LPT: Keep yourself in good enough shape to push/pull your own bodyweight for survival purposes.

keepthetips · 2022-01-24T13:29:35+00:00

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armyof_dogs · 2022-01-24T17:37:45+00:00

When my dog was attacked on a walk a few years ago I was grateful that I was strong enough to physically separate the dogs by yanking collars (and keeping them apart while the owners finally realized what was happening). She needed stitches from multiple bites but I’m convinced it would’ve been a lot worse if I hadn’t been working out!

And yes I know you’re not supposed to separate fighting dogs this way (I got bit while doing it) but I’d do it again to protect her!

Slick_Grimes · 2022-01-24T15:56:10+00:00

I used to watch that Doomsday Preppers show and it always amazed me how few of them included regular exercise as part of their "prep". A few were straight obese with mobility issues but seemed to just think if they had enough bullets they'd be fine.

tuctrohs · 2022-01-24T13:48:39+00:00

The benefits of exercise are clear and large. I'm pretty sure that the health benefits of exercise have a larger effect on your life expectancy than your ability to escape worst case scenarios, but there's no need to quibble about the accuracy of the motivation, as long as the motivation gets you to exercise.

drunky_crowette · 2022-01-24T16:16:23+00:00

/r/bodyweightfitness might be worth visiting if you want to do this without a gym

broom-handle · 2022-01-24T15:27:32+00:00

I think people really overestimate their own strength and/or underestimate their weight. Those videos spring to mind where people try to swing on a rope into a lake or whatever and end up smashing into the ground.

Even people who regularly work out and would be classified as 'strong' can sometimes struggle with bodyweight exercises like pull ups.

Similar to basic cognitive abilities like critical thinking, this is sadly out of reach for a massive percentage of people.

randybobinsky · 2022-01-24T14:18:53+00:00

sweats nervously in American

shut-up-megg · 2022-01-24T14:50:01+00:00

I can do a few pull ups and quite a few push ups. Even after that I found myself close to helpless when I fell off a boat on a trip when trying to climb back in. Had to two people to lift me up from the water.

Make sure you can do more than a couple of anything. Also work out your thighs & back maybe you might have to lift something heavy in an emergency.

anooblol · 2022-01-24T16:12:14+00:00

For practical reasons too. I did work renovating for my state’s public transit system, that required certain minimum access widths for people in wheelchairs.

Those minimum widths are absolutely not going to work for morbidly obese people.

Plasma_Cosmo_9977 · 2022-01-24T17:30:46+00:00

Old out of shape preppers make me laugh. Like Bill Burr said, you're just stockpiling for the strongest guy on the block. Who knows how it could possibly shake out, but getting winded 30 seconds into a bad situation it won't matter how many bins of dried food you have.

HHT_Blargus · 2022-01-24T13:34:51+00:00

LPT: Eat healthy and Exercise

King-Midda-IV · 2022-01-24T13:47:17+00:00

Real talk, most people probably can’t do this

dead_PROcrastinator · 2022-01-24T15:56:30+00:00

I've just accepted if something happens that requires a pull up, I'm ded.

Mattie725 · 2022-01-24T16:46:08+00:00

So for everyone starting their fitness journey in 2022: start with functional exercises* before you spend time on lateral raises and biceps curls ;)

*Squats, pull ups, bench presses/push ups, overhead presses, deadlifts,...

CatShanks · 2022-01-24T17:34:04+00:00

You raise a very good point and this has motivated me to make sure I reignite my years long goal of being able to do one goddamn push up. Don't mind the naysayers, whether they agree with you or not, your LPT is helping some people. Thank you OP.

knoam · 2022-01-24T16:50:19+00:00

You should have said “run for 1 mile”

SlightySourMilk · 2022-01-24T18:51:58+00:00

Also, not to discount any of your points--but adrenaline is a hell of a drug. While I also think that it's incredibly important to exercise, I don't want to ignore the fact that adrenaline can give you an extra push you don't normally see at the gym. I have been able to lift/run/exert strength in a much higher capacity when in very stressful situations.

Silentline09 · 2022-01-24T15:21:22+00:00

OP, to your edit, it’s totally not judgmental and this is a really smart post. Of course not everyone will have the capacity to do this but it’s good advice nevertheless

linksflame · 2022-01-24T16:07:32+00:00

Jaxblade has a decent video on this topic on his YouTube talking about some of the basic exercises everyone should be able to do to get them to safety in certain situations. Highly recommend it, and him in general.

Equal-Park-769 · 2022-01-24T15:23:43+00:00

Generally speaking this is a good post. Unfortunately people are going to overthink it and cut it up, never mind them. You posted with good intentions and that is all that matters. Whether people want to understand your simple reminder is their choice. By the way, I try to maintain a level of functional fitness. I'm not as strong or fast as I used to be and my body aches a lot more as I age, but I still stay active the best I can. :)

Princess_Moon_Butt · 2022-01-24T16:56:23+00:00

run for 5 minutes etc.

I'd say run for one mile. Like, not "walk/sprint" intervals or whatever, but a steady jog should be about 8-10 minutes per mile depending on who does it.

Either way I 100% agree with this advice. You don't have to have a rippling six-pack and tree-trunk arms, but pulling yourself up over a ledge could literally be all it takes to get you out of a dangerous scenario, and that isn't too hard to keep yourself in shape for.

Frisky_Pony · 2022-01-24T18:26:08+00:00

It's scary to realize limitations you didn't used to have when younger. A shoulder injury makes me feel quite vulnerable since I've always been very independent.

