«-- Letter Re: A Federal Reserve Balance Sheet Disaster | Main | Note from JWR: --»

Keeping Ourselves Injury Free WTSHTF, by Bubba's Wife

Some of us with desk jobs in the current economy (who possibly stop at Starbucks more than we should) have a bit more to do than just preparing our retreats. I will attempt to address the issue of keeping our bodies injury free, during the upcoming adventures. In the coming economy, there’s going to be a lot of hard, physical work and chiropractors will be hard to come by.

I believe that our family’s preparation plans are going to have to include a plan to bring our bodies up to a standard of fitness, flexibility and strength. Every family member is going to have to be at the top of his or her game, physically. Realistically, we don’t know how bad it’s going to get, so we need to prepare for the worst. In my mind, TEOTWAWKI could mean having to care for our families in a combative environment, without a reliable medic and perhaps far from our medical supplies. In that kind of environment we are going to have to rely on our bodies like never before.

The most important part of the preparation of our physical bodies is going to be flexibility. Thorough flexibility can and will prevent an injury that a stiff, inflexible body could suffer from for months. Have you known anyone sidelined for months or even years with a bad back? WTSHTF, that’s not going to be an option. Our survival will depend on being able to get it done, every day.
The second most important part of your preparation is going to be your “core” strength. This is the strength at the center of your body, mainly your abdominal muscles. A strong core means a strong back. Also, your balance and agility come from having a strong core.

The last, yet still vitally important, part will be muscular strength. Strong arms, legs, glutes, etc. will ensure that we are able to accomplish what we have to. We can be certain that there is some hard work ahead. It’s better to be prepared, than to discover too late that we’re not up to the task.

Before we head off to the gym, gung ho to “get in shape,” keep in mind that we won’t have an LA Fitness Center nearby to maintain our physique. So let’s build it, the way we’re going to have to maintain it. Realistically: at home, without equipment.

We aren’t aiming for a perfect physique. We don’t even need a pretty physique. We need a strong, flexible physique that does what it’s told. Like our children and pets, our bodies have to be trained to respond and comply without hesitation, and without letting us down.

Let’s start with flexibility: Every day, without fail, we need to spend some time stretching and limbering our bodies. This is not until we get to our goal – this is forever. Here are some stretches that should get every inch of our bodies limber: I got these stretches from “The Genius of Flexibility” by Bob Cooley (ignore the “Chinese Medicine” and “Energy Flow” Schumer– but the stretches are good.) You may find better stretches in your own health library. (YMMV)

