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Muscular Strength Training For Self Defense

Get the jump on your criminal assailant by building a fitter body through muscular strength training. Drastically increase your survivability with the information in this article. Once you realise how crucial a good level of fitness is to your ability to fight and survive, your excuses will evaporate like sweat off your brow!

There's no question in my mind that strength training or fitness training in general requires huge amounts of motivation and commitment. I know this discourages many people and results in the whole subject being ignored or bypassed.

The fact is that your physical fitness plays a big role in how well you will respond to a criminal assault. If you are out of shape and find it difficult to run up a flight of stairs without nearly collapsing, you are gambling with your life in more ways than one.

Everybody knows the health risks of being overweight or lacking in physical fitness.

Increased risk of:

• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Stroke
• Etc etc
  

I'm not here to talk about all of that. Dealing with those risks is a personal matter and it's up to each of you to make your own decisions about them.

However, I will weigh in with my (strong) opinion about the role of muscular strength training and physical fitness in your preparations for self defense! I feel it's my duty to tell the truth about this from my perspective.

A Criminal Assault Is A Highly Physical Event

If you are ever attacked by a criminal, it doesn't matter what weapon you have (your fists, a knife or even a gun), it will be a highly physical event!

There is this inaccurate idea that many people in the self defense community hold. Many of them believe that if you have a gun, you don't need strength training.

Criminal attacks usually happen at very close quarters. Some statistics say that most gun fights involving normal citizens (not police officers) and criminals happen at 6 to 8 feet (about 2 to 3 metres)!

This means that the bad guy is likely to be just outside of arms reach or EVEN CLOSER! You may even find yourself at touching distance when you are fighting him off with your handgun.

While this may be a scary thought, it's important to understand that, even if you have a gun, there is a high likelihood that you will have to actually physically FIGHT with your attacker.

Fighting Takes Muscular Strength And Fitness

Fighting is a physical event!

If you don't have the stamina to run a 100 meters or the strength to engage in a physical struggle with another person for 30 seconds to a minute...

...you are not very well prepared to defend yourself from a criminal attack!

I really believe that getting some basic muscular strength training is one of the best things you can do to improve your chances of surviving a criminal attack.

I don't care if you are a:

• Teenager
• Middle aged person
• Senior citizen
• Man
• Woman

It doesn't matter if you are as thin as a rake, or severely overweight.

Whatever your current physical condition, I guarantee that you can improve your ability to fight off a criminal with some basic strength training.

You may have tried to "get fit" in the past, and failed, OR you may already go to gym and lift weights on a regular basis.

Whatever your relationship with muscular strength training or physical fitness, I am telling you that you could probably get more serious about it.

Make Muscular Strength Training A Priority

The only way to succeed at anything is to make it a priority in your life.

That's no secret.

Yet many people fail to achieve their goals and get the things they want in life. Something else always seems to get in the way of success.

"I have no time."

"I have to look after 2 kids."

"Work takes up all my time."

"I'm too unfit, I'll never get there."

EXCUSES!

We all have a million reasons why we can't work out at the gym or go for a run.

But that's all they are...

...excuses.

If you really want to improve your strength and fitness, you will find a way to do it.

There are many fantastic muscular strength training programs out there to suit you. Whether you're a complete beginner or an experienced weight lifter, there is a program that is just perfect for you.

Beginner Strength Training Program

I truly recommend the book "Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe". This book is suitable for teenagers who want to bulk up for school sports (the original purpose of the book) or anyone else.

The principles are the same regardless of who you are.

It covers the basics of muscular strength training with a solid core of exercises and an eating plan. The main purpose of the program is to help you gain muscle, but your stamina will also be improved as you follow it.

If you have been going to gym for years but you have never really achieved the results you had hoped for, this book is can help you. Once you start a strength training program that is based on sound principles, you will start to see real results.

Bottom Line: If You Value Your Safety You Will Start Exercising Today

Suppose you are not ready to start a serious muscular strength training program yet. You can still do SOMETHING to better prepare yourself for a criminal attack.

You can:

• Go for a walk
• Go for a run
• Lift weights in your garage
• Start swimming lengths of your pool
• Start Yoga or Pilates
• Go to an Aerobics class
• Take a martial arts class
• Go mountain biking or cycling

Any one of these activities will help you to increase your fitness and build up your bodily strength. No matter what the current state of your body is, there is something you can start doing today (no matter how small) that will make you a "harder target" for a criminal.

Why not decide to make a small but positive start right now?

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