As we often reiterate, preparedness involves more than just gear, skills, and knowledge. There’s a physical element to preparedness that must not be overlooked. In an emergency situation, you may need to hike miles uphill with a fully-loaded pack, sprint several city blocks at a moment’s notice, swim ashore from a boat, or lift a heavy log off an injured friend. All of these require a certain level of strength and endurance.
Now, we’re not saying you need to be a greased-up bodybuilder with a hyper-specific diet and workout routine, but you should at least have a reasonable level of physical fitness. Statistics tell us that some parts of the United States tend to have a higher distribution of physically-fit individuals than others, and this data has been compiled into an infographic by AAA State of Play. This information provides an indication of how likely it is for people in your state to be in shape — that could mean you, your friends and family, or the criminal who’s trying to run after you.
The graphic shows the percentage of adults in each state who participate in aerobic activity (i.e. cardio) each week, and the percentage of adults who participate in “muscle-strengthening” activities at least twice per week. Click here to download a full-size version of this graphic.
