Fitness for readiness
Exercise to be ready for emergencies and personal safety. Walking to a shelter, carrying water and supplies, climbing a trail, moving quickly: everyday exercise builds these.
Camping, hiking, and gardening all ask something of your body, so how to move and build fitness for them belongs here too.
Our rules
- Exercise targets follow public guidelines.
- We don't cover preventing or treating disease, or diagnosing injuries.
- Stay within your limits. See Safety.
Disaster drills as games: ShakeOut, CERT, kids' preparedness games and Japan's disaster sports days
Preparedness sticks better when people practice it. The Great ShakeOut earthquake drills, CERT's disaster simulation, FEMA and Red Cross games for kids, folk games for tsunami awareness in Viet Nam, and Japan's disaster-prevention sports days and PLAY BOSAI program, where bucket relays, blanket stretchers and smoke crawls become team events.
Play and sport after disasters: what the Red Cross, UNICEF and the research say
Shared activities, from games to sport, help people cope after disasters. What the Red Cross Red Crescent psychosocial centre and UNICEF say about play and child-friendly spaces, what a 2026 systematic review found on sport-based interventions, and how Japan encourages gentle exercise in evacuation shelters.
Read more Play and sport after disasters: what the Red Cross, UNICEF and the research say
Mölkky: the Finnish throwing game that brings all ages together, and how Japan used it after the Noto earthquake
Mölkky is a simple Finnish throwing game: knock down numbered wooden skittles and hit exactly 50 points. Official rules from the International Mölkky Organisation, why it suits mixed ages, and how towns in Japan's earthquake-hit Noto region have used tournaments and community salons to bring people together.
Walking home after a quake in Tokyo: stay put for three days first
After the 2011 earthquake, about 5.15 million people were stranded in the Tokyo area, and many walked home. Today Tokyo asks people to stay at work or school for three days so rescuers can move. The ordinance, support stations for people walking home, and how to prepare your route, shoes and legs.
Read more Walking home after a quake in Tokyo: stay put for three days first
Active kids: 60 minutes a day in the U.S. and Japan, and why play matters
U.S. guidelines ask children 6 to 17 for 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous activity daily, with muscle- and bone-strengthening on 3 days a week; preschoolers should be active throughout the day. Japan sets a 60-minute daily target even for preschoolers, built around varied play. What counts, and how camping and outdoor play help.
Read more Active kids: 60 minutes a day in the U.S. and Japan, and why play matters
Water competency: the swimming skills that keep you alive, and Japan's 'float and wait'
About 11 people drown in the U.S. every day. The Red Cross water competency skills, CDC's prevention advice (swim lessons, life jackets, buddies), 'Reach or throw, don't go', how to escape a rip current, and the Japan Coast Guard's advice to float and wait when you can't reach land.
Read more Water competency: the swimming skills that keep you alive, and Japan's 'float and wait'
Balance training and fall prevention for older adults
Falls caused over 43,000 deaths among adults 65 and older in 2024, and 1 in 4 older adults report falling every year. CDC's numbers and risk factors, NIA's balance exercises (about three sessions a week), and why the Physical Activity Guidelines ask older adults for balance training, plus how to plan an evacuation around mobility.
Read more Balance training and fall prevention for older adults
Lifting and carrying water, gear and go-bags without hurting your back
Preparedness means heavy things: water jugs, fuel, firewood, a packed go-bag. What NIOSH's lifting research says (the 51-pound load constant applies only under ideal two-handed conditions), the practical rules for lifting and carrying, and how Japan's 40%-of-body-weight guideline compares.
Read more Lifting and carrying water, gear and go-bags without hurting your back
Strength for the trail: training to avoid falls and slips
In Japan, falls on the trail (19.2%) and slips from heights (17.3%) made up over a third of 2025 mountain accidents, and people 60 and older were nearly half of those involved. What U.S. and Japanese guidelines say about strength and balance, and a simple training plan for hikers.
Read more Strength for the trail: training to avoid falls and slips
Exercising in the heat: WBGT, heat illness signs, and Japan's heat alerts
Why hikers and outdoor workers should watch WBGT, not just temperature. Japan's five-step exercise guideline (at WBGT 31 or above, exercise should be stopped except in special cases), Japan's Heat Stroke Alert at WBGT 33, and the NWS guide to heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Read more Exercising in the heat: WBGT, heat illness signs, and Japan's heat alerts
Fitness for readiness: U.S. and Japanese activity guidelines side by side
The U.S. says 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity a week plus muscle strengthening on 2 days; Japan says about 60 minutes of walking-level activity a day (about 8,000 steps). How the two compare for adults, older adults and kids, and how to turn them into the strength to walk, carry and climb in an emergency.
Read more Fitness for readiness: U.S. and Japanese activity guidelines side by side