There is not one prep greater than your own body and mind.

That sounds like a broad, sweeping statement, but it's 100% true.

If you aren't fit – both physically and mentally – all your preps may very well be worthless. I'm not saying this to beat up on you, but to encourage you to be the best, healthiest, version of yourself. This is something I'm personally working on and I urge you to do the same.

Think about these questions:

If you had to bug out for 20 miles through the hills to escape to safety, could you do it? If you could, when is the last time you actually walked 20 miles? If it's been awhile, then you don't actually know if you could do it.

If you needed to fell a tree and split it into firewood to keep from freezing to death, could you do it? Chopping wood is a lot harder than most folks think, and I'm not just talking about the skills you need to do it.

Are you at a healthy body weight? Are you really? More people in America are overweight than anywhere else in the world. And if you are one of those people, have you considered the fact that an extra 30 pounds is the same amount of weight as carrying a second bug-out bag?

If you are not physically fit, you know it, even if you don't want to admit it out loud.

Fitness is the key to emergency preparedness. But it's HARD. Most people don't have any idea how to reach their health goals. I know that this has been a battle for me and for a lot of other folks I know.