177]

My vote would be muscular endurance. I think what would be most needed is long distance walking/hiking carrying a moderate to heavy load. I think someone who is pure cardio (skinny little marathoners) will have a hard time moving the loads needed to survive. A power lifter-mass monster will wear out too fast and might be too slow if a short sprint is needed. In football terms a strong safety would be what I am trying to describe. No wideouts, corners, or linemen. Strong (but not too big), agile, quick, decent endurance ( but not a marathoner).

 

[rhino]

Today a question was posed to me that was interesting. "What type of strength isn't truly functional?" Ultimately I couldn't think of any, because any amount of strength you gain will help you overall.

I can think of at least one: when strength training is taken to an extreme that results in damage to the body. I'm not talking about improper technique or accidents. I'm talking about the kind of toll that very heavy strength training can have on a human body. Most people will never experience this, but there are people who are crippled to different degrees because of trying to get as strong as possible, especially as they age.

Of course, that may not be pertinent to your discussion here.

 

[Dragon]

So GPD, that sounded toward the end like a combination of everything. Am I right? lol

Honestly if I could make it happen, I'd train everything that way I could be prepared to cover the spectrum of necessary abilities. Anymore I'm realizing that some things aren't totally necessary, and other things we take for granted. To me the most important would be power and muscular endurance.

Something I learned with kettlebell training is that I don't really need to run in training in order to still be able to run longer distance. The muscular endurance from high rep kettlebells and circuit training yield great results. Otherwise I work power movements that way I can still explode after running a few miles or hiking a long distance.

 

[Lead Head]

I don't have much to add and don't workout like you young guns but my job requires some difficult climbing sometimes. Not the mountain/rock face kind. Just climbing at odd angles on sometimes slippery, dirty surfaces while grabbing for the next handhold. Sometimes on steel ladders but more often on a smooth sharp incline with a rope. Missing a handhold usually results in an oh **** and some minor injuries.

I don't think OSHA would approve either. Don't tell....

My point is to encourage you to try to emulate some real world climbing conditions. Pulling yourself up, out and over, etc. when the sweat is burning in your eyes with the temps above 90 will be good for anyone interested in survival. If you look for the right conditions, you will find it. Be legal and safe whatever you do or don't get caught.

I do it because I have to, not because I want to.

 

[RichardR]

I am not sure how much climbing I'd be doing post-shtf, but in most "real world" disaster scenarios, chances are I would probably be doing quite a bit of debris clearing & structural rebuilding/repairing right off the bat.

Or in the worst case perhaps a lot of walking &/or bicycling if the situation forced us to evacuate the area without the use of our vehicles, maybe even while one or more of us are injured/wounded & would require being carried out on a litter or something.

*shrug* it's really hard to know before hand what sorts of challenges we'd be facing, but I don't think a person can go wrong focusing on endurance training.

 

[ATOMonkey]

I agree with Rick.

From my limited time working the land, these are the things you'll want to be good at.

1) Carrying heavy stuff for long distance or for a long time.
2) Shoveling, chopping, lifting, swinging, scraping, pushing, pulling various items animals etc.
3) Doing the above as long as the sun shines.

There's not much that requires a huge feat of strength, just lots and lots of little feats for a long long time.

 

[Dragon]

I agree with Rick.

From my limited time working the land, these are the things you'll want to be good at.

1) Carrying heavy stuff for long distance or for a long time.
2) Shoveling, chopping, lifting, swinging, scraping, pushing, pulling various items animals etc.
3) Doing the above as long as the sun shines.

There's not much that requires a huge feat of strength, just lots and lots of little feats for a long long time.

This all equates to muscular endurance but in my mindset I still want to have the power necessary to win a fight after doing all of that for an extended period of time.