‘Strong people are harder to kill’. it’s a quote we’ve all heard and it’s definitely a quote I’ve used to reward myself for training. I’m making myself harder to kill, more of a survivor and less of a burden. But what really makes me harder to kill? I guess that depends on the situation. For this weeks blog post I wanted something a little bit lighthearted so I’ve gone with ‘what would make me harder to kill in a zombie apocalypse’. Enjoy.
So the zombies have arrived, from wherever, the source isn’t important but they’re here. Marauding the country looking for non-zombies to consume, we’ve all seen the movies. For this post we’re talking about the fast moving zombies you get, like World War Z type ones, not the slow, mindless ones you get in Shaun of the Dead. The human race is scrambling for survival, governments have collapsed and basically we are on our own. No worries we’ve been prepping for this physical challenge for years, we are ready! All this fitness is going to pay off.
But is it. What fitness do we really need to survive the zombie hordes:
Strength: so you’ve got a double body weight back squat, awesome. You are strong, can carry heavy loads and will be able to hold a door closed against the brain dead rabble trying to get in. Hero. But you are also probably hungry. Being strong often means you are carrying more muscle mass and therefore require a load of calories to function. Tesco is currently closed for obvious reasons and food is in short supply. All that muscle is now just a drain on our food supplies and your bulk means you can’t keep up on the long treks to find the next food source. Damn.
Now being strong is obviously useful, it will help you with pretty much every physical task but we need to stop short of excessive bulk to allow excessive strength. Just strong enough will do.
Speed: we need to be fast. Those World War Z zombies are speedy and I think even Usain Bolt would struggle to out run one head to head. But we don’t need to out run one technically. We just need to be faster than the person next to us. As long as we aren’t the slowest we are going to get away, this time. Best we start working some more speed work into our training.
Endurance. Now I’m the first to admit I hate running. I think it gets way too much hype in the fitness industry as the go to for cardio. I also think it’s boring. I do however gladly acknowledge I won’t be airbiking myself away from a load of zombies. Running is going to be the difference between life and death, more so than any other physical attribute. The ability to transport myself on my own two legs, a long way and with relative speed is going to keep me ahead of the encroaching undead. If I can keep moving I can probably stay alive!
I hate to say it but some long running in your training is going to pay off come Z day.
Resilience: not something we readily associate with exercise but I’m pretty confident some long AMRAPs, EMOM’s and air bike sessions have built a mental toughness in me that I wouldn’t otherwise have. This resilience and the ability to keep moving is going to help no end.
So if we’re honest with ourselves looking like a cover model isn’t going to help us survive the zombie invasion, matching Eddie Halls deadlift is only going to make me a bigger meal for the mindless rabble and as much as we might hate it running is going to the be the thing that keeps me alive the longest when the undead arrive. Best I get out my Garmin!
Obviously this is all tongue in cheek. Hopefully the zombies aren’t coming and for many situations in life it’s as important to be strong as it is to have a good level of endurance. I’ve just got too much time on my hands and wanted to give you all something different to consider.
Keep safe, keep moving and keep Saxon.