Anyone else watched "Could You Survive"?

It's a miniseries on Discovery Health where ordinary out-of-shape people are put in a situation of responding to some emergency such as rescuing a loved one who has had a boating accident, escaping a wildfire etc. Last night was the boating accident one where they had to swim 100 yards to a 75-pound dummy in the water, get themselves and the dummy onto a floating dock, paddle a kayak 300 yards and run 150 yards to get help and they all struggled and took much longer than the 8 minutes and 30 seconds target time. The idea then was to have the team of trainers work with them for a month, get them into shape and have them re-try the challenge but only one stuck with the program (and he passed the second time). I found the premise of the show interesting and wonder if thinking of fitness in terms of being prepared for emergencies might motivate more people to get into shape--what do you think? I was honestly appalled at how poorly the three people on last night's episode did (and hope I would do better!).

You sure you aren't asking if we could qualify to become a firefighter or police officer after those fitness tests? :rolleyes: Because some of those physical fitness tests are what the larger fire departments use...IF they are serious about hiring fit, bright and resourceful men and women. BIG controversy especially with women trying to penetrate the firefighter ranks.. without being part of the boys' networks..

At this time, I probably would fail on several aspects...ie. I can't swim, I don't have enough upper body strength and I don't jog.

So just cycling regularily...could it help me? At least I know I am mobile enough in body movement that if I had to move quickly I probably could...for a short time and stay balanced. What we probably take for granted in regular exercise, is overall body balance and abit higher awareness of self body movement..while moving along. And the older some of us cyclists are, the more we take for granted this sense of good balance and fluid body movement compared to the general population at same age level.

Even trying to maintain pace, does require a certain amount of sustained effort and personal persistence combined with a mild form of aggression.

And that aggression can be useful for self-protection..for any woman. However for me, I'm not sure I'm of great use to save anyone..except perhaps to grab a young child from danger.on land...I know my overall movements could be fast enough.

If I may add a story about saving a child from great injury due to fast reflexes from an adult.

Many years ago, I was in the basement with some family members. A brother-in-law was there beside me, chatting up amongst us. Suddenly his 4 yr. old son....fell headlong from near the top of the basement steps and ...he caught his son, fast enough to prevent the child from falling, headfirst onto the bare cement basement floor.

There were 10 steps on that flight of steps. :eek:

The nephew screamed and cried in his father's arms...he probably sensed something bad might have happened to him if daddy hadn't caught him. And the father....was so shocked (he actually looked shaken) and relieved he caught his son mid-air in time.

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Originally Posted by shootingstar

You sure you aren't asking if we could qualify to become a firefighter or police officer after those fitness tests? :rolleyes: Because some of those physical fitness tests are what the larger fire departments use...IF they are serious about hiring fit, bright and resourceful men and women. BIG controversy especially with women trying to penetrate the firefighter ranks.. without being part of the boys' networks..

At this time, I probably would fail on several aspects...ie. I can't swim, I don't have enough upper body strength and I don't jog.

So just cycling regularily...could it help me? At least I know I am mobile enough in body movement that if I had to move quickly I probably could...for a short time and stay balanced. What we probably take for granted in regular exercise, is overall body balance and abit higher awareness of self body movement..while moving along. And the older some of us cyclists are, the more we take for granted this sense of good balance and fluid body movement compared to the general population at same age level.

Even trying to maintain pace, does require a certain amount of sustained effort and personal persistence combined with a mild form of aggression.

And that aggression can be useful for self-protection..for any woman. However for me, I'm not sure I'm of great use to save anyone..except perhaps to grab a young child from danger.on land...I know my overall movements could be fast enough.

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True...I guess some of this does sound like what prospective firefighters have to do (well, this one would be more like a lifeguard test), but at the same time it's the sort of situations anyone could find themselves in. And I do think the cycling and other exercise definitely help--those of us on this board are most likely a lot more prepared than the people on the show last night were! It's kind of scary to think the majority of the population in this country is so out of shape that they aren't physically equipped to handle an emergency. I'm also starting to think adding some strength training to my routine would be a good idea...at 5' 2.5" and under 110 lbs, I am at a bit of a disadvantage in the strength department and that is the one area where I might have a problem in an emergency situation (and besides, it was suggested at PT that I start doing some strength work to build up more muscle and help with bone building).

Hmm..I've been pondering joining the Surf Lifesaving club but know I have quite a bit of open water swimming work to do first before i even think about it!!! It's a thought!

I'd love to be fit enough to do it!!!

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Originally Posted by shootingstar

If I may add a story about saving a child from great injury due to fast reflexes from an adult.

Many years ago, I was in the basement with some family members. A brother-in-law was there beside me, chatting up amongst us. Suddenly his 4 yr. old son....fell headlong from near the top of the basement steps and ...he caught his son, fast enough to prevent the child from falling, headfirst onto the bare cement basement floor.

There were 10 steps on that flight of steps. :eek:

The nephew screamed and cried in his father's arms...he probably sensed something bad might have happened to him if daddy hadn't caught him. And the father....was so shocked (he actually looked shaken) and relieved he caught his son mid-air in time.

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I had this happen to me when I was a child, but nobody was there to catch me. I hadn't thought about it in years! I was very small and only have vague memories of it. But I apparently wasn't badly hurt, certainly no broken bones. I do remember it was a big fall. There is nobody left around to ask about it though.

Well, I've done Search and Rescue, and the one thing I have learned is that what you do in a training scenerio and what you do in a real life situation can often be completely different. I've seen amazing acts from people I never thought could do them, when they were the only hope. If those people seriously thought a loved one (obviously a child from the size of the dummy) was in danger, they may perform much better. The body is an amazing thing and can produce strength and stamina when none existed before.

I was just in Vegas and saw the previews of that show (our dinky stations in Canada don't show the same programs). It looked cool.

It never ceases to amaze me how people remain inactive and let themselves get so out of shape. My boyfriend is naturally athletic, yet he never exercises. I always feel so sluggish if I don't swim, jog or ride my bike. Anything to keep moving, actually.

I'd love to try a challenge like that. They always seem easy until you try it.

It's on again tomorrow morning at 9:00am, est. I just set Tivo for a season pass for it -- Wildfire and Earthquake air next week. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by badger

I'd love to try a challenge like that. They always seem easy until you try it.

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I'd really like to try them too--it would be interesting to see if I would do as well as I think or if they turn out to be a lot harder than they seem.

I haven't seen the show, but one reason why I started adding lifting weights into my regular routine was because I realized one day that I wouldn't be able to keep up with my son or, worse, get him out of the top bunk where he sleeps if there were a fire or some other emergency. He's autistic and wouldn't really be able to save himself (physically capable, but wouldn't understand what was going on or what to do). Realizing that he's not getting any smaller so I'd have to get stronger was a big motivation to get and stay in shape!

Sarah