subject: 8 Ways Strength Training Could Help You Survive A Zombie Outbreak [print this page] 8 Ways Strength Training Could Help You Survive A Zombie Outbreak
It's no secret that the zombies are a very real danger. An outbreak of the walking dead may always be just around the corner. Whether during the initial pandemonium, the drawn-out fight to survive while awaiting rescue, or the indefinite struggle to persevere in the wracked world of a zombie apocalypse, you'll have to be strong to stay alive. Here are eight ways strength training could help you survive a zombie outbreak:
1. Heavy Lifting
The more you can lift, the easier time you'll have carrying your essential gear and supplies while on the move, as well as moving material around to make barricades or to board up points of entry if you should want to fortify a location. Being able to carry a lot might also come in handy when your comrades' legs give out on them.
2. Quick Strength On The Run
Those pull-ups will pay off when you need to jump, grip a ledge, and pull yourself and your gear up to avoid your shambling pursuers. It's also handy to be able to give your fellow survivors a hand and help lift them up over such ledges. In other situations, you'll be glad for the extra strength when you have only moments to haul heavy furniture to block a door.
3. Climbing
The undead tend to have difficulty following the living up steep or vertical routes. If you can build the strength necessary for basic climbing, you can turn a nasty chase situation to your advantage quickly by climbing up to the high road. It's also good to be able to climb up to high places to keep watch or assume a sniping position.
4. Fast Getaway
While speed training and strength training may be separate matters, if nothing else being stronger in the legs will generally give you more power to draw on when you run, which means better acceleration. When you find yourself suddenly surrounded by decomposing attackers, nothing's more important than getting out of there fast. Fortunately, zombies can't move very quickly, so a good burst of speed is often all you need to escape and get back to your party in time to book it.
5. Better Bludgeoning
While it might be nice to have swords or well-kept firearms and plenty of ammunition in the event of a zombie outbreak, for most of us it's more likely that our weapons of choice will have to be whatever happens to be available. Hammers, cricket bats, crowbars, and the like will be the most effective in the hands of someone who can put more oomph into a skull-shattering, brain-splattering strike.
6. Hand-to-Hand
While nobody wants to end up in a fight with a zombie totally unarmed, it's an unpleasant possibility every survivor must be prepared for. Killing a zombie with your bare hands may come down to simple strength. If you have it, your chances are definitely improved.
7. Escaping Mobs
There are few ways to go as unsettling as being overcome by a gang of zombies and helplessly torn limb from limb. While the odds of breaking away from such a situation without having been infected yourself are slim, nevertheless your surest shot at escaping an immediate demise at the hands of the risen dead is being able to overpower your attackers and break free.
8. Inner Strength
The most important part of surviving a zombie outbreak of any scale is keeping a level head and never losing your cool. Besides just being physically strong, psychological strength is absolutely necessary to see you through when the dead walk. If you can make your strength training program more than superficial, and build your character and your resolve as well as your muscles, you've got a fighting chance.
