The Zombie Apocalypse Crawl
Oct 03, 2022
Recently a friend of mine asked me, “If a zombie apocalypse were to happen, what would be the one strength standard you would want the people around you to have?”
Well, I don’t know about you, but whenever I imagine zombies taking over the world, I rarely think about fitness or exercise. I think more about wearing helmets, finding ball bats, securing peanut butter, and making peace with my friends and family. And for some reason, I think about Twinkies - Thank you, Woody Harrelson. I would never go out of my way for a Twinkie, but if the world were ending, I might be able to appreciate one if I could find one.
Anyway, I’m not sure feats of strength would be on my mind during a zombie apocalypse unless, of course, the zombies celebrated Festivus. I also tend to shy away from strength standards as I believe strength standards put people into a judgment box of “Good Enough / Not Good Enough.” When we succumb to the standards of others, we have essentially given them our power. I’ve let others deem me strong enough or worthy, and I have found that I’m much happier when I deem myself strong and worthy.
BUT, my friend asked about a zombie apocalypse. And if the world were ending and I were forced to choose one strength standard I would want those around me to have so that they could survive the zombies, what would I choose?
To stick to my guns, I’ll provide a strength desire and not a standard.
I would desire people have the ability to Leopard Crawl for 20 minutes while only nasal breathing, with ear plugs in their ears, with their eyes closed, without having to stop and rest.
Again, this is not a standard by any means, it’s a strength desire - something I would feel good about people being able to do. Let me explain why.
If you can Leopard Crawl for 20 minutes, you can do pretty much anything you want to be able to do. You have physical strength, endurance, ability, athleticism, and resilience. You also have mental tenacity and grit.
Not only that, but if you crawl for 20 minutes with no input from the world, with no rest, you can also run, climb, lift, carry, persevere, hunt, fast, starve, survive, and ultimately thrive. There won’t be any physical limitations that you cannot overcome.
But there is another reason I chose this insane yet fairly sane feat. Having the ability to Leopard Crawl for 20 minutes while only nasal breathing, with ear plugs in your ears, with your eyes closed, means you are well connected together in body and mind. You can deal with the silence that causes the thoughts in your head to rage. You can deal with the tricks your mind tries to play. You can find peace in yourself. You can deal with the pressure of being you. If you can survive you - If you can overcome your thoughts of fear, exhaustion, worry, pain, and unbelief, you can survive zombies.
There is nothing magic about 20 minutes other than it is hard. Until you do it. Then it’s quite easy. It gets easy because once you do it, you know you can do it. Knowing your ability and having faith in your ability makes everything easier. When you believe in yourself, you have a deeper source of strength available to you. Confidence and courage make way for strength to reveal itself.
Anyway, that’s why I would desire people to be able to do a 20-minute crawl with their senses removed in a zombie apocalypse scenario; I’d want them to know they were capable of surviving.
It’s a make-believe scenario. It’s by no means a standard. In a world of peace, I’d be just as happy with people learning they can Leopard Crawl for 3 minutes, then 5, then 10. If you can do 10, you can do 20. But that also means if you can do 3, you can do 20. It’s a simple movement that can lead to full human potential. It’s not easy at first. But it does get easier the more you show up.
If you’re curious, give it a shot. Plug your ears, close your eyes, close your lips, and Leopard Crawl for 3 minutes - in a safe place. Know you’re environment, don’t run into sharp objects or walls. If it’s easy, great! Go for 5 minutes. If It’s hard, great! You’ve got something you can easily make easier while you get stronger and stronger in both your mind and body.
Remember, if you can survive you, you can survive zombies. Crawling can be a way to learn how to overcome yourself. Also, remember, this is not a standard! I already know you’re capable of crawling for long periods of time under tension. You know that too, right?
Comments (6)
John Keiffer:
Oct 03, 2022 at 04:50 PM
Would be great if you had a demo or link to one for this. I'm sure I can find one but still. If you want us all purring along and surviving the zombies, a little more show to go with the tell would be good.
Tim Anderson:
Oct 03, 2022 at 10:33 PM
Hey John,
I’m sorry but I’m a little confused. Are you asking for a 20 minute video demonstrating the crawl or are you asking for what the crawl would look like with ear plugs and eyes closed?
John Keiffer:
Oct 03, 2022 at 10:55 PM
I think I know what it is, but just a quick reminder of how to do it? I'm sure you could do it for 20, but yeah, not necessary at all. You have probably demoed this before, so just a link back to the exercise would be nice.
Tim Anderson:
Oct 03, 2022 at 11:09 PM
Try this:
The Leopard Crawl
https://youtu.be/QY-PDU_LhUI
Brent:
Oct 09, 2022 at 01:14 PM
Tim, I have come to love crawling. I went from not being able to do 30 seconds to now crawling about 5 minutes. I found personally adding in load helped me when I did not have load. Now winter is coming and I wont be able to drag my tire sled outside. Do you have any "garage gym" recommendations for adding load to crawls?
Tim Anderson:
Oct 10, 2022 at 08:15 PM
Hey Brent,
There are a few things you can do. My favorite is practicing slow motion crawling, trying to make sloths jealous. But other things you can do indoors is wearing a weight vest, a head weight (sandbell on your head), putting ankle and wrist weights on, or putting bands around your ankles and feet. You can also drag a sandbag around as you crawl. And really, ALL of these can be done in slow motion too! I hope this helps some.
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