Comments on: Every Man Should Be Able to Save His Own Life: 5 Fitness Benchmarks a Man Must Master

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:56:14 +0000

At 66 years old, the only one I’m not sure about is the dips. Just because I’ve not done them. All the others, I do each week. This lets me do what ever physical challenge that confronts me.
Like playing hard with grandkids.
At this fitness level “Life is good.”

By: raymond

raymond — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 23:51:24 +0000

I love during burpees, for I am in my sixty and want to stay in good shape. I also want to master the other exercises. I love trying new exercises and in a few months I believe I can master them.

By: Roger

Roger — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:59:25 +0000

@Quill (post #63):
I’d bet $5,000 that you’re wrong. I base this on having trained military recruits. At the start, less than half of them can do more than 7 pull-ups, and a surprising number struggle to even do 2. And these are young men who have some interest in fitness and self-discipline, and think they are at least moderately fit. Many of them having spent a few weeks trying to harden up a little before hitting boot camp.

The pull-up is very deceptive. Most of the action is very different to other exercises and most types of manual work. Unless you specifically train for it, you will struggle to do more than a handful, even if you’re otherwise very fit.

@Everyone: I really think most of you have failed to understand this list. Liederman is not saying that there is some specific yet commonplace survival situation, in which you better be able to do 25 dips or else.

Rather, this set of five goals covers a broad spectrum of fitness types that aims to give whole-body fitness that can rapidly adapt to the unexpected.

1. Swim at least half a mile or more
2. Run at top speed two hundred yards or more
3. Jump over obstacles higher than his waist
4. Pull his body upward by the strength of his arms, until his chin touches his hands, at least fifteen to twenty times
5. Dip between parallel bars or between two chairs at least twenty-five times or more

Between them, this list encompasses core strength, upper body strength, leg strength, and the often over-looked grip strength; but it also requires both aerobic power and aerobic endurance, and also the oft-overlooked agility. If your training program has given you mastery of all those, then there will be few situations for which you are not prepared, at least physically. Of course swimming is also a special case: drowning is one of the most common causes of accidental death, and if you or one of your loved ones gets in trouble in water, either you can swim, or someone will probably die.

By: Will

Will — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:44:55 +0000

That chin-up photo should not be used. His hands are facing the wrong way. That orientation is easier to do, but in real life, like climbing a wall or fence, you’re screwed.

The Army discovered this back in WWII training.

Focus more on the palms “out” position, for real world results.

By: Alan Crawley

Alan Crawley — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 07:31:21 +0000

Ha ha! Like it a lot and the dips with the chin up is the perfect way to prepare for getting in and out of the attic to get down the Christmas decorations every year, get the suit cases for holidays and just look like a man doing it. Like it!

By: Senter

Senter — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 07:32:28 +0000

I’m a crazy researcher into fitness. Anything that involves bodyweight exercise involves a mastery of your own body, and eventually you can add weight which will help if you need to run that 200 yards doing a fireman’s carry.
This benchmark is fantastic to me, simply because it isn’t effected by the bodybuilding mentality of most programs… In my opinion, strength and endurance should be much closer together than they are for the common everyday man.
Bodyweight training to me is the ultimate place for the average man to work from. It requires no equipment. It can be done anywhere. It activates every muscle in your body.
Plus if you play video games it is more like leveling up. You have different levels of difficulty for every exercise. It is more like mastering skills, and gaining attributes.
Dexterity and strength + 2
in my opinion Wisdom +4
Books to checkout
The Naked Warrior by Pavel
Convict Conditioning by Paul Wade

By: Quill

Quill — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 17:57:06 +0000

I’d put my money on 95% of men being able to do 15 pull-ups, unless they weigh very little. This is a lot harder for taller men than it is shorter (extra weight, higher range of movement). Same can be said for dips, although it is a much easier exercise in general.

Also people recommending crossfit should watch some of the videos on youtube showing unbelievably bad / dangerous form on all olympic lifting weight lifting techniques. They preach kipping pullups (basically using momentum to pull yourself up – it’s not a real pullup). I’ve even seen images / gifs of two crossfitters trying to deadlift / clean and jerk with the same barbell. Boggles the mind. On top of this, they have extremely elitist attitudes towards fitness, and charge ridiculous prices to be part of their “club”. Anyone really interested in saving their money, avoiding injury and getting truly fit should avoid crossfit like the plague.

By: Vince

Vince — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 05:50:53 +0000

I am happy to say that I can do all of this. But I recognize that most people can’t. I can because I was a gymnast growing up and spent some time wrestling, doing hurdles and jumping in track, and played water polo. Even with all that I wouldn’t be able to do this if I wasn’t currently coaching gymnastics which helps keep me in shape.

My recommendation to people is that they start small and work on general fitness instead of these specific things. It seems to me that this guy is using these as benchmark tests for how fit you are rather than as goals to accomplish.

By: Philip Taylor

Philip Taylor — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 20:56:19 +0000

Reminds me of Charles Atlas…the original he-man.

By: Jason Baird

Jason Baird — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 02:21:27 +0000

I’m doing it. I’ve given myself 3 months to pull it off starting tomorrow. Here we go.