Why write a personal training guidebook for surviving a zombie apocalypse?
There are several good reasons:
- A guide book focussed on zombie attacks will motivate people to work out because it will make for more interesting and entertaining workouts.
- Viral outbreaks are an ever present threat and you never know when an epidemic outbreak may occur and threaten your life.
- Zombies are all the rage right now, so why not have some fun with it!?!
Exercise and fitness has become more and more important to the daily lifestyle of the average person. Fitness routines have evolved from jogging on the treadmill, to aerobics class, spin class, the sport of cross-fit, “the hunger games” routine, Tough Mudder obstacle and endurance courses and so forth. People need their fitness routines to keep them challenged, interested and excited about going to the gym. Bluntly said, people bore easily.
Workouts have to be competitive on many levels - both mentally and physically. Because a zombie attack would place unique & intense demands on your body, mind & spirit workouts tailored to this challenge would be unique and interesting. No average workout is going to be thorough or holistic enough to prepare you for the zombie apocalypse. Hopefully the workouts in this guide book will.
For those who believe the chance of a zombie virus outbreak is very real, this book might be more than a workout guide - it might be their survival guide. Survivors of a zombie apocalypse are going to have to have excellent endurance, stamina, speed, agility, strength, coordination, focus and faith. The average spinning class is not going to provide you with the tools you need to prepare, endure and survive. But this guide will. Hopefully, you’ll also find this book amusing and informative as you progress along your fitness path.
Thanks to minds of individuals like George Romero, Max Brooks, Robert Kirkman and Greg Nicotero, zombies are more popular today than ever before. For many wide-ranging reasons people are fascinated about zombie attacks:
- the horror, science-fiction and special effects lure some people in;
- others are intrigued by the psychological and physical hardships placed on the survivors, traits endurance athletes and even the average Jane and John find intriguing;
- the undertones of faith, hope and humanity inspire many spiritual leaders;
- scientists are curious about the facts pertaining to virology and its affects on the human body.
It seems zombie pop-culture can touch all of our lives, spark some curious interest, in many ways .
Zombies - A real possibility?
Every year there seems to be some new viral outbreak threatening humanity. The new, rapidly mutating and difficult to control strains of avian flu, swine flu, SARS, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, Rabies, etc., are hard to ignore and emphasize the ever present threat lurking in the shadows. Society must be prepared for such attacks. And indeed many governments have plans in place. The CDC (Centre for Disease Control) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, has published protocols for many disease outbreaks, including one for zombie virus. “Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic” can be found online at the following site:
Considering this, it would be prudent for you to do your part and prepare yourself both physically and mentally for the possibility, however rare, that a zombie virus outbreak could threaten you, your family and your hometown.
What’s inside this guidebook:
This personal training guide is your fitness tool to help you survive the zombie apocalypse. Inside this guidebook you’ll find chapters discussing key aspects for holistic health and fitness that will get you fit for today and whatever might come tomorrow - what could be considered the necessary skills to get you ready for the fight of your life. These fitness topics include: cardio, strength training, flexibility, spiritualism, diet and nutrition, and specialty training, including martial arts and weaponry. So let’s get you fit and ready to fight for your life!
To encourage and inspire you while along your path to fitness and better health, you can follow along with Morgan Wilder, as she fights for her life during a hypothetical zombie apocalypse at the end of each chapter. Her story will illustrate the how valuable the fitness skills discussed in each chapter can be applied to help you survive many different life-threatening scenarios you might encounter in a post-apocalyptic world.
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Morgan’s Story - “Starting Point”
Chapter 1. Introduction
How did it all come to this? How did it get to this point? It just didn’t make any sense. Her world, no, the entire world it seemed, had all gone to hell. There was no reason, that she could see, that could possibly attempt to explain the chaos surrounding her, let alone any means of making it better.
The entire civilized world had come undone it seemed. She had no office to go to work to anymore. No more Monday-Friday nine to five. No subways, no trains, no commute. She wouldn’t be watching her nephews, Evan and Joshua, performing at the community centre on the holidays. Nor anymore after work spin class or Saturday night league at the bowling lanes followed by drinks and nachos at the local pub with her friends. No more Sunday supper in her parents cozy dining room with all the family. All the life, all the community, all her family and friends, her entire world had come to an end over the last few weeks.
A life-destroying natural disaster of epidemic proportions had occurred. If it had been an earthquake or a tsunamis it would have been easier to deal with. Even an act of terror, a bomb or poisoning, would have been conceivable, perhaps even comprehendible, but not this. Not this apocalypse that was unfolding before her very eyes.
The initial reports that were being read over the airwaves were that there had been some kind of viral infection spreading through the population that targeted the brain. A previously unknown encephalitis of sorts, they speculated from the signs and symptoms revealing themselves during the course of the outbreak. A virus most likely spread from some unwitting traveller returning from a tropical vacation. It was highly contagious and being spread from person to person. It resulted in a high fever and delirium, often leading to madness. There was no known cure. Other than that, they knew very little. The reporters assured the world that the best scientific minds in the medical field were working on an antidote and a vaccine at the very moment at both the Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.
The TV and media outlets were trying to maintain calm and offer reassurance. While they were still on the air, that was. However, when ones attention left the TV and Internet and turned to the real world outside their front door, the message received was very different indeed. She didn’t see much good news out her window. Or reason to remain calm. In fact, she couldn’t even tell if the people left wandering the town were alive or dead. They staggered upon the earth like some kind of torn soul trapped in their human flesh, stuck in a kind of limbo wandering the earth. To the best of her comprehension, it was impossible to tell if there was anything left to their humanity, their spirit, their souls. She didn’t see any hope in their eyes. Just darkness and rage.
A few times when she was safely separated from the walkers she tried talking to them, reasoning with them, or just gazing into their eyes. But it was futile. Lifeless eyes peered back at her, all she felt those former human beings was of something more like an angry reptile. She thought of lizards on crack. It wasn’t right. It scared her more than anything she had even encountered before in her life.
Although she didn’t know what it was exactly, she knew she was facing an evil like nothing else she had even imagined before. Worse than any nightmare she had ever dreamed. And night after night, since the day this first began she kept hoping she would eventually wake up form this hell, only to be disappointed when she had to live through another day of this torment.
Was she strong enough to survive this? Did she have the training, the fitness, the mental and physical stamina to find a way out? Or was this going to be her demise? Would her body and mind fail her, only to become one of those walking dead? A zombie? A long and scary journey now lay before her.
When the outbreak first appeared to completely overrun the city, the emergency news broadcasters recommended those who hadn’t already left town to stay home, stay inside, somewhere safe. Batten down the hatches and wait for the proverbial storm to pass, basically. But that was over two weeks ago now. The streets had grown quiet again, and the emergency helicopter lifts that had once been so frequent and loud in the sky had slowed to a trickle and then stopped suddenly, days ago. And it had been three days since the electricity and communications systems went down. She felt all alone in her condominium apartment. Isolated, alone in the dark, and scared. No contact and no light. She couldn’t bear to stay in cooped up in there by herself any longer. It was time for Morgan to come out and re-join the world. To see what was left of it anyway. To make a fresh start. She had to deal with this situation, it couldn’t go on like this any longer.
She rose up from her bed, throwing the blankets to the floor and made her way to the door...
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