Well define 'Athlete'. Mountaineer here "given the ideal circumstances"... Nah. Even the triathlete side of me; swimming, cycling and running. Pretty sure I train in the cold, heat, wind, sun, rain and snow.
Actually most athletes that are described as a ‘adrenaline junkies' are very emotionally stable, well planned and flexible. Also it helps that athletes have stronger muscles, that protect your body from harm.



Well you can’t really tell what skills are handy to survive. I mean if you do, I would suggest to avoid that situation. But a combination of overall strength and endurance seems to be most sensible to me.
With age comes experience and with experience comes efficiency…

A reasonably fit person should be able to,
Jog a mile, on a paved surface, in 15 minutes.
Carry their own weight up a flight of stairs.
Walk at their own pace, an almost indefinite distance, at least 100 miles in 7 days.
Swim, any style, for 1000 feet in freshwater.
Cycle a mile in 4 minutes.
Cycle 100 miles in a day.

(not claimed to be original but I cant remember the source)

The conversation has drifted to the importance of physical fitness, which I agree with, but I think hikermor is right when he says that knowledge may be more valuable. Most of the emergencies most of us are going to face most often are not on the scale of bugging out. Personally, medical emergencies are probably the highest prepping priority for me.

Last week, I got a real life reminder of why. My husband choked on a hamburger at the dinner table and I had to do the Heimlich. In my kitchen. For real. No equipment in the world would have helped unless the Heimlich didn't work, in which case we would have required serious professional help. It did work, despite my being very scared in the moment, because of years of training and practice. He's fine now, btw, and a much slower eater.

As an aside - I was totally scared. I've done a lot of first aid in my life, and never been scared. It's always an adrenaline rush, but this time, was different. The years of training took over, but I had to consciously remind myself to stay calm. I didn't landmark properly before the first thrust, and had to re-position. The third thrust did the trick. He would probably be dead now if I didn't know what to do. Knowledge is really is power, and it can be a lifesaver.

If you haven't taken a CPR & First Aid course, of if you haven't done a re-cert recently, get on it, ok?!

There's rendering first aid and there's rendering first aid to family members...

I never thought, back when I first took FA (a relatively clueless, single dude) that the most gripping and emotional occasions would be those when treating close family. close to that is treating close friends and colleagues. I'm not talking about relatively simple stuff, but major fractures, possible poisoning, and the like.

I've only had to use my training a few times but when I did its RIGHT NOW! No time to look up the instructions or call for help.*


* You should always call for help - Please use 911.

That is normally correct, except if the individual is too exhaust to actually complete the task, like collecting wood at -40c or building a shelter before the storm hits. A high level of fitness is not critical, but a reasonable level of fitness is in many survival situations. Many individuals simply give up or cut corners and that is why they either suffer or parish, when others survive.

Actually many survival gurus place something like "the will to survive" at the top of the list, and then cite numerous examples where that was the predominant factor. In any case what's in your head is very important....

fitness and knowledge can reinforce the will, and make it less vulnerable.

I'm 67 years old, in reasonably good shape for a desk bound professional and I think I can do almost all of adam2's fitness test. The swim part might not be pretty, might have to float rest some, but I'd get it done. I'm not a bike guy, but given my regular distance walk of 11miles in 3 hours, including a steep 300' ascent and descent and some smaller hills, I think I can do most of the bike part. I'm not sure about the 100 miles in a day. Given that, for a man or women of average age, your requirements may be too low.

Bacpacjac's save with the Heimlich was praise worthy. WELL DONE! It reminds me of an event of my own, about 15 years ago. I became an EMT in around 1973. I also served 5 years , in the Seveties, as a volunteer on a very busy urban ambulance corps. We were taught choke save with a curved forceps. I actually did it once, successfully. But I have only read about Heimlich. At dinner that 15 years ago, I successfully employed the Heimlich maneuver to save my Mother- in -Law, who was choking on a clump of French bread. The "lady" in question, never a fan of mine, never thanked me. She did yell at her husband and my wife for not assisting her. She continued to dislike me, without cause, for the balance of her life. Worst mistake I ever made!

Of course it's always handy to have a real expert on hand:
(I want you to forget I said that if I learn to fly and Doug disappears. He is absolutely NOT tied up in the back as part of the survival kit).

From May 27th Guardian:
'The surgeon who gave his name to the simple but dramatic procedure used to rescue people from choking, saved someone’s life with the Heimlich Manoeuvre for the first time this week aged 96.

Last Monday the retired chest surgeon encountered a female resident at his retirement home in Cincinnati who was choking at the dinner table.

Without hesitation, Heimlich spun her around in her chair so he could get behind her and administered several upward thrusts with a fist below the chest until the piece of meat she was choking on popped out of her throat and she could breathe again.'

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/...st-time-aged-96

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