Reason #2: Running away

OK, so we talked about possibly having to fight off a bad guy and how a higher level of fitness would greatly improve your chances of survival in the first few seconds of an altercation. But here's the thing, once you initiate (and I mean initiate) your fight (5 kicks to the groin ought to do the trick), that may get him off of you for a few seconds. That will give you only a slight head start (all of this is best case scenario, of course).... and then, you have to run like hell!! You will need explosive, out of the box, power to get you off to a good start. Even being two steps ahead will at least put you out of arm's reach right? Now, answer this question, once this is done, taking your current level of fitness into consideration, how long will you be able to run (not a nice leisurely jog, but RUN) to get away? I'm no criminal, but I'm pretty sure that someone who is out to rob people and take what doesn't belong to them, doesn't have the work ethic that it takes to gain a high level of fitness, like the kind it would take to apprehend some victim who has mometarily escaped their grasp due to a swift kick in the nether regions! It stands to reason that they do not consider fitness as part of the regimen for honing their craft of lazy criminal activity. You will not only need the intial explosive starting power, you will also need some serious speed. This can easily be developed by following a 5K running program that calls for speed work as little as one time per week. If you use a beginner program, it will progress you from sedentary to hauling freight in a matter of a few months. Now, not only did you get a jump on the bad guy, you are now either as fast as, or faster than he is. Is that going to be enough? NO!! Applying this critical situation to movies like "Friday the 13th parts 1 through, oh I don't know what is it 18?" Jason seems able to walk and apprehend his victims. His walking pace must be incredinly fast!! So not only will you need explosive power and speed, you are going to need some serious endurance! That's right, getting the jump on the Jason's of your life and then pulling a few feet in front of him is good, but not good enough. You will have to maintain that pace until you run out of the forest, or parking garage and reach safety. When the bad guy gets tired and wants to quit, that's when you need to be feeling strong and extend the distance between you and him. In order to facilitate this, you'll need to throw in a long run on the weekends. Pretty much all training programs that prepare you for any distance call for a long run. You can start out with a short distance and only increase that distance slowly, over time. Not only will this allow you to endure and run longer, it will hone your mental acuity, making your senses sharper in your time of need. If you're fit, you will have faster reflexes too. This is where the final ingredients in getting away from a bad guy come in handy: quickness and agility. Just as that frustrating scene always seems to happen in the movies, you do not want to become "that" victim who has successfully mounted an escape from Jason and, just as she is getting away, falls down! If you have quickness and agility, in addition to the explosive power, speed and endurance, then you will be able to make those evasion moves that require quick cuts to the right and left that will throw Jason off your tracks. You will be able to quickly duck under, rather than get clothes-lined by that tree branch hanging low in the woods. You will be able to jump over and not get tripped by that big tree root that always seems to twist the victim's ankle in these movies.

Taking the entire scenario I just described and what it would require to successfully mount an escape from all of the "Jason's" out there, ask yourself whether you could do any of this with your current level of fitness. A person who is sedentary makes the perfect victim. A person who is dedicated to themselves goes from being a victim of Jason's, to an adversary, the thing we all want to be known as to a criminal with evil intentions...the wrong tree! This is why reason #2 for staying fit is: running away from a bad guy.

Reason #1: Fighting off a bad guy

I am so sick of reading about all of the reasons I should be fit... According to myriad of literature out there, if I stay fit, then I'll be healthier and happier. Wow! No stretch there ey? We already know all of the broad, generic reasons for improving our lives with fitness. We are constantly bombarded with facts about cholesterol, cardiac risks, or the amount of energy we'll have when we're in better physical condition. We see stories about how this person or that person lost hundreds of pounds. We are attacked by infomercials having to do with this work out system, or that piece of home gym equipment or even a little pill or yummy tasty shake that will magically help us reach our goals. But what goals are we talking about here? Does the universe really care whether our cholesterol level is in a better range? Does the world really want me to get into my "skinny girl" jeans? Let's get real and say that the world itself doesn't give a hoot whether or not you are fit. But what the world will do is throw certain situations at you, situations that can make you or break you, based on your level of fitness. So how about we take your current level of fitness and apply it to some real world situations....and get real about why being fit is better than being fat. Afterall, we are already very aware of the benefits of being fit from a health stand point, but sometimes, even the obvious reasons aren't enough to cause us to drink water over soda or to "just say no" to a second helping of dinner.

There is a message on every pack of cigarettes that says "These things will KILL you." But smokers still smoke. Maybe if someone would get real these folks, they would take quitting seriously. If there were notices on packs like, "Cigarettes make your breath stink BAD," or "We know you can't smell it, but your clothes wreak," then smokers could get real about their addiction and make a better attempt to eliminate it from their lives. Because look, those are only the hints that have to do with the odor of smoking! Much of the same rationale can be applied to what we eat and drink. We know that chips and beer will cause us to gain weight, but there we are on a Friday or Saturday night, swilling the lager and absent mindedly eating those tasty deep fried treats. But what if you were presented with a scenario where a higher level of personal fitness could get you out of a serious jam? Would you then drink water instead of soda? Let's find out...

So you get to the mall during the holiday season for some obligatory shopping duties. You hate dealing with the parking space lotto and decide instead to just continue on to the highest level of the parking garage where you are sure to find a space without sending out the Mars Rover first. Being the efficient person that you are, you knock out a great deal of your gift-getting in one fell swoop and end up leaving the mall after the sun has set. This situation renders you walking through a parking garage when most cars are already gone. You're loaded down with bags and, have, consequently, become a sitting duck for a person with bad intentions, no work ethic and a desire to grinch your Christmas and jack your car. If you are in poor physical condition, how long do you think you will able to exert maximum fighting effort after the adrenaline surge has worn off? Taking your current level of fitness into consideration, how much of a fight will you give this person? Will you give the bad guy a run for his money or will you play possum in the hope that he will be nicer to you if you are more compliant? What if said bad guy attempts to shove you into the car, with the intention of taking you to a remote location and killing you? Can you get to and keep up "full on wrestle-mania mode" against this guy for more than a few seconds before you become winded? Remember, fatigue makes cowards out of us all, so how long will it take you to become fatigued? This is my first reason for staying fit. A person with a high level of fitness will be better equipped for fighting off a bad guy. The longer you can "go" at maximum "save your life" type effort, the better your chances to survive. You will be able to, at least, give yourself a chance to get him off of you and run to safety or, at best, really whip his ass into complete and total submission while you stand over him and say, "Boy did you mess with the wrong person today!"

I'm just sayin...