10 Ways How To Train For Emergencies and Disasters

Gear? Check.

Plans? Check.

Training? Ch-….hmm….

In addition to everything else you need to do in order to be prepared, training is an extremely important part of overall preparedness.

If we’re not consistently training then we won’t figure out what works, discover holes in our plans or find even better ways of doing things.

I encourage the whole family to get involved in these training exercises, but it’s okay if it’s just you. Also, I’d suggest picking a few days a month to do these things. Plan them out and make the family aware that these things are happening. Some of these training ideas aren’t that Earth-shattering, but some of them might require a bit of planning and forethought.

The point of these training exercises is to make sure your plans and gear are exactly what you want for certain situations. If you go through these exercises and something didn’t go how you expected, great! Change it.

Here are 10 ways to train for potential emergencies and disasters:

Blackout night – This is a really fun exercise. Turn the lights out for a night or if you’re feeling bold, a whole weekend! No access to fridge or freezer or any other electronic device. This is a great training exercise that will surely show a few holes in your plans and preps. Break out the board games and enjoy quality time with your family by candle light!
Bug out drill – This is certainly a fun one, too. Time yourself to see how long it takes your household to get packed up into the vehicle. Then find alternative routes to your bug out location. Figure out how you can make all of this better.
Hike with bug out bag – I really love this training exercise. I have frequently done this with a baby strapped to my front with my bag on my back. It’s a huge eye opener to go hiking with your bug out bag. Walking around the neighborhood is a great start, but then take it to another level and go hiking. You may not ever be hiking with your bug out bag or even be putting it on for extended periods of time, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to get a feel for it.
Mentality – Training your mind has huge effects on everything you do or don’t do in life. How do you handle everyday life? What about stress? How do you handle change? Some of the best ways to train our mind is to train how we react or act to situations everyday. Stay aware of yourself and your actions and ask yourself how you could have handled that situation better. And then do better.
Alternative cooking – Instead of cooking on your stove, go cook with your BBQ or fire pit. Whatever alternative cooking source that you’ve designated for emergencies; go cook with it. I’d suggest doing this at least once a month. It’s an eye opener to slight adjustments that need to be made when using alternative means.
Hunt and gather – Have you ever spent the day hunting and gathering for your food? Even if you don’t plan to actually hunt or pick anything, head out and look for animals and forage for food. Take your gear, too. Spend the time exclusively looking for food sources.
Walk home from work – If you had to leave work due to an emergency but you couldn’t take your vehicle for whatever reason, how long would it take you to get home by foot? Forget about the fact that you could ‘just use a bike’ or maybe you traditionally ride your bike to work. When you leave work; walk home. It gives you a whole new perspective on what it might take to get home should you need to do it on foot.
Self-defense – No matter what your self-defense plans are, there should be plenty of training. If you carry pepper spray, then practice deploying it. If you carry a firearm, practice dry firing often, if you train in a hand-to-hand discipline, train regularly.
Disaster drills – Practice a fire drill, tornado drill, earthquake drill, chemical spill drill, etc. Whatever type of emergency or disaster is likely to happen in your area, practice those drills at least once a month.
First aid – What type of first aid training could you do? A LOT. Be safe when training for first aid, but you could practice how to put on a tourniquet, what procedures to do in case of ‘such and such’ (for example; someone has been outside in the heat all day without a lot of water and they’re not making any sense, how do you diagnose and treat?). Practice suturing or stapling on an orange or pigs foot. There are a lot of first aid scenarios that you can run through to train your knowledge and gear. Again, be safe.

I hope these ideas have inspired you to be more consistent with your overall preparedness training. Of course, there are tons of other ways to train that aren’t mentioned. There are a variety of other ways for us to train with our gear and knowledge. Don’t take the word of some internet guru that something ‘will just work’, try it out for yourself!

Everyone and every situation is different. You need to train for you and your needs.

See you in day 27!

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