Enough about equipment - let's talk fitness standards

How many of you feel physically ready? Are you regularly working out (to your best ability, if you're not able-bodied) and eating healthy? Do you get enough sleep every night? Have you gotten your health markers checked recently, and if so, are your numbers within normal limits? What about your athletic ability? Are you a specialist or a well-rounded athlete?

Let me establish some physical fitness standards. These standards are universal, with no regard for sex or age, because the apocalypse doesn't discriminate.

  1. Complete a 12-mile hike on flat ground with 50 lbs of gear in under 3.5 hours

  2. Complete the US Army sprint-drag-carry event in under 2 minutes

  3. Run 5 miles in under 45 minutes

  4. Sprint 400 meters in under 1 minute

  5. Deadlift your bodyweight for 5 reps

  6. Close-grip pushups for 30 reps

  7. Neutral-grip pullups for 8 reps

  8. Hollow body hold for 1 minute 30 seconds

  9. Passive hang from a bar for 45 seconds

  10. Swim 500 yards in under 15 minutes

  11. Standing pike stretch, touching your toes with your knuckles

  12. Stand on one leg for 1 minute each

  13. Farmer walk 100 meters while holding a kettlebell in each hand, each kettlebell ~1/3 bodyweight, in under 1 minute

  14. Pass the Apley Back Scratch test

  15. Box-jump onto a knee-height box

  16. Pass the "look down and see your toes" test.

No, these aren't meant to represent the ultimate level of fitness, they're supposed to be a baseline for overall holistic fitness in various metrics. They mean "good enough."