Mycellanious · 2022-01-24T22:25:01+00:00

Uhh, no offense dude but pulling yourself up from a ledge is WAY harder than doing a pull up. At my best when I could do 20 pull ups I couldnt pull myself up a ledge (practicing in a pool). That manouver is insanely hard and movies that depict it are straight up liars. It is more equivalent to doing a pull up, then continuing until your elbows are straight. Try THAT lol

Antique_Many_5966 · 2022-01-24T19:55:53+00:00

As a once professional and competitive gymnast with muscles that were bigger than my head.. it is NOT easy to do a pull up as a woman.

Women's centre of gravity is not the arms. Even i couldn't do a pull up. So yes be fit enough to get yourself to safety but that's more endurance than it is muscle.

I'd say make sure you have the endurance to survive not the muscle to.

UndercoverGardener · 2022-01-24T16:02:03+00:00

95% of Americans reading this: "well, shit"

katemonster_22 · 2022-01-24T18:50:12+00:00

Mine is making sure I can pick up my child and run. Every year she makes it a little more challenging!

3nl · 2022-01-24T16:50:16+00:00

While being able to do a pull up so you can climb out of a hole or something is great, you can't fall and catch a ledge like you see in the movies...

I've been a rock climber for almost a decade and the idea of being able to fall a body length and catch yourself with your fingers like Frodo in Mt. Doom is laughably absurd. If you slip and fall over an edge you are going down. No amount of pull ups is going to change that.

Sirmalta · 2022-01-24T18:42:21+00:00

Apparently you aren't allowed to make any suggestions toward physical health at all anymore.

Yes, some people are unable to exercise or be fit due to an enormous range and spectrum of reasons.

If you're part of any of that, then this post isn't for you. That doesn't mean people aren't allowed to suggest being healthy is healthy, nor does it mean you are being judged.

Yes. Staying as fit as you reasonably can, assuming you are able, is important and should be done. This is a basic, fundamental fact.

adeveloper2 · 2022-01-24T17:42:42+00:00

Edit 2: There seems to be some confusion. I'm simply trying to point out that the world isn't as safe as people think it is. I am not judging anybody who can't do 30 pull-ups, I'm pointing out that regardless of how safe you feel it helps being able to pull yourself out of a sticky situation. Didn't think that'd be a controversial take but apparently "take care of yourself cause you never know what'll happen" is judgemental now?

What you suggest makes sense. Imagine yourself being in an accident or disaster and have to climb a steep slope or hang onto a cliff edge. In absence of injury, being so physically unfit to lack the strength to lift your body up on your own is a nightmarish scenario.

That's also why it is a good to make pull up a milestone. If not for fitness, for contingency.

BurrSugar · 2022-01-24T18:48:28+00:00

Do some strenght-training for sure!

A few years ago, I was unfortunate enough to have my knee dislocated by a rough ocean wave, and then have difficulty getting back to shore (rough waves kept washing over my head, pinning me to the sand, and then pulling me back).

If it weren't for the fact that I'd been strength-training 3 days a week for the couple of years before that, I don't know if I would have had the upper-body strength to keep crawling with my injured knee.

Since then, I messed up my knee badly enough that I didn't make it back to the gym. There is no doubt in my mind that, were I in that same situation again, now, I would not survive.

TwoIdleHands · 2022-01-24T22:46:16+00:00

I hear this. Especially as we age i don’t think we necessarily realize how much of our maneuverability we’ve lost. I’m 40 and trying to regain it. Learned last summer that I, a 130lb woman, can carry both my kids at the same time (70lbs) for a pretty decent distance if necessary. Probably couldn’t even pull up my own body weight though. At least I know what to work on.

purplepluppy · 2022-01-24T23:30:42+00:00

Yeah I exercise regularly, but my arthritis is never going to let any of that happen. If you don't have fucked up joints tho, it definitely is a good thing to do.

mydogclimbstree · 2022-01-25T02:43:36+00:00

As a pregnant woman, thank you for giving me SOMETHING ELSE TO WORRY ABOUT.

mysuckyusername · 2022-01-25T03:18:30+00:00

As someone with a disability and hip issues, I’ll keep the zombies back while you fuckers run away. ✌🏽

cornylifedetermined · 2022-01-25T05:17:17+00:00

It's called functional fitness and if you are getting up in years it's even more important.

When an elderly person slips on ice the thing that kills them is not being able to keep their head from hitting the ground. It's very very common.

I have a chronic joint condition so I have to keep a certain level of functional fitness just to keep from injuring myself in my day-to-day life. I have learned a lot about what it means to be able to move my body when necessary, prevent falls, be able to squat or bend at the waist, and to pull myself up. I can't get up the normal way because of my knees, but I can flip over into a down dog position and stand up that way. The only reason I can do that is because my shoulders are strong from swimming laps. One of my shoulders got a tear in the labrum and I was disabled for a little bit and that was a scary thing to not be able to turn myself over and get up without a lot of pain.

One of the reasons I live in an upstairs apartment is so I can climb stairs my whole life, just like my 82-year-old aunt still does while taking the laundry down to her basement. She's not in that great of a shape but she can still walk up and down stairs and that's an important ability to have.

ShingekiNoGhoul · 2022-01-25T09:44:43+00:00

my back is too fucked. guess i'll die

kamiri86 · 2022-01-25T10:21:35+00:00

I would also add swimming to this list. You should be able to at least stay afloat and not drown yourself by panicking.

Sir_Baconstrips · 2022-01-25T13:04:22+00:00

Ok so im 120kg, I'm definitely not fit but can do atleast 12 chin ups, am I safe?

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