1. Knee to forehead: increases flexibility and strength of lateral leg, hip, torso, and neck muscles.
Lie on your back. Pull right knee halfway to your chest and place the left ankle over your right knee. Place both hands on the back of your right thigh, close to your knee. Stretch the muscles on your left hip and thigh by resisting your left leg and ankle against your right thigh, as you pull your right knee toward your chest with your arms. Repeat several times and switch sides.
2. Lateral bend: increases strength and flexibility of arms and torso muscles.
Stand with feet together and grasp your hands together above your head. Continuously contract the muscles on the side of your torso by pulling your left arm downward and using your right arm to lean over to the left. Turn your head and torso towards the ceiling. Return to starting position. Repeat several times, and then switch sides.
3. Thigh stretch: front of thighs.
Kneel on all fours with your hips aligned over your knees, and your hands and wrists under and in alignment with your shoulders. Bring your left lower leg and foot up against the wall with a rolled up hand towel to cushion your foot. Step up onto your right foot in front of you and lunge deeply forward, slanting your torso slightly forward. Contract the muscles on the front of your left thigh by pushing against the wall with your left foot while you bring your hips back next to your left foot. Return to starting position. Repeat several times then switch sides.
4. Forward bend: back of thighs and calves.
You can do this standing or sitting. Spread your legs shoulder width apart or wider, and bend forward. Grasp your ankles with both hands. Contract the muscles on the inside back of your thighs as you bend forward, straighten your legs, and pull your head down between your legs with your arms. Return to starting position. Repeat several times.
5. Central leg extension: back of legs and up spine.
Lie on the floor on your back. Bring your right knee up to your chest and bend your lower leg. Grasp hold of your right ankle and foot with both hands. Contract the muscles on the back of your legs and up your spine by kicking your heel toward your butt while you bring your heel up toward your head with your hands. Repeat several times and switch sides.
6. Child's pose: back of shoulders and arms. Kneel on the floor. Curl your torso and head toward your knees and place your elbows and hand parallel to the floor in front of you. Contract the muscles on the back of your shoulders and arms as you pull backwards and push downward against the floor. Press your lower legs against the floor as you arch your back.
7. Lotus – inner thigh.
You can do this sitting up, or laying on your back with you feet up the wall. Bend both knees and put the soles of your feet together. Contract the muscles on the inside of your thighs by squeezing your thighs together while your hands press you’re your thighs open
Remember when stretching – inhale before the stretch and exhale through the stretch. Always stretch slowly, no bouncing or jarring – which could damage the muscle rather than strengthen it. (This seems completely counterintuitive, but give it a try – it works: if you contract your muscles through the stretch, you’ll get a better stretch and you’ll build muscle strength isometrically.) Stretch every day and we’ll all be limber as house cats in short order.
Once we’ve limbered up a bit, it’s time to start working the core. Remember we’re increasing our workout, not replacing anything. : o ) Core strength means balance, agility and a strong back Here are some simple abdominal exercises to get you started: I got these from “Body for Life for Women” by Pamela Peeke and can’t recommend it enough.
1. Crunches:
Lie on the floor, hands behind your head, knees together, feet flat on the floor about one foot from your bum. Push your lower back into the floor, then roll your shoulders up, keeping knees and hips stationary. When your shoulders come off the ground a few inches, hold this position and flex your abdominal muscles as hard as you can for a count of one. Slowly lower your shoulders to the floor, keeping pushing your lower back into the floor for the entire exercise.
2. Reverse Crunches:
Lie on your back with your legs and hips bent at 90-degree angles, and your arms relaxed at your sides, palms facing down. Pull your abs in, and lift your hips as if you were tipping a bucket of water that’s resting on your pelvis. Don’t lift your hips more than a 30-degree angle from the floor. Don’t use your hands to help you pull your hips up.
3. Hip Thrusts:
Lie flat on your back on the floor, with your legs straight up in the air directly above your hips, ankles together and feet flexed. Stretch your arms over your head and grasp the leg of something heavy/sturdy that won’t budge. Lift with the lowest area of your abs so that your hips rise off the floor several inches. Squeeze and hold foe several seconds at the top of the movement, then return to the starting position.
When we have become flexible, and have strengthened our abs and backs: it’s time to build some basic strength. It’s important to handle the flexibility and core training first, because a lack of either will shoot down our strength training in a hurry.
By far, the best method of strength training is calisthenics. No equipment is needed, and exercise can happen anywhere. Calisthenics use the weight of our bodies to build strength – so our equipment is handy at all times.
Again, we’re not replacing any of our current workout – we’re building on it. We’re not trying to build beauty pageant muscles. We want to build functional strength. We want to be strong enough to perform all of our tasks without injury. We want to be strong supple and ready for the unexpected. God designed our bodies to build and maintain muscle mass in response to the demands we put on our bodies. The more demand we put on our bodies; the more we can put on them.
Here are some calisthenics to get started with:
1. Squats:
With feet shoulder width apart, squat as far as possible. Bring your arms forward, parallel to the floor, return to starting position. Repeat.
2. Alternating lunges:
With your hands on your hips, take a step forward with your right leg until your front knee is bent 90-degrees and your back knee almost touches the ground. Push off from your leading foot and return to the starting position. Repeat with your left leg.
3. Push-Ups:
Do manly push-ups, up on your toes; girly push-ups, up on your knees; or even standing and pushing off the wall push-ups.
4. Pull-Ups/Chin-Ups:
Palms face out for traditional pull-ups on a bar to strengthen middle back muscles. Palms face toward you to do a chin-up, which strengthens that back and biceps.This is just a basic outline to get you started. I suggest that you buy a few books on stretching and strength training, just so you have somewhere to go after you’ve mastered the basics. The basics will definitely get you there, but you will probably want to go further. I strongly endorse “Body for Life for Women” and heartily recommend "The Pace Plan" by Dr. Al Sears both programs are short on effort and long on results. There are a lot of good Pilates books out there too.
So here’s my family’s plan, for everyone – even the preschooler and the dog:
Create a flexible body that can twist and bend without snapping anything.
Build abdominal/core strength, so our agile and graceful bodies can hoe a garden (or drag a casualty) without injury.
Build functional strength that will maintain our health and ensure that have that extra effort to give.

Permalink