Knowing the Enemy P1 - 1324 Days Until Z-Day

It's a lot easier to kill something when you understand it; it's attributes and abilities. So today we're going to study our greatest foe: the Zombie. Now, no offense to Max Brooks, I love his book, but for the sake of consistency he only focused on slow human zombies which was a bit of a disappointment but understandable. In his book, he focused on a fictional virus called Solanum, which had specific effects to make the type of zombie for his book. This is the type of Zombie we should hope for. Since they're slow, they are relatively easy to take out from a distance and moderately survivable.

However, there is a possibility that other diseases, viruses, etc that cause Zombification may have different effects than Solanum. If that should happen, then we could have some real sonsofbitches to deal with. I'm talking about RAGE Zombies a la 28 Days later (weren't technically zombies, but close enough) and the new Dawn of the Dead! The Rage Zombie differs from the traditional Zombie in that they maintain their human speed of running. They may just kind of mill around when they don't sense anything, but when they have their attention focused on you, it's on, they will RUN you down. This is the type of Zombie that truly has the power to make the living extinct, and the reason we are training now. Just that increase in speed alone infinitely decreases our chances of survival.

Developing the First Weapon - 1338 Days Until Z-Day

"The human body, if cared for and trained properly, is the greatest weapon on earth. Americans are notorious for their bad diet, lack of exercise, and relentless fetish for labor-saving technology. As recognizable as the term "Couch potato" is, a more accurate term would be "cattle": fat, lazy, listless, and ready to be eaten. Weapon No. 1, the biological tool that is our body, can and must be transformed from prey to predator. Obey a strict diet and physical-fitness regimen. Concentrate on cardiovascular instead of strength-building exercise. Monitor any chronic health conditions you may have, no matter how small. even if your worst ailment is allergies, treat them regularly! When a situation does arise, you must know exactly your body is capable of! Study and master at least one martial art. Make sure its emphasis is on escaping holds rather than delivering blows. Knowing how to slip from a zombie's clutches is the single most important skill you can possess when you fine yourself in close combat. (The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks)"

I am, or atleast used to be one of these cattle that Mr. Brooks described. This is why I have changed my horrid ways. When Z-Day comes, I want to have every advantage available to me. Every advantage increases chance of survival. Physical ability being the first one. Although Zombies are slow, they'll most likely have to be dealt with in large numbers, from every direction. It's important to strengthen our cardiovascular system, to make sure we have the stamina and endurance to keep moving. You can have all the guns in the world, but eventually you'll probably run out of ammunition and have to flee. The Zed will continue to give chase at a crawling pace, but they won't tire or stop, you will.

So to start building up my Cardio, I've just been power walking 2 miles every morning. I started this Tuesday, and plan to keep up a walking routine of Monday-Saturday, Sunday will be my rest day. I do my walks in the morning for two reasons, 1) To beat the afternoon Heat, 2) Before breakfast, this gets my metabolism going. Once I finish up this week's walking, and do another week set I'll add an evening workout with "My Fitness Coach." I know right? The evenings are starting to get hot also so I'd rather exercise inside before dinner. This is a good cardio guide that I found. It has some great starting ideas, exercise ideas and tips, etc, really worth a look.

Alongside my cardio workouts, I've started a better diet plan. I'm not following any specific diet, but just cut out all the junk, fast food, and sodas. I've also found myself leaning towards eating 5-6 small meals instead of 3 big ones. This serves a couple purposes. 1) Keeps my metabolism going strong all day. 2) Phsycological effect of always being full since I'm eating all the time. When I say eating all the time, I'm talking about a snack of usually fruit content or granola bar. I've been substituting soda with water, which is actually easier than I thought it would be just because of the thought process behind it. A) I can either drink a ~100 calorie glass of soda or B) Drink all the water I want that doesn't have those extra calories and sugars. Drinking a glass of water hydrates your body better than soda, helps keep you full, and you can drink it all day without feeling guilty. So for me, a typical day usually looks like this:

• Morning 2-mile Walk
• Breakfast - Carnation's Instant Breakfast Essential Drink
• 1st Snack - Fruit
  
• Lunch - Some type of sandwhich
• 2nd Snack - Fruit
  
• Dinner - Whatever my parents make, usually eaten in moderation
• 3rd Snack (optional) - Fruit or air-popped popcorn or similar ~100 calorie snack
  

Preparation - 1340 Days until Z Day

My name is Sal, and today is the day that I start a new lifestyle। A lifestyle that will ensure my survival for the coming future। A future that I've decided will be filled with chaos and zombies, but most of all, zombies. Silly? Maybe, but when the day comes, I will be prepared. Will you? I would hope that you would be, because humanity will need all the help it can get against the zombie horde. So I invite you along on this journey. It will be a hard road, a road filled with anguish and misery, but also a road to survival.

Today is just mental preparation, taking a glance at the bigger picture and establishing goals. The first thing we're going to do is a physical examination. You can't survive a zombie apocalypse if you're not in shape. Getting in shape is an effect that happens over a long period of time, and the earlier you start, the faster it'll start to take effect, which is why this is our starting point for survival.

You should have a good idea of your physical limitations and what you're capable of so that you don't over do it. You want to push the boundaries so that you get improve each time, but you want to be cautious not to push too hard and hurt yourself. I'm a big guy, so I want to start trimming the fat. By losing weight I will greatly increase my overall physical performance and survivability when all hell breaks loose. My weight is currently my biggest hindrance, so this is my current primary objective.

Primary Objective

• Get in Shape

Secondary Objectives:

• Acquire Firearms and training
• Acquire Melee weapon and training
• Prepare Multiple Plans for Initial Zombie Outbreak

Target Date: December 21, 2012