I am wondering how many folks consider their state of fitness when planning strategies for bug-out, shelter-in-place, or generally. I don't mean how much you can bench press, but rather if you can actually execute what you have planned in the event of emegency.
For example:
Can you pull you self onto a roof?
Can you pull/push your children/wife onto a roof?
How far can you actually carry a 5 gal pickle bucket full of water?
How well can your "team" (family) work together to overcome physical obstacles (like getting on a roof, pushing a car, etc)
How hard is it to hitch that fully loaded bug-out trailer to the car in less than ideal conditions?

What I am curious about it if folks have evaluated and considered the impact of fitness on thier survival prospects and if they have actually put their plans/ideas to a test to get a realistic assesment of thier plans effictivness in relation to thier fitness level...
Just curious....

I stay fit because I hunt above 10000 feet. I could do everything on your list reasonably well--for the time being. But Father Time will eventually catch up to me like it does everyone. Eventually I will not be able to do some or even all of those tasks by my self. I guess what is needed is a constant reevaluation of one's capabilities.

Regards, Vince

I have, from the standpoint of knowing my physical limitations, especially as I get older. I have a general idea of how far I can walk, how much I can carry when walking, etc. If given a choice, my Lady and I would prefer to bug-in. If forced to leave, the motorhome is fully stocked, as is, for one week. Given a few minutes, we could add lots more food and water, and extend that week into a few weeks. If forced to leave on foot with backpacks, we are down to a few days without an additional water source. And I know that sleeping on the ground will take its toll on me. When I was in my 20's, it was fun. Now, in my 40's, it is not so much fun. That was our primary reason for getting a small motorhome (21-foot Chinook). We can still drive to the great outdoors and enjoy it (day hikes and such), but get a quality night's sleep. Of course, it also is a great bug out vehicle. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

My survival objectives don't involve climbing obsticles, pushign cars, or wresting bears. I focus on two areas:

1. 72 hours in the field under the idea that something happens and I (or my family or Scouts) have to wait for rescue. This is a rather passive activity where we focus on health, shelter, warmth, hydration, and signalling. The objective is the have the necessary gear and knowledge to facilitate these needs.

2. Preparation for reasonable issues that happen at home or work. In my suburbia, "bugging out" is really not much of an option. Hitting the roads along with the hundreds of thousands of other people who will almost certainly pile onto the roads at the same time is simply not an option around here. It is hard enough just to drive to work on a normal morning. For the most part we will be forced to shelter in our home or place of work, and I try to plan accordingly - mostly involving making sure we have sufficient water - we always keep a decent supply of food for us, our pets, and our horses (hay/grain). None of this really involves climbing on roofs, pushing cars, or whatever. If I have to climb on a roof, I'll use a ladder.

Hello,
The objective of survival for me: Survive.
While my survival objectives do not include the example excerices, my experience tells me that I am unlikley to be in a survival scenario which develops in accordance with any plan I made. That is why I pose the questions. my post is not meant to slight any particular persons fitness level, but rather determine if the typical person realistically takes into account thier fitness level when developing a plan or stragegy for survival.
You state "The objective is the have the necessary gear and knowledge to facilitate these needs."
I agree fully... How much of this gear can you carry if you need to move locations suddenly on foot? Would that be a possibilty?
Perhaps you are caring for an elderly or infirm relative, will your strength and endurance change the way in which you plan to deal with that persons mobilty? How?
Just Curious...

Because I (we) never know how much we'll be able to do in an emergency situation, I have separated my bug-out gear into three levels: nice to have, really should have and must have. Each set is in a smaller bag. If circumstances warrant, I can start ditching gear in order to continue on.

Way to make me feel guilty for neglecting my gym membership!

I try to take into account my fitness level, or rather, the fact that I am a weakling. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I'm only 5'4" tall and weigh less than 110 lbs. My bicep muscles are about the size of kiwi fruits. I need my husband's help to open most jars.

I would like to get up to the military standard of strength fitness (I have the flexibility down pat, and working on endurance), but I've accepted the fact that I can never be an Amazon. I can hike and swim decently, though admittedly not with a great amount of weight attached. My plans mostly involve hoofing long distances with a realistic-for-my-size amount of weight on my back, and using my head and adrenaline in place of lots of gear.

I guess the best way for me to answer is by past results. The key for us is to plan ahead and react quickly in an effort to gain time for dealing with less strength and stamina.

Our most common emergency sitch is hurricanes. My family bugged out 3 out of 4 times last year. I start bringing preps upstairs into our stilt house when a storm is 4 days out, thus allowing for help from friends and smaller loads. My wife and teen daughters BO to my mother-inlaws home in Cent. Fl. with plenty of time to spare.

However, after Hurr. Dennis, age caught up with me and I learned a valuable lesson. I strained my back BIG TIME when twisting and pulling to tie off a tension line to my truck as I prepared to drop a damaged tree. I was totally useless for several days of the aftermath clean up. I now take great care when dealing with any heavy labor.

In a fast moving sitch you just have to do the best you can, accept physical limitation, don't panic and work smarter not harder.

Hey Old Dude...
I appreciate the candid answers. You have outstanding cred with all of the evacs you have been through.
Let me summarize what key points you bring to the table here:
1. Advance Prep for larger loads and tasks
2. Recruitment of Help for moving large loads
3. Performing heavy tasks carefully/slowly within your physical limits.

Thanks Old Dude..
I think that lines up with assessing tasks in relation to fitness pretty well.

Hi Christina,
Building muscle with power excercises will be more productive when it comes to moving large loads, hiking with big pack, etc.
Size is all relative... Your small muscles require less h20, calories, effort, to maintain... Allowing you to carry less.
Just work on increasing power to weight ratios and dont worry too much about being small.
Good general excercises for building big power:
SQUATS
deadlifts
lunges

You will be motoring around with a 5 gal bucket full of waterin each hand in no time... <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />