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Salem WV? Don't know Mark and Teresa Freeman do you?
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Walking as a survival skill?
- Thread starter hollowdweller
- Start date
Salem WV? Don't know Mark and Teresa Freeman do you?
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Many good things said here. The body will take care of you if you maintain it . Even few simple stretches daily can make a huge difference.
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Good advice on daily stretches....I jacked up my back...and I am in rehab , and all I am doing is simple stretches ...I asked for pills and I think it made them made and may me do more stretches...all I wanted was some muscle relaxers...no pain no gain she said, I am in pain from my back hurting ,severve muscle spasms..3-4 muscles.. no shots or anything... Ok daily stretches..2weeks later pain subsided enough it does not hurt to laugh...- Joined
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I injured mine 8 years ago. Part of my DAILY routine is the stretches they taught my during that rehab. I have skipped them a few days at a time, but on day 3 or 4 I wake up tight and know why.
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I never thought of walking like this before. Going up 3 flights of stairs or a 5 mile walk hasn't ever really been a big deal. Good post!
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Its sure true that once you get out of the habit or out of shape, it's hard to regain. This is really true as you get older. I was recently in a wheel chair for six months and walking again was just right there next to imposable.
About 8 years ago I had a surgery that left me in a coma for two months. When I came out of it, I could not walk without a walker even though the surgery had nothing to do with my legs or feet. Three months now out of the wheel chair, I can walk almost normal but nowhere near as far as I could before and I still have trouble with my balance. I doubt that I could walk around the block without stopping for a rest.
Guys and Gals, while you are young and able, get in shape and stay in shape. If you don't, you will pay a big price later. And that, I didn't learn from a book.
I feel you!! Walking is definitely a survival skill. I have been out of my wheelchair for about a month now after breaking both of my legs in August (see avitar- me laying in the field half hour after it happened). Yesterday being Family Day here I decided that it was about time to go for a "walk" (more like crutch assisted waddle). Two blocks later I was done!! Not only that but try breaking both legs in a field and not being found for a 1/2 hour!! Not only was I wondering what happened to everybody else that jumped with me (mostly my now fiancee) but also wondering what I would do if I did not know that people were looking for me.
This bears repeating --Walking is definitely a survival skill!!!
I would add and repet what everyone on here basicly said already. You dont know what it means to walk and do the normal everyday things. Untill you cant do it no more. Afew years ago during practice i had both knees twisted bad. I couldnt walk far with out pain. gained 25lb and got out of shape. Even today sometimes the pain in my knees would put me down. It take hard work to get back into shape. I can appreciate the ability to walk now as basic as it sound. I know how everyone else feels when they cant walk all of a sudden. Its not just the pain it the feel in your gut, when you cant do what you used to do.
Sasha
Sasha
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Walk out, keep your arteries clear, weight down, muscle mass up -- all are elements of survival, and not just "an incident or event", but living w/o heart and circulatory problems. Quality of life issues, in other words. I love to hike w/my dog, whether it's "hiking with a gun", as my wife calls my version of quail hunting, or just hiking. Certainly easier on the spine and joints than running, and the more you do, the more you can do.
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I think walking counts as the #1 survival skill - and the more you practice it, the better. Our bodies are designed for walking - as a method of locomotion, humans are incredibly efficient walkers burning very few calories to cover enormous distances:
Human walking is accomplished with a strategy called the double pendulum. During forward motion, the leg that leaves the ground swings forward from the hip. This sweep is the first pendulum. Then the leg strikes the ground with the heel and rolls through to the toe in a motion described as an inverted pendulum. The motion of the two legs is coordinated so that one foot or the other is always in contact with the ground. The process of walking recovers approximately sixty per cent of the energy used due to pendulum dynamics and ground reaction force. - from Wiki (emphasis mine)
We can thank our biomechanical ability to walk far more than the stone knife or atlatl spear for our success in colonizing this planet.
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Since this forum is under Tactics I thought I would share something that helps me
I'm fat and uphill is harder for me than downhill. I read in one backpacking magazine a walking method when you are going uphill and getting tired. It said to just briefly lock your knee when you take a step and put your foot down and it takes some of the strain off. It also said rather than waiting till you start breathing heavy to concentrate on taking longer breaths before you start to feel tired.
I have tried both of these and they seem to work.
I'm fat and uphill is harder for me than downhill. I read in one backpacking magazine a walking method when you are going uphill and getting tired. It said to just briefly lock your knee when you take a step and put your foot down and it takes some of the strain off. It also said rather than waiting till you start breathing heavy to concentrate on taking longer breaths before you start to feel tired.
I have tried both of these and they seem to work.
I have the same problem as Hills. When I hike long distances and depending on the weather it hurts like heck sometimes. I usually take some Ibuprofen or Tylenol before and after. It also depends on the terrain and load too.
On long distance hiking I suggest once you get a rhythm, don't stop. Maybe to eat, check bearing, take in the sites, check and dry my feet, etc... when I usually stop. Then right back to that rhythm again. If something is really bothering you though don't ignore the pain check it out before it gets serious. There is nothing like hiking with a huge and deep blister.
On long distance hiking I suggest once you get a rhythm, don't stop. Maybe to eat, check bearing, take in the sites, check and dry my feet, etc... when I usually stop. Then right back to that rhythm again. If something is really bothering you though don't ignore the pain check it out before it gets serious. There is nothing like hiking with a huge and deep blister.
Walking is definitely a survival skill. "Survival" is not just about wilderness scenarios either.
When i went away to college for 2 years i had no access to a car, i was on the proverbial shoestring starving student budget.
I walked to school every day, twenty minutes to get there twenty minutes to get back. Some days i went back and forth twice and i was on campus usually at least 6 days a week (i had keys to the lab so i could work on weekends).
