My friend John Wood of www.oldtimestrongman.com shared this Earle E. Liederman 1926 statement:
Every man should be able to save his own life. He should be able to swim far enough, run fast and long enough to save his life in case of emergency and necessity. He also should be able to chin himself a reasonable number of times, as well as to dip a number of times, and he should be able to jump a reasonable height and distance.
Whew.
“Every man should be able to save his own life.”
Now there’s a quote to make you stop and reflect on your own state of fitness.
Obviously, the statement was written in 1926 for men but holds true for women, too.
Thanks for the reminder, John.
Ao Akua,
Joe
www.mrfire.com
PS — John has several other websites, including
www.FunctionalHandStrength.com
www.oldtimestrongman.com
www.bodyweightbasics.com
www.trapbartraining.com
5 Comments
Yes, I should be able to save my own life. I should be a rich man and I should save my future life. Thanks Joe.
I’ve been thinking that it applies not only to our physical beings but also to our mental, emotional, and financial beings as well. We should be able to pull ourselves out of the financial holes we’ve dug for ourselves—or be ingenious enough to know where to find assistance. We should be able to talk ourselves down from the ledge (mentally) and to comfort ourselves (emotionally). I suppose that this is what I’m striving for personally. I strive to not only save my life, but become the joy of my own life. Great thoughts, Joe.
Now, more than any other time in history, we have the power to effect any change we desire in the world. Not only are we able, but we have the responsibility to save our own lives and change the world, now!
Thanks Joe!
I came across the blog at http://igotthemusic.com and they were talking about ‘Parkour’. That’s the street running gymnastics you see at the beinning of the James Bond film Casino Royale.
That seems like a level of fitness beyond most peoples wildest dreams!
I would love to be able to do that – it just seems that Olympic Gymnasts wouldn’t be able to keep up!
This is a great point. In today’s society it’s easy to get soft but it’s true that we should remain mindful of the need to, as you say “save our own life”.
I’ve been in situations where I was later grateful for my fitness or training. I’d even add to the tone of being in physical shape everyone should take at least basic first aid and self defense insturction to be really well rounded.