Practical Doomsday

11 Getting in Shape

The survivalist community has an odd relationship with fitness. Some of its members are fascinated by military tactics and believe that any person who can’t bench-press 300 pounds is unlikely to make it through any crisis of note. At the same time, in a country where one-third of adults are obese, there’s no shortage of preppers whose weight undoubtedly interferes with their health or the enjoyment of their lives—but who don’t consider this fact to be in any way relevant to their emergency preparedness plans.

Of course, unrealistic body standards push many to depression or worse, and may be causing more harm than they ...