Do you know your limits?

[The Stig]

A man's got to know his limitations - "Dirty" Harry Calahan

Do you know your personal limits?

How long can you go without food before you lose focus and/or effectiveness ?

What about water? Its reaaaly easy to get dehydrated and lose your mental edge/processing power.

How much physical exertion before you tire?

How much dead weight can you lift? How much load can you cary over a long distance?

How many nights can you sleep on the ground before your back knots up?

How long can go without showering before you're grossed out?

How much campfire food can you eat before your system rebells? MREs before your system shuts down?

What are you willing to eat once the food runs out?

How hot can it get before you can't hack it? How long can you function in very cold weather?

How long can you go without contact with another human before you go stir crazy?

How far are you really willing to go to protect your family? Friends? Casual acquaintances? Strangers?

Just a bunch of random thoughts. Prob no way to know some of them in advance. Its good to think them through if you can't test the limits ahead of time.

[izzyscout21]

Glad you brought his up. Most of us have no way of knowing where our limits are, as we have never been tested. It would behoove us all to think of these things before we have to consider them for real. Some of us have some idea from being in combat, but even then, we were pretty well supplied and got some form of food/water/rest. How far do you think you can go?

[bacpacker]

A man's got to know his limitations - "Dirty" Harry Calahan

Do you know your personal limits?

How long can you go without food before you lose focus and/or effectiveness ? 24/36 HOURS

What about water? Its reaaaly easy to get dehydrated and lose your mental edge/processing power. 2 Days max, I go thru a lot of water

How much physical exertion before you tire? These days not much. I am very out of shape. I will however push till I can't.

How much dead weight can you lift? How much load can you cary over a long distance? 100lbs + worked in hay for years. I have carried 90+ for several days before, now days 60-75 would be more than enough.

How many nights can you sleep on the ground before your back knots up? My back is always knotted up, herniated disk. I'll sleep out for as long as needed. I really like it.

How long can go without showering before you're grossed out? Never happen.

How much campfire food can you eat before your system rebells? MREs before your system shuts down? It typically don't bother me. Never ate enough MRE's to know.

What are you willing to eat once the food runs out? Whatever I need to.

How hot can it get before you can't hack it? How long can you function in very cold weather? Heat bother me much more than the cold, 90 degrees and high humidity wears me out. I've been out in below zero temps for a few days and didn't have much problem with it. Just gotta have the right gear.

How long can you go without contact with another human before you go stir crazy? Isolation don't bother me much. I kinda like it really.

How far are you really willing to go to protect your family? Friends? Casual acquaintances? Strangers? Family, I'll kill to protect them. Friends, depends on which ones. Others, I don't know. I hope I can do the right thing whatever that may be.

Just a bunch of random thoughts. Prob no way to know some of them in advance. Its good to think them through if you can't test the limits ahead of time.
Good questions. Lots of thought provoking here. I will be giving this more thought for sure.

[LUNCHBOX]

I would like to answer some of these questions but I believe an individual will step up to some things and others will break them (you just don't/won't know til it happens) I think the eating and protecting your family go without saying. As for pushing yourself, you should not push to hard due to not knowing what is coming next. Weather we can't control so you might as well not worry there. Going without rest or sleep will hurt you more then words could say in regards to your safety/health for you and your family. This is a good question and harder to answer than you would think.

[Fatty]

We humans are far more capable then we allow ourselves to be. Our minds limit us more than our physical capabilities do.

Ones mentality will carry you farther than you thought your legs could.

[RedJohn]

Understood, but do you know your mental strength?

[TEOTWAWKI13]

A man's got to know his limitations - "Dirty" Harry Calahan

Do you know your personal limits? On some things

How long can you go without food before you lose focus and/or effectiveness ? After the initial hunger wears off, a long time. If I'm doing something strenuous, I don't want to eat anything.

What about water? Its reaaaly easy to get dehydrated and lose your mental edge/processing power. Not long. I drink a lot of water.

How much physical exertion before you tire? Once I hit the "wall", I usually push through it and can last a good while.

How much dead weight can you lift? How much load can you cary over a long distance? Deadlift 150ish, I've carried 50-60 on my back on the AT for 3 days, so I'd say about that, maybe a bit more, as I'm stronger now. Out of shape, but still stronger.

How many nights can you sleep on the ground before your back knots up? That doesn't bother me too much, but after 4-5 I'd be tired of it maybe.

How long can go without showering before you're grossed out? What's a shower? Just kidding. A week maybe, but you can always rinse off somehow.

