Natty Power

Let’s start training with essential activities of prehistoric human.

In prehistoric times, humans practiced certain activities that are now known as “bushcraft”. Even in modern times, such practical skills could be very useful for outdoor adventures and in the event of emergency. Training in tradition of prehistoric buschraft would mainly focus on abilities to:

• Build a shelter,
• Light a fire,
• Make a spear.

All these essential bushcraft activities rely on wood as a working material, since it was always widely available in the nature.

1st Bushcraft Training Session - Building a Shelter

Try to find trees with thin branches, easy to break solely by power of your hands. If you intend to actually build a shelter, preferably look for trees with lots of leafs, because leafs are excellent isolation from cold and elements. Here is what you should do:

• Jump high to reach a branch.
• Push and Pull the branch to break it from the tree.
• Carry the branch to the place where you plan to build a shelter.

Removing branches off from the tree would be quite easy with an axe or a saw, but to build real natural power, rather do it with your bare hands. Actually, you should wear gloves to protect your hands from scratches and blisters, but you should not use any tools. Jump up, catch the branch, hold it firmly and then push and pull the branch fiercefully, until it breaks. Repeat this several times in a row, preferably without pauses. You will be puffing and huffing and panting like a marathon runner.

For training purposes, carry broken branches in different styles. Walk quickly and over long distances with heavy branch in your hands and you will be on a good path to become a competing strongman one day in a distant future.

If you carefully stack long leafy branches at 45° degree angle around a tree or stake, you can build a really nice little hut very easily. This won’t be a part of the training process, but could be a lot of fun and excitement for you, to see the actual result of your newly acquired skill. Since you already have gathered all the necessary building material, just go on and build the hut indeed. It can protect you from the elements and harsh weather conditions, like rain, snow, sun and cold winds. Congratulations, if you manage to do it. This very useful skill may save your life in case of a natural disaster or if you get lost in the nature.

2nd Bushcraft Training Session - Lighting a Fire

Look around for a dry wood. Snap thin sticks with power of your hands. Thick pieces of wood should be held with both hands and then pushed or pulled, to break them on a vertical tree trunk. For impact training, use the same pushing and pulling motions, but this time, explosively hit the tree with the branch in your hands. Here is the work that needs to be done:

• Bend thin sticks with hands to break them into smaller pieces, ideal for starting a fire.
• Push and Pull thick branches against a vertical tree trunk, until it eventually breaks or just keep on trying. Another very efficient method for breaking branches is to stuck one end between two close tree trunks.
• Hit-Push and Hit-Pull at the tree trunk with the same branch held in both of your hands. Hitting the tree trunk this way would be great for training impacts and building rigidness in tendons, ligaments and joints of the upper body.
• Slide a knife over the piece of dry wood to get wooden shavings and chips necessary to initiate a fire. Do it towards the body and away from the body. This is a short and relatively weak motion, but good for strengthening grip and forearms.
• Squat for time in so called “ass to the grass” deep squat position. Do it for as long as you can stand it. Squat while you break sticks, make wood shavings, arrange firewood in a cone shape, light it all up and then enjoy the warmth. Make pauses if needed and then continue squatting.

Fire was vital for prehistoric humans. It provided warmth during cold nights, was used for roasting meat and probably the most important purpose of all, fire protected humans from wild animals.

Lighting fire the way prehistoric people did it, with sticks and stones, may be a real hassle and not relevant for power training. Rather use a lighter or matches. However, to play safe and avoid uncontrolled wildfires, you should not actually light a fire at all. Very often, it is forbidden to light fires in forests and urban areas, so please check the local regulations before playing with matches.

3rd Bushcraft Training Session – Making a Spear

Find a pine or poplar sapling or any other straight tree specie. Straight branch would also do the job. To be useful as a javelin for throwing, the chosen piece of wood should be between 4 and 7 feet long. If you are not planning to throw it, the spear could be shorter or longer.

• Push, Pull and Twist vigorously the chosen sapling or straight branch, until it breaks.
• Push, Pull and Twist all sprouts and shoots to remove them from the spear with your hands.

To get your heart pumping, try to make a few spears in short period of time. The faster you make them, the more tired you will get, hence, the better training session is. This is a simple and easy training, but it will strength your grip and forearms for harder activities. Optionally, you can use a knife to sharpen the tip of the spear, but it is just a bushcraft skill and won’t build any significant power.