Hurricane Helene has wrought devastation across the southeastern United States – killing hundreds, leaving thousands stranded and leaving millions without power or communications. It begs the question: What would you do if disaster strikes? Do you have the ability to save yourself or those you love? Let’s get into this…
Have you been seeing the new footage of what happened when Hurricane Helene barrelled through Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee?
It’s heart-breaking and frightening at the same time.
People have lost their entire world in less than 24 hours. Loved ones and pets – gone. Homes they thought they would spend the rest of their lives in – washed away. Roads that took them to work, to the gym, to school – gone. No power. No communications. Nothing. People stranded without life-saving medication. It’s bad.
As somebody whose entire family lives in western North Carolina – let me tell you – not knowing how they are, if they’re ok, if they’re alive isn’t a picnic.
That’s where I was most of the week and weekend after the storm hit. My parents and grandmother live in one of the towns that was battered. Because I couldn’t talk to them – I kept checking social media for updates – and what I was learning was NOT conducive to metal peace. Their town was DESTROYED.
As the anxiety built up – the closer I got to jumping in my car and just driving there – even knowing the roads were non-existent. That’s why I bought a car with 4×4 capabilities. I was ready to do whatever I could to make sure I knew they were ok.
Then Sunday came…
Just Breathe
I was training jiu jitsu (as that would stop the worry for the hour I was doing that) – and got a call from my step-dad. I missed it. After trying to call back when I finished – I found I couldn’t get through. I was able to get a hold of my brother-in-law – and he said he talked to them and everybody as good. No damage to the house – but they were basically stuck on the mountain – as all bridges were washed out. There was only ONE way up and down the road to their house – and it was covered by trees.
I didn’t realize how much I was holding my breath – but after hearing that – it was as if I could finally breathe again.
Knowing my family was ok helped a LOT – but I also have friends that live in the Asheville area that I was worried about as well.
With each passing day – I would get another call from one of those people – letting me know they were ok…
And that’s when I finally got back to a place of zen. All my peeps were ok – they had supplies – and that was all I could ask for in a situation like this.
Of course, as with any catastrophe like this – you begin to think: What would I do?
Disaster Strikes: What Do You Do?
After witnessing a disaster, many people put themselves in the shoes of the victims – trying to figure out what they would do in case of an emergency.
The first thing I thought of was: how many people have the physical ability to help themselves or others?
There’s a level of fitness that I think every human should be at…
You should be able to bench press your weight, deadlift your weight plus 100 pounds, squat your weight plus 100 pounds and do at least 5 pull ups.
Being to do at least this amount ensures your survival in many different dangerous situations. You fall down? You can push yourself back up. Need to lift a beam off your buddy’s leg? You can deadlift it enough to let him pull himself out. You need to push a door open? Brace your back on the wall and leg press that thing. You fall off a cliff and are hanging on by the edge? Pull yourself up.
When we train – it shouldn’t just be to look good…
It should also have some functionality to it.
You never know when disaster is going to strike…
So it’s good to always be ready.
Ready for what?
A Real World Application Of Strength
There have been stories coming out of the Appalachians about people’s ingenuity and real world applications of strength…
My step-father is one of them.
While he’s in his late 60’s – my step-father was a mason most of his life and keeps in “working shape” by operating the small farm where my parents live. He’s still got that mason strength in his hands and shoulders in a way only a lifetime of slinging cinder blocks can build. As I mentioned earlier, he, along with my mother and grandmother went through the storm in one of the worst hit areas and found themselves stuck.
He went to go down the road – and it was blocked by trees. So, being the blue-collar man he was – he grabbed his chainsaw and made his way back down. He had to stop and cut BIG trees in sections and move them by hand in order to get to place with cell service.
If he hadn’t kept up with his muscle – he wouldn’t have been able to do that.
This is why we need to think about real world applications of strength and not just aesthetics.
When coming up with a program – you should always have the basics in there – especially the deadlift… which is an all-over body strengthening exercise.
We can’t forget – we may never know when or where disaster will strike – and we need to always be ready if it does.
The last thing we want is to need that strength and not have it…
“Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it by use.” – Ruth Gordon
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