Preppers 101, the Jarhead take.

Me and some friends got kicked out of the hotel lobby and are now watching Doomsday Preppers. Watch a joke.

yes, they have some good ideas. But, they are missing the most important thing. When prepping you have to make sure you have things no one can take away from you - Skills and fitness.

A fat man with tons of food is easily robbed of his goods by me.

You will have to move in the apocalypse. Can you bring enough supplies for the rest of your life with you? No.

I am not saying don't stock up. I am saying spend as much effort preparing your body and mind. They can't take your fitness and skills away without getting through your fitness and skills. Fitness is not just physical, it is mental as well.

A good library of books on foraging, gardening, hunting/fishing and natural medicine will do more for you than a bucket of crappy freeze dried foods. Adding some exercise and combat training, you are good to go.

But, the fact is, you will probably just need your food and water supplies. i say this because I don't think a total social break down is going to happen in our life. Our biggest concern should be a Katrina event.

Semper Fi,
Warren

This is why I love the internet I have gained so much knowledge and new skill sets from it.

Practice what you've learned.

Oh I do of course the fact that it is 30 below tonight puts a kabosh on anything lol so I am taste testing another skill I learned on the internet, beer brewing.

It's wise to prep for the most likely scenarios first, usually weather related events. Then continue improving your preps for other possible scenarios. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

walked up and down through some woods for about 5 hours yesterday. found out my knee started bothering me when going up hills. would've never known but it definitely slowed me down so now I'm going to add some sort of knee support to my gear.

trying to bug out won't get you far if body parts bug out on you first.

Cool post JJ. Fitness is something not looked at enough imo. My cardio is weaker than I want right now, but I could make some good time on a 3 mile run and that's a decent base I guess.

Some of the common sense stuff reminds me of something Jeff Randall wrote on BF moons ago- was something like "people buy the newest AR or 1000 rounds but don't have a water filter"

On my short list now are one of those survival seed packet buckets and a book on gardening...

I have always been a maniac for fitness and martial arts. One of the things Architect mentioned in one of his threads is calorie restriction, so I have tried it a few times...it sucks. Think 1200 kcals a day for a few days. I could barely make it through one. I remember reading a book on elite competative wrestlers and they all mention "making weight" was the most intense form of mental toughness.

Prepping for different situations are a good idea. We have so many different situations that one can not prep totally for one and not another. I guess a person has to take a long look at the things going on around them and figure out what is most important. Being that I am from OK and my roots have been here for a few generations our biggest threat is weather, then again we had the Murrah Bombing in 1995, that showed us that the midwest is vulnerable. I know that I am not happy with my preps but do what I can, and to be honest will never be truly happy with my preps. Time will tell, hopefully we will never have to use our skills to survive--I like indoor plumbing,heated house in winter, cool house in the summer, running water, a roof over my head, being able to go into the tore and get supplies without having to toil for it, but what we can call "fun" or a "hobby" is in reality a prep. Making it through a breakdown will be something in itself, but having a skill that you can trade for other items/services will be important too--think about how many people can work on a motor, farm or ranch on a scale needed to support a family, mechanically inclined, those who can actually make something work.......see what I am getting at?

i picked this two book collection a while back at Barnes and Noble when they were on sale. I read some of it and plan to read more, but mostly I got them for a reference library. Some pretty basic stuff on living off the land that has been lost by people like me who didn't grow up on a farm.

I think books like this will go farther than a cupboard full of food. Sure, you need the cupboard at first. Once it runs out, hopefully you started something sustainable.

Was looking at that very book last week!

I just put this and a compaion book, wilderness survival on order. Thanks much!

I hate doomsday preppers. They none of them see a complete prepping view.

Well I guess he better just shoot anyone he sees then.

Good point.

A friend says if I bring the food he's got the beer lol.
But I do support a well rounded plan with the ability to go mobile if you
Can't stay in one location.

Always a good idea to have a plan, then alternate plans as well! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

We have 3 bug in locations and a couple of older mechanical devices to bug out in if necessary.

Sounds good! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

As a fat dude (who isn't really a prepper), I say my fat reserves are my supplies <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> I'll lose weight fast enough when food runs low.

Unless I have to run from the zombie horde, then you can consider me a way to slow them down while you get away!

deffinitely a perspective I didn't consider. Animals fatten up for the winter. That way you'll always have your food reserves with you.

You're definitely right about the other things.

I wouldn't last very long because my physical condition is less than stellar, so would definitely need a "slow start" where I could build up stamina while losing weight before an all out survival panic.

A lot of folks with knee problems say that trekking poles are a godsend. You might want to check them out.

I am not sure about the Trekking brand, but I can tell you that I have used a SY, SR, or Busse blade many times to make a walking stick when fatigue started setting in.

lazi, nothing wrong with admitting age is catching up with ya......it happens to a lot of us DOH!

I found Doomsday Preppers interesting but I can definitely see the heavy hand of the production team. Which is where the focus on one particular doomsday event; I'm sure that they're all just regular prepping for whatever life throws.

However, my personal take on the prepping thang (apart from what's already been said here) is the concept of community. There's only so much that you can do on your own. A community can have a range of skills and abilities and can store a whole lot more than one household. There's a reason that humans are social creatures.

This is precisely why I haven't told you where I live.

I don't need to know you location, exactly. I will just put some corn cobs out and wait.

You may have better luck with nuts, IIRC southern squirrels like them all too well!

DT is in my back yard hanging from my bird feeder right now

as far as Doomsday Preppers... I keep watching hoping to pick up some tips, but all i ever seem to see are goofballs with way too much disposable income

I have never watched the prepper shows, but I am the worst prepper you ever saw. Our little neighborhood now has the equipment to dig defensive firing postions. It's a team effort. When the SHTF, we will be able to lay down a storm of interlocking defensive firepower. Food storage, water storage, ammo, all that stuff is smart, but having a plan and not trying to go it alone makes sense to me. I'm too old to run.

Suppose you have a good point. Im not getting any younger.
But ive always taken the Lone Wolf approach, its just the way i grew up.
My friends always poke fun at me for what they consider to be a bit over the top in the prepping department, but they knew who to call for help last month when the blizzard knocked out power for a week

true that.

i've actually made my way over to youtube and found/friended some good people in the bushcraft/survivalist/prep community. way more practical info there than you could ever hope for on the boobtube.

tv is one of the worst public consumptions right now.

agreed!

I agree TV has become a mind numbing outlet, but, TV saved this kid's life. Also, this article shows the point I started this thread, it isn't all about what you have horded or have on your person. it is about knowing what to do.

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/loc...survival_skills

i'd say it's the exception, not the rule.

http://voices.yahoo.com/your-brain-waves-change-watch-tv-low-alpha-349221.html

Touche, but that article is based on a study done in 1969, and programing back then did not offer the thought provoking shows that are on now. OK, so 90 percent of the shows are brain-deading these days. My point, it depends on what you watch. In the '60s, you could not turn on the TV and watch channels dedicated to learning, thought provoking programing. Avoiding generalizations, and you will find there is good on TV.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/

there have been more recent studies, just grabbed that one on the fly.

tv has been a good educational tool, but i think thats being phased out.

yea, it is so distracting. instead of being productive, people grow roots into their couch. I'm not pointing fingers. I'm just as guilty as anyone else.

How did you manage to get a group of like-minded people like that together? Was it chance? Did you plan it?

If the group is by chance, how did the idea of group defense come about?

Do you have an agreed on group add list (his aunt Mary, but nor her uncle Jim)?

I'd really like to know about your group dynamics.