Simple Daily Exercises that can help you

I know that being physically conditioned is one of the keys to surviving in the Wilderness.

So I want to know physical exercises that would help me condition myself that do not require special equipment (like weightlifting machine ) or extensive travel to special terrain (hiking in the mountains, rock climbing, etc). Basically I can do everyday right before or after work.

I already run 3X a week and have started resuming Situps. I soon will condition myself to do pushups and pullups as well as Jump Roping and I intend to resume Shadow Boxing.

Can anyone here add their own exercises?

 

Stair work is always a winner. Any time you have the chance, take the stairs instead of the elevator or the escalator. Find an office building with three or more floors and spend an hour going up and coming down.

Now that you're running 3 times a week, you may want to include interval sprints and hill work. For intervals, pick some kind of regular landmark, like light poles or fence posts or driveways, and sprint between every other one. For hills, it's easy: sprint up, jog down.

You mentioned situps...add pushups and squats and do all three during commercial breaks while you're watching TV. You don't have to go to failure, just 8-10 each, or wherever you're at right now. Pullups and chinups are a little more advanced, so you won't be able to do as many right away, but start with what you can. One is better than none, after all...and while you're at it, you can jump rope in between the commercials

An easy way to smoke your whole body in a short amount of time is to do burpees. Some people call them 8 count bodybuilders, but whatever you call them, they'll remind you how mortal you are. Youtube has some demo videos if you need them. See how many you can do in 20 minutes, and then two or three days later, try and do a couple more. 20 minutes is all you'll need.

It all comes down to consistency, and by that I mean sticking with your exercise program. There will be days when you won't feel like doing it, when everything hurts, when it's raining outside, whatever. Those will be the days that test you. If you put the work in, consistently day after day, you will prep your body and be able to respond when you need it most.

 

Does CLIMBING the walls and JUMPING to conclusions count as exercise? Asking for a friend.

 

Don't forget leaping from subject to subject and back again. but carefully, or you will strain your patience.

 

Push Ups, Pull Ups, Sit Ups (not just plain Jane but a whole regimen of body weight stomach exercises, crunches, planks etc.), Body Weight Squats, and Lunges will go a long way in strengthening you without a lot of equipment.

I also agree with stairs as much as possible, try sprinting up them until you feel like falling over, rest and repeat, (warning, it will kill your calf's so take it easy until you know how you react) and burpees are great. You can also find heavy objects at home that you can safely lift and carry around just be careful of form to prevent an injury but just taking a 50 pounds bag of rice and picking it up over your head or putting it on a table, then floor, repeat up and down.

Some guys think it's wimpy but a good Yoga routine can be very helpful too in strength and keeping your body limber.

Another idea as an alternative to running some times is fill a back pack up with 50 - 80 lb. of stuff and walk around the neighborhood with it for a few miles.

 

Have you ever tried the 16oz, quite a work out.

My normal life is more excersise than I can handle already, I am learning some streching technicks in my older age, helps some but not immediately.

 

Depending on the day I'll do one of the following:

Marine Corps Daily 7:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/299413-marine-corps-daily-seven-exercises/

Marine Corps Daily 16: http://www.livestrong.com/article/412734-marine-corps-daily-16-exercises/

 

That looks like a good start. How long does it take to go through the 7 and 16? Is there a step by step list for the 16?

 

Ajax:

The Daily 7 is basically light calisthenics. It generally takes about 15 minutes depending upon the number of repetitions of each exercise. http://www.ehow.com/way_5435693_marine-corps-seven-daily-exercises.html

The Daily 16 is a complete workout. How long it takes depends on you and how you want to approach it. Here’s the whole program: http://www.montney.com/marine/dailypt.pdf

I never checked but you might be able to find a video somewhere online at places like Youtube.com, Hulu.com or Dailymotion.com.

Standard disclaimer applies: ALWAYS be sure to get checked out by your doctor before starting an exercise program. Be sure he runs an EKG as part of the exam. Remember to start slow and work your way up in intensity and duration.

Good luck and I hope you find this helpful.

 

Great, thanks. I've been doing about a 10 minute Yoga routine every morning in addition to whatever other workout I do later on and I find that it really helps to just keep the muscles and tendons strengthened and warmed up. Last year (2011) I went through a phase of about 6 months and didn't do much working out at all and I started to notice little aches and pains I never had before and after picking back up on exercising it all started to fade away.

I'll probably start adding the 7 day stuff in with the yoga and see how it goes and then do cardio or weights later in the day like normal.

 

I'm going to throw this out there. I know everyone has their favorite and somebody is going to hate this, but I really like the Insanity series from Beachbody.com. If I remember correctly, the first series (Insanity) is about $150. Okay, that's not cheap, but you don't need any equipment to do the workouts. And here's the best part--you can repeat the series ad infinitum. You push yourself as hard as you can and then try to improve on it next time. It is fantastic for core strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness. No, I'm not a coach and you can't buy from me. But this is a heck of a great workout. The whole thing lasts 9 weeks. I do it, take a week off, then start again.

One thing. Expect joint pain in your hips, knees, and ankles for a few weeks. Power through and it will get better as your body adapts. I have early onset arthritis and a crapped out back due to years of humping a pack and I can handle it.

For what it's worth, I'm a prior enlisted Marine captain with almost 14 years in, and this kicks my rear every time I do it. In a good way.