How much campfire food can you eat before your system rebells? MREs before your system shuts down? I tend to have an iron gut.

What are you willing to eat once the food runs out? Whatever I have too, I suppose.

How hot can it get before you can't hack it? How long can you function in very cold weather? I live in Georgia, it's only a few degrees cooler than hell here in the summer.

How long can you go without contact with another human before you go stir crazy? Quite a while actually.

How far are you really willing to go to protect your family? Friends? Casual acquaintances? Strangers? Family, as far as necessary. All others, depends on the situation.

Just a bunch of random thoughts. Prob no way to know some of them in advance. Its good to think them through if you can't test the limits ahead of time.

Good post. I guess the ultimate answer is no one really knows until it's that time.

[RedJohn]

A man's got to know his limitations - "Dirty" Harry Calahan

Do you know your personal limits? Mostly

How long can you go without food before you lose focus and/or effectiveness ? I know for a fact that 2 days (with water) is not really a challenge.

What about water? Its reaaaly easy to get dehydrated and lose your mental edge/processing power. Thirsty is tough, very tough.

How much physical exertion before you tire? Unfortunately, exhaustion comes easy lately.

How much dead weight can you lift? How much load can you cary over a long distance? Anything above 60lbs (25kg) may be troublesome.

How many nights can you sleep on the ground before your back knots up? I have no problems with that. My back is bad no matter what, but I can do it.

How long can go without showering before you're grossed out? With just water, I could go quite a while. With nothing not too long. Thank God for wipes.

How much campfire food can you eat before your system rebells? MREs before your system shuts down? I eat almost anything anywhere. Almost.

What are you willing to eat once the food runs out? Well, like above, almost anything, almost, but surely more than a lot of people.

How hot can it get before you can't hack it? How long can you function in very cold weather? Hot is my trouble and I've always been in hot countries and I know that it is tough for me. Cold is easy if you're prepared.

How long can you go without contact with another human before you go stir crazy? The question for me is how long I can be WITH people. I love and long for loneliness.

How far are you really willing to go to protect your family? Friends? Casual acquaintances? Strangers? Family and Friends = Death. Casual = Depends on the conditions, Strangers = Tough luck find someone else for support.

Just a bunch of random thoughts. Prob no way to know some of them in advance. Its good to think them through if you can't test the limits ahead of time.

These are very good questions.

[Fatty]

Understood, but do you know your mental strength?

Yes. I've had to push the barriers of my mental strength/ weakness. And everytime I find I was previously mistaken.

Although I would rather call it " mental toughness."

I'm sure many on this site including a lot of service members understand the point I'm trying to make.


Consider a marathon runner or better yet an ironman triathlete. That's alot of intestinal fortitude to have to develope and mentally handle. I hope to one day be able to experience it.

That of course is by choice.


In the end when shtf, my mentality is this- You will endure it. There is no other choice.

It's always good to test the boundaries. We are here on this site because we don't believe in the boundaries set forth by society:)


Unless I'm completely out my element lol. Then I guess just call me Donnie.

[Kodiak]

Good questions. I think each man/woman likes to think they can handle most anything until they actually have to make a decision or actually live through turmoil. With the world being in the mess that it is each one of us can learn some of the strengths and weaknesses man can endure just by watching the news. When someone is pushed to the limit they will either fight through it or break, that is simple human nature. I would hope that most of us on this site, having the forethought to prepare for an uncertain future would perhaps have an edge both mentally and physically because most of us understand that life is not just living in our own happy little world where nothing bad can happen.

[bacpacker]

In the end when shtf, my mentality is this- You will endure it. There is no other choice.
It's always good to test the boundaries. We are here on this site because we don't believe in the boundaries set forth by society:)

Your dead on Fatty, There is no other choice.

[piranha2]

In the end when shtf, my mentality is this- You will endure it. There is no other choice.
It's always good to test the boundaries. We are here on this site because we don't believe in the boundaries set forth by society:)

Your dead on Fatty, There is no other choice.


Although I have many limits, I agree, failure is not an option.

[RedJohn]

... failure is not an option.

You got that right.

[damienstoy]

I've had my share of ups and downs, and what I find helps me is to remember that I can do or endure anything for five minutes. And when that five minutes is done, I go for another five. What I might not be able to face for an indefinite time? I can do for five minutes.

[gunbuilder69]

I've had my share of ups and downs, and what I find helps me is to remember that I can do or endure anything for five minutes. And when that five minutes is done, I go for another five. What I might not be able to face for an indefinite time? I can do for five minutes.
That my friend, Is an invaluable mindset that should be more prevalent!