A few years ago when I was looking to slam down the debt I had accumulated, I ended up creating a spreadsheet and charting everything I owed (car, credit cards, student loans, etc). While the initial data point was intimidating, I made it my goal to make the line go down as much and as quickly as possible. That simple spreadsheet motivated me to cut my spending and use the extra money to decimate my debt.

Fitocracy.com is the fitness analog of my debt spreadsheet.

Fitocracy uses a point system. You log your exercises and earn points. After you've accumulated enough points you "level up" – much as you would if you were playing a game like World of Warcraft/Dungeons & Dragons/etc.

There is also a heavy social aspect to the site. You can join groups of people with similar interests or goals, you can follow your friends and keep track of their progress, you can even comment on and congratulate people for certain workouts or for reaching goals. So if the gamification (yes, it's a real word) isn't a big enough hook to keep you motivated, you can also get your friends behind you to keep you from slacking off.

Fitocracy is currently in closed beta right now, so if you want to try it, you'll need an invite code – which I just happen to have a few of :).

If you'd like to join and follow me you can use this link (only 9 invites left at the time I wrote this): http://ftcy.co/tEziaJ my invites have run out – try one of the groups below.

If you're a fan of the Penny Arcade webcomic, this invite link will put you in their group: http://ftcy.co/uXhMAR

There's also a "Getting Fit for the Zombie Apocalypse" group that I joined: http://ftcy.co/vSvdgj

I hate to admit it, but my preparedness for a Zombie attack is not very complete yet. In fact there are several things I just don't have any clue about.

Some of them are:
Can a Zombie drown?
Is it possible for a shark to become infected by a Zombie?
Do Zombies need to sleep?
How long can a Zombie live without feeding?
Is tear gas an effective deterrent? Bear spray?
What would happen if Superman was infected by a Zombie? (This might be a FAWM song!)

(Yes, I'm treating "Zombie" as a proper noun and capitalizing it as such.)

Hey guys… all these earthquakes… ummm.

I think this is how it all starts. A bunch of earthquakes, some essential systems get knocked offline, chaos ensues. And then the zombies attack.

It's important that we all do our parts to take it easy and try to minimize new earthquakes to slow down this scenario. Here are some starter ideas:

• Walk more softly
• Don't jump, ever
• No more rock music, only play elevator music
• Carry tranquilizer guns to be used on construction workers
• etc

Even if you know that you're going to be whisked away during the rapture, and won't have to face the zombie apocalypse that will mark the beginning of Armageddon, let's try to slow things down for those of us that will stay here and fight.

Ok people, there are tons of us. Almost 7-billion of us! I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that 1 out of every 100,000 people is actually a "superhero" – using a secret identity to fight crime in the spare time. That works out to ~70,000 (seventy-thousand) superheroes! Even if you assume that only 1 out of every 1 million people is a superhero, you're still left with about 7 thousand superheroes.

Are these people doing such an awesome job that we are truly completely unaware of their existence?

If you're a superhero, I would suggest contacting me. We'll need your talents and abilities when it comes time to fight the zombies!

There's a good chance that once the zombies rise, or very soon afterward, that many of the forms of communication that we rely on and take for granted will cease to exist.

Infrastructure will be destroyed not just from the zombies, but from panic (raiding/vandalism), decay, fear, etc. Until that happens though, many will just see the threat of zombies as some kind of joke, or the delusion of people that have seen too many horror movies – or need a random and consistent theme for blog posts. It's important then, that once the attacks begin, that anyone "in the know" turn immediately to any available channels of communication and begin organizing friends and family and getting them to do the same.

That last blast of organization and planning could be the thing that ultimately saves humanity.

So, the zombies have taken over, you fear for your safety and the people you know that are still surviving – but what do you DO?!

One of the first steps you need to take is to find a secure location to call home, and eventually turn into a headquarters to fight the horde from.

When looking for a shelter, you need to consider the following: visibility, security, resources, size, and comfort. One of the top locations on my list is a "home improvement warehouse" type store, like Lowe's or Home Depot.

My local Home Depot is ideal – here's how it breaks down:

Visibility: The parking lot is huge. A couple people on the roof will be able to see a pack or a lone zombie coming from a long way away, giving us plenty of time to prepare.

Security: The building is metal. You need to pass through 2 sets of doors to get inside. The ceilings are ridiculously high, with metal racks going all the way up in some areas, giving us the ability to always have the "high ground" in case the location has been breached.

Resources: The darn place is full of building supplies, electrical equipment, packaged food, and power tools (they're pretty much the best weapons!) Also, I'm sure there's a large enough section with solar stuff that I could rig together so we would be set even if power was cut to the building.

Size: Again – it's huge.

Comfort: Refrigerators, stoves, microwaves, stuff to build beds – I can't think of a more comfortable place to seek refuge.

I think we all know that it's just a matter of time before we're confronted with a full-blown zombie uprising… but, have you watched enough zombie movies to know how to survive?

The Zombie Survival Guide is an excellent book (I'm currently borrowing a copy from the library) for brushing up on your escape plans and survival strategies.

Also, the website Zombie Preparedness Initiative is an excellent resource with tons of information about escaping, surviving, staying healthy, and FIGHTING in a world overrun by zombies.

Both of these resources will dramatically increase your chances of not only surviving, but also helping to strengthen the resistance and reclaim our world!

If we all do our part and prepare in advance (perhaps we should replace Fire and Tornado drills with Zombie drills?), we'll be unstoppable! Take THAT Zombies!