10 Components of Fitness:

1. Cardio Endurance -
you don’t want to get tired before the Zombies do.

The simplest way to improve your cardio endurance is to run a mile at a time, once or twice a week. Don't get caught falling into the chronic cardio syndrome. The wear and tear on your body can be debilitating. Work up to the mile and stick with it, no more or less. Varying the intensity will increase the challenge. Try our 10/10 chain workout for a great cardio challenge that doesn't require running.

2. Muscular Strength - chopping off Zombies heads is hard work.

Lift heavy things. The foundation of your routine should be the big compound lifts: squats, deadlifts, presses (bench and overhead), rows and farmers carry. So grab your chains or Zombie bells and try this popular routine, the 5×5×10 method. Five compound lifts, for five sets of each, at ten reps for strength building.

3. Muscular Endurance - walking and fighting get tiring.

Focus on body weight exercises. Utilizing exercises that use your own bodyweight as resistance – pushups or planks, pullups, dips, squats and lunges. Try the exercises as a circuit, completing a set of each in turn and resting as little as possible between sets. Repeat for 10 circuits (until you’re doing only one rep per exercise). If you need more of a challenge, strap your chain around your body and complete all 5 exercises. Check out our video for examples of each exercise.

4. Balance - if you trip and fall you will be eaten.

Balance is crucial for everyday living, our bodies are constantly shifting positions unbeknownst to our conscious selves. The better our balance during acute controlled instability, the better we’re able to make the most of this life without worrying about tripping and breaking a hip. Try these 3 balancing exercises: 1-minute Single Leg Balance; 6 Single Leg Balancing Leg Sweeps (balancing on one leg, sweep the other leg in a circle); and 30 seconds Single Leg Balance w/Eyes Closed.

5. Coordination - dodging Zombies while chopping off heads, requires harmonious movements.

Crawling, Rolling and (yes) Dancing are all basic movements that every human being should be capable of performing. Practice is the only way to maintain proficiency in these practical movements because you never know when you may need to use them. And yes, dancing and fighting are closely related, think capoeira.

6. Agility - dodging the horde requires fast feet.

The power of moving quickly and easily; nimbleness. Agility is the ability to change the direction of the body in an efficient and effective manner. One of our favorite agility workouts is to head out to a kids jungle gym. Do some sort of pullup or swing across from bar to bar. Climb poles, vault over barriers, avoid taking the stairs and instead climb the structure itself. Here in the United States, a single guy is liable to get the cops called if he so much as glances at a jungle gym set, so stick with times when there aren’t any kids around, or bring your own and have family play time. Check out our jungle gym video for more ideas.

7. Flexibility - do you really want to pull a hamstring while running for your life.

Lets consider flexibility more about mobility, which is essentially the ability to move freely, easily, and safely through space. There are certain minimum standards that one should aim to meet in order to possess the basic foundation of mobility for healthy, functional movement patterns. Being able to bend over and touch your toes; safely perform a deep squat; standing with your back against the wall, be able to reach over-head without arms bending. These are the three basics. There are other FMS tests to check for hip and shoulder mobility but these three are a good place to start. Check out our stretch video for an 11 minute stretch session.

8. Speed - because Zombies will eat the slow one first.

Sprinting is high intensity training. Use sprinting drills to work on your speed. Shoot for eight to ten sprinting efforts. If you can’t do eight do as many as you can. Try running hills, cycling or swimming during the summer or snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing for the winter months. Looking for something different try our Battle Chain workout (30 seconds can be a loooong time). These are all easier on the joints and will also work just as effectively. Add sprinting into your workout regime, once every 7 days. Check out our Be Prepared page for a recommended weekly schedule. You’ll see a difference.

9. Power - it helps with cutting off heads in one stroke.

The true meaning of power is the ability to generate as much force as fast as possible. Swinging a softball bat, a hammer or sharp pointy object requires speed and force, otherwise known as power. Our recomendations are sledge hammer training and hitting a tire; small hammers while hitting a tire; or pugil stick training can all build dynamic power. Kettlebell training can also work to build power if you train on the more explosive moves - swings, cleans, and snatches.

10. Accuracy - don’t miss your life may depend on it.

The ability to control movement in a precise manner and direction. One of the obvious uses of accuracy is throwing. Whether it’s baseball, football or basketball; they all require a level of accuracy. We suggest incorporating some of these exercises into your workout to improve accuracy; underhand throws (like a kettlebell swing); ground slams (soft medicine ball), and vertical throws (hard medicine ball).