# 3 CRITICAL: GET FIT

When talking with folks about adapting to climate change, one question I frequently get is: What is the ONE thing that I can do right now to prepare myself for climate change?

My response: GET FIT!

This often surprises people. Which is okay.

Most people don't see the linkages between climate change and personal fitness, at least until they are climbing a latter, in a wind storm, while hauling a tarp to cover the massive hole in the roof that the neighbors tree gauged during a a storm and there are more storms coming in the next few hours. And doing this in the dark makes it even more challenging. 

Most people don't seem the link between climate change and needing to walk three miles to get food and water because the roads are not passable due to wash outs and flooding. And then trying to haul all that back 3 miles.

And I am guessing most people really don't think about the strain being out of shape puts on their family, friends, and neighbors who will be kind enough to help with a tarp or hauling food and water.

Getting fit does not have to mean going to the gym for hours on end day after day. It does not mean training for a marathon. It means being physically strong enough to haul your own body for a sustained period of time in difficult conditions. 

Think of it this way - you need to have a mix of strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance abilities (cardio-vascular and mental) to adjust to and adapt to rapidly changing situations around you.

Our ancestors 2,000- 3,000 years ago did not have gyms or cross fit. They had everyday life. Our paleo-hunter-gatherer ancestors didn't have much in the way of carbs. In the event of extreme climate events, and rapidly adapting to shifts in environmental conditions, our ancestors would kick our rotund, soft, squishy, couch encumbered butts. 

Getting fit is a journey you can start right now, today. Go for a walk, lift some weights, challenge yourself. Go visit DAREBE.COM for some quick great tips to get started, that focus on getting fit and staying alive longer. 

You'll be glad you did. 

And even if you don't have to haul a tarp up a ladder in a windstorm in the dark, at least you will still be more fit than you are right now. So get to it!