Could you sprint 200 metres in less than 30 seconds? If not, good luck staying alive when the world comes to an end and it’s post-apocalyptic zombie time!

Today, we’re going to be discussing how strong and fast zombies are, and as a result, how strong and fast you need to be. We’ll be focusing on fast-zombies primarily, like “28 Days Later” and suchlike.

Today, we’re going to be discussing how strong and fast zombies are, and as a result, how strong and fast you need to be.

How strong are zombies?

To understand this, we need to understand first off what a fast zombie is. There’s a wide agreement in the zombie universe that slow zombies are your true zombies – shambling reanimated undead horrors hell-bent on consuming human flesh. But fast zombies are typically depicted as mostly human. They aren’t typical George Romero zombies, but actually, humans suffering from a particularly nasty disease. This means that rather than rotting away like the undead, most of the organs and muscular system is still intact, enabling fast movement.

The second thing we need to understand is that the whole “adrenalin makes you stronger” myth (also known as hysterical strength, such as a mother lifting a car off her child) has been debunked in numerous circles, and the research overall is inconclusive. So it’s not likely that an infected human will be any stronger than a normal human. BUT, if their pain receptors have been deactivated, they might not feel the same limits as we do, allowing them to push their body further. This may become a perceived strength, and to be fair, that’s probably quite enough to be scary in a post-apocalyptic nightmare.

How fast are zombies?

The type of primaeval, aggressive actions of infected humans could be caused in part by an over-active amygdala – that’s a part of the brain that controls one’s fight or flight response. If an infection were to get into this, it would be constantly firing fight or flight messages and tuning the body appropriately. That means a higher heart rate, seen in “I Am Legend” if you recall, as well as increased muscle tension and increased blood pressure.

An increased heart rate helps pump oxygen around the body, and although it may seem weird to think about a zombie needing air, for the types of zombies we’re discussing, it’s still a requirement. The muscle tension is for strength, and the blood pressure is for energy. Tense muscles with a good supply of oxygen are more durable, and will be able to withstand fast movements for longer. And again, if their pain receptors have been deactivated, zombies will be able to push themselves further than you.

Tense muscles with a good supply of oxygen are more durable, and will be able to withstand fast movements for longer.

So how fast and strong do you need to be?

The simplest possible advice I could write in this blog post is that the best way to survive a zombie apocalypse, in terms of fitness, is to exercise regularly and keep your body healthy before it begins. You should desire to be above-average in respects of both strength and cardio, otherwise you risk being unable to escape from a zombie.

According to fitness app Strava’s insights, the average person in Australia (the closest data I can find to NZ) can run a single mile (1.6 km) in just over nine minutes, and could run just over 4 miles (6.5 km) in a single session. But will you really be jogging for miles at a time with zombies at your heels? Maybe, but if you’re going to train yourself, train yourself to sprint.

Sprinting could be the difference between making it through the door or not, getting into the bus or getting tackled. If a zombie is able to push itself harder than you, the moment you start to slow down in a marathon, it will catch up. But if you’re trained for sudden and immense speed, you’ll likely be able to vastly outpace most zombies (who, remember, will just have been average humans once upon a time) and get very quickly to safety.

So consider this: A “good” time for a young person to spring 200 metres is about 21-25 seconds. If you can get even close to those levels, you’ll have 200 metres worth of safety distance to play with in case of sudden zombie ambush.

And as for strength? Don’t bother trying. Just learn to run. Even if you stumble upon a zombie very very close, you’ll be able to explode into speed and move away. If you’re caught, even a strong person would struggle to get away without suffering a wound – and it only takes the smallest amount of punctured skin to infect you (in most cases).

So, would I survive the zombie apocalypse based on this information?

Not a chance. I’ll be dead on the first day.

See you in the zombie’s mouth, everybody.

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