Evolutionary Fitness

Interesting. I'm definitely a fan of doing more functional exercises as well - exercises that mimic normal behavior as opposed to machines that isolate one particular muscle group that doesn't normally get used in isolation. Varying your routine also has the nice side benefit of keeping it interesting...

It's kind of the same with puppies, huh? They sleep most of the time, then they have fits of running and playing, eating meat and cereals. Dogs are known to be lean animals -- when they are in the best of health, they look a little "emaciated" to the eye.

In not so primitive times, we were all out there farming and walking. It wasn't until industrialization that the general public tended towards obesity.

I guess that's why moms lose weight so fast with the second child! The exercise is random! I'm also thinking those early humans didn't have a bag of Tostitos waiting in the pantry. If you want to mimic historic conditions, you may have to live in a cave.

I'd say that looking back on our anscestors isn't always the best route. They died a lot earlier in life than we do. Life expectancy rates have increased over the years. That said, of course they lived healthier lives, as their indulgences weren't wrapped in cellophane and made with who-knows-what. I think the sign of a good trainer is the ability to put his/her class of students/trainees through varied routines, to change things up and keep the body challenged. I definitely agree with you that our workouts need to be random, if only to conquer boredom and stimulate motivation.

That's interesting. I think the main thing is to definitely even out the physical exercise we have everyday, instead of the polarization of working in a cubicle all day and then working up a hard sweat at the gym afterwards. As for the suggestion that mimicking the exercise of