Capability · What you can do
Capability: a body that can cope, hands that know what to do
Capability is the readiness you carry in yourself: a body that can lift, walk and climb stairs when it has to, and hands that know first aid and how to cook without power. The five Ready Body tests take ten minutes and tell you honestly where you stand.
Why your body is kit
Every real UK emergency looks the same up close. Carrying water home when the taps are off. Walking 5 km because the trains have stopped. Ten flights of stairs because the lift is out with the power. Helping an older neighbour up. None of it is dramatic; all of it is physical. A cupboard full of supplies still has to be carried, and no torch walks you home.
This is the pillar no other UK preparedness site covers, and it’s built on the least controversial standard there is: the NHS guideline of 150 minutes of moderate activity a week plus strength work on at least two days. We organise that guidance around what emergencies actually ask of a body — nothing more exotic than stairs, shopping bags and a park.
These pages describe NHS guidance and our own clearly-labelled standards. They are not medical advice: check with your GP before starting if you haven’t exercised for some time, or have a condition or concern.
Where to start
Take the five Ready Body tests: carry, walk, get up, climb, hang on. Ten minutes across a week, no kit beyond shopping bags and a bar in the park, and an honest answer at the end. Whatever you score, each test comes with a four-week plan that starts where you are.
The skills side is just as unglamorous and just as useful: basic first aid, cooking a meal on a camping stove safely, keeping food cold without power. Once each is enough to know you can.
The capability rules
- Test, don’t guess. Ten minutes of honest testing beats a year of good intentions.
- The NHS guideline is the ceiling and the floor. We add nothing beyond it and accept nothing less than it as the goal.
- Skills are practised once before they’re needed. A camping stove you’ve never lit is cupboard clutter.
- Check with your GP first if you haven’t exercised for some time.
Changelog
- 26 August 2026 — page created; launch set of capability guides published.
Guides
The five Ready Body tests: is your body ready for a bad week?
Five self-checks for fitness for emergencies: carry, walk, get up, climb and hang on. Pass standards, what each tells you, and a 4-week plan if you can't yet.
CapabilityKeep the fridge cold in a power cut
How long does food last in the fridge without power? Up to four hours, says the FSA, and a full freezer 48. How to stretch both, and what to bin after.
CapabilityCandles in a power cut, without a house fire
Candle safety in a power cut: the fire service rules quoted word for word, why a torch is the safer choice, and three better ways to light a dark room.
CapabilityHow to cook without electricity, safely
How to cook without electricity when the power goes off: what needs no cooking, gas hobs lit by hand, and the carbon monoxide rule that never bends.
CapabilityHow to keep warm when the heating is off
How to keep warm without heating: one warm room, layers, hot water bottles and flasks, plus the fire service rules for portable heaters and electric blankets.
CapabilityHow to purify water when you have to
How to purify water UK-style: bottled water and bowsers come first, boiling is what a boil notice asks for, and tablets and filters are the honest backstop.
CapabilityThe 12-week Ready Body programme, free and gym-free
A free 12-week functional fitness programme for beginners: walks, carries, stairs and sit-to-stands at home, built on the NHS activity guidelines.
CapabilityStrength after sixty: the most useful training there is
Strength training over 60, the NHS way: what the guidelines actually ask, chair-based versions of the five Ready Body tests and a gentle weekly pattern.
CapabilityThe carry test: two heavy bags, two flights
The farmers carry test explained: 15 to 20 kg up two flights of stairs, why that weight, the pass standard, a four-week plan and how to make it easier.
CapabilityThe climb test: ten flights, then talk
A stair climbing fitness test you can do at home: ten flights at a steady walk, holding a conversation a minute after the top, plus a four-week plan.
CapabilityThe get-up test: floor to standing, no hands
Can you get up off the floor without hands? The pass standard, what it says about leg strength and balance, a four-week plan, and how to scale it up or down.
CapabilityThe hang test: thirty seconds on a bar
The dead hang test explained: 30 seconds on a bar or 60 seconds holding two heavy bags, what grip is actually for, a four-week plan and how to scale it safely.
CapabilityThe walk test: five kilometres in an hour
Can you walk 5km in an hour? The pass standard, what a brisk pace really means, why getting home on foot matters, and a four-week plan if you are not there yet.
Where do you stand?
The Household Readiness Score asks four Capability questions among its twelve. Three minutes, no email needed.
Check your score