You’ve probably heard the saying, “Survival of the fittest” and it is true. If you are strong and fit, you will have exponentially higher chances of surviving anything, even the end of the world. If you always want to increase your chances of survival before and after the doomsday, then you will like weightlifting for survival.
Why Does Weightlifting Help Your Chances of Survival?
There are several ways weightlifting for strength can help you and yes, one of them is bashing zombie’s heads. Here are a few good reasons to start strength training right now:
Increases Muscle
Weightlifting is going to increase muscles not only in your legs but also in the arms. Coincidently, both the legs and the arms will come in handy once the radiation ghouls come for you. While weightlifting won’t increase your running stamina, it will help in jumping higher and faster. Bigger and healthier muscles mean you will be able to do extraneous tasks with ease too.
Lift More
With better muscles comes better lifting power. You can lift inventory more easily, lift chopped wood and even lift a person in an emergency. Lifting power is one perk that will come in handy even if the world doesn’t end either. Plus your arms will look amazing, which is always a good thing to have, just make sure you have ample T-shirts.
Less Back Injuries
Back pain is the worst! I only wish that on my worst enemies, which are mosquitoes.
Having a strong back can help in almost all walks of life. You can lift without having tweaks in the back, you can sit for a longer period without any support and you can tie your laces without crying out in pain.
A strong back means you will be able to do more without any hiccups in performance.
Scare Away Scavengers
After the world ends, people are going to eye your safe place for sure. One way to avoid scavengers is to have protection and another is to just scare them away with your awesome physique.
This wouldn’t work well if they bring weapons, but at least you will look amazing when fighting them.
Get Better Mates
Your lineage must go on and for that, you need better mates in the post-apocalyptic world.
Strong people attract strong mates, it’s just science.
Jokes aside, having a strong body increases your endurance and survival and can, in theory, attract an equally awesome mate.
The Three Big Lifts
The Three Big Lifts build up your strength in an effective way:
Squat
This one is the easiest one, not to do but to understand.
You place the barbell on your shoulders and squat. That may sound simple to do but after a couple of reps, you will start feeling the burn. This way you know it is working.
The most typical rep scheme is 3 sets of 5 reps.
Deadlift
The deadlift is not something you do after you slay a zombie. Well, technically this will come handy if you are going to hunt for food. Just like you want to bring in all the grocery bags in one trip, the deadlift is all about lifting weight with your arms. You grab the barbell and pull it upwards while standing.
Press
This one is a bit complicated and I recommend taking care while lifting. You simply press the barbell overhead like they do in the Olympics. I highly recommend you start with low weight on this one, I don’t want you to use your first aid kit on your head.
Where to learn the Big Three?
There are several sources you can consult for a better form. I recommend a great book named Starting Strength. Having a hard copy of that book is essential so even if the internet goes down, you will have the necessary knowledge safely secured.
The Equipment
To do weightlifting for survival, you will need some equipment. In an ideal situation, you would have a whole home gym in place with everything you’ll need however, you don’t exactly need a ton of stuff for weightlifting. Here is what you need:
The Rack
There are two types of squatting racks. One is a full rack that takes up more space but is a lot more secure. We have a list of some awesome full racks here.
The other is a half-rack that takes less space but naturally doesn’t provide full security. Check out the best half rack list to get the best one for you. What you get depends on your needs and available space.
The Barbell
The barbell is the backbone that lifts the weights. And as a bonus, it can be a very handy melee weapon too.
You don’t even need to splurge on the barbell, most are made with great quality materials that can last ages. Here’s a list of best Olympic barbells, I recommend the Olympic kind because they will be compatible with Olympic weights.
The Weights
You’re going to need a set of Olympic Plates to get started. We recommend finding these used in your area. We have a guide on our site to finding used home gym equipment.
If you are just starting a set of bumper plates can also be a great investment. They will not only cushion the impact if you let the barbell go from some height but also help in avoiding damages to the floor.
Conclusion:
Strength is one of the most important attributes to have to increase your survival rate. However, only strength is not enough, you need to build up agility and endurance too. That can be achieved with proper cardio and a good diet.
Making a home gym is not that hard though making room for one can be a real challenge.
Some people just don’t have the luxury of an extra room they can convert into a gym.
However, if you do have spare space to build a gym, visit our website for some awesome guides on how you can do so. Your garage, basement, garden shack, and even the attic can be repurposed into an awesome and affordable home gym!