Thats basically a straight run of two years of daily walking without a car (aug 2000-aug 2002).
I lost a lot of weight during that time and in one instance the new healthiness endurance helped me survive a nearly fatal altercation.
Basically i visited a manic depressive school friend, unbeknownst to me he had decided to quit all his meds AND go on a drinking binge.
I arrive there he goes "off " trashes his own apartment gets violent. I get him to leave the apartment (away from his frightened wife) in order to try to cool him down. she wisely locks the door when we leave, then he has another meltdown in the stairwell and proceeds to punch his fists repeatedly into the cinderblock walls.
I later found out he broke all the bones in one of his hands. As i was trying to get him to leave the building to go out and "walk it off" i turned my back on him for a minute (stupid) and he picked me up and almost succeeded in pitching me down the 4 story stairwell.
I got loose of him and made a mad full throttle dash down the stairs and got outside into the parking lot.
Hes a big bruiser but he couldn't keep up and even managed to injure himself running down the stairs and barely made it into the parking lot.
I ran to the gas station three blocks over and called the cops (apparently some frightened neighbors had called as well).
Three cops cars arrive he scuffles with them and is eventually taken away for "observation".
If i hadn't been in good shape if i had been my previous couch potato self at best i would have gotten pummeled at worst i would have had my neck broken being thrown down the stairwell.
Stay in shape its good for you and also because you never really know when troubles are around the corner.
When i went away to college for 2 years i had no access to a car, i was on the proverbial shoestring starving student budget.
I walked to school every day, twenty minutes to get there twenty minutes to get back. Some days i went back and forth twice and i was on campus usually at least 6 days a week (i had keys to the lab so i could work on weekends).
Thats basically a straight run of two years of daily walking without a car (aug 2000-aug 2002).
I lost a lot of weight during that time and in one instance the new healthiness endurance helped me survive a nearly fatal altercation.
Basically i visited a manic depressive school friend, unbeknownst to me he had decided to quit all his meds AND go on a drinking binge.
I arrive there he goes "off " trashes his own apartment gets violent. I get him to leave the apartment (away from his frightened wife) in order to try to cool him down. she wisely locks the door when we leave, then he has another meltdown in the stairwell and proceeds to punch his fists repeatedly into the cinderblock walls.
I later found out he broke all the bones in one of his hands. As i was trying to get him to leave the building to go out and "walk it off" i turned my back on him for a minute (stupid) and he picked me up and almost succeeded in pitching me down the 4 story stairwell.
I got loose of him and made a mad full throttle dash down the stairs and got outside into the parking lot.
Hes a big bruiser but he couldn't keep up and even managed to injure himself running down the stairs and barely made it into the parking lot.
I ran to the gas station three blocks over and called the cops (apparently some frightened neighbors had called as well).
Three cops cars arrive he scuffles with them and is eventually taken away for "observation".
If i hadn't been in good shape if i had been my previous couch potato self at best i would have gotten pummeled at worst i would have had my neck broken being thrown down the stairwell.
Stay in shape its good for you and also because you never really know when troubles are around the corner.
It is definitely a skill. Not only being in shape to do it, but learning to observe the terrain to choose your path. Walking in the woods is different than walking on pavement. Different balance and obstacles. More muscles come into play inculding the one between your ears. Good thread hollow and good responses.
Terry
Terry
One good way to enhance your walking prowress is a walking stick or two. I can easily cover twice the distance using two sticks when backpacking. I heard it before when people mention to lock your knees when tired. I find that on loose dirt if you slip its harder to catch your self. I always walk with the knees bent and never locked. I also find that moving your body weight from one foot to another while walking i get less tired. The draw back is that i were told it reminds people of a bear cause my body keeps moving from side to side. Actualy had people walk across the street at night when i walked toward them...
Sasha
Sasha
Knowing when to walk, and when not to walk is most definately a survival skill.
Aswell as how to walk. (Walking more slowly uphill, so as not to drain your reserves completely, and taking care not to walk too quickly downhill, to make sure you don`t go a*s over head and injure yourself.)
That`s in a survival scenario mind you. Ordinarily, we`re able to "experiment" a tad more. Ofcourse, if we experiment too much, we might find us in a survival scenario where we`re unable to walk.
Aswell as how to walk. (Walking more slowly uphill, so as not to drain your reserves completely, and taking care not to walk too quickly downhill, to make sure you don`t go a*s over head and injure yourself.)
That`s in a survival scenario mind you. Ordinarily, we`re able to "experiment" a tad more. Ofcourse, if we experiment too much, we might find us in a survival scenario where we`re unable to walk.
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- Dec 16, 2006
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First time post to this forum. Good luck udtjim.
A year ago I fell on the ice and broke my left hip, at 47 that's pretty rare. After unsuccessfuly screwing it together, I had it replaced. I taught myself to walk twice last year and can now walk 2-3 miles. About 2.5 is my daily workout. I feel that walking IS a survival skill and intend to continue honing it.
It it easily taken for granted...I sprained my left ankle Friday night playing basketball at the YMCA. Funny thing is it was almost a year to the date from when I dislocated my right foot last year playing basketball:thumbdn::thumbdn::thumbdn: The dislocation was far more severe, and will cause me problems for the rest of my life, such as "early onset artheritis" which I have now been diagnosed with:thumbdn: This new recent injury is more of an aggravation than anything. It's already a lot better, I can walk around and it doesn't really hurt anymore either:thumbup:
YMCA basketball is a haven of injuries. In July I sprained my knee, and tore my hamstring and calf. The entire backside of my leg looked like grape jelly for a couple of weeks because the bruising was so bad. Now 7 months later the hammy and calf are doing great, but the knee still bothers me a little bit. The tragedy was that the injury occurred in the last game of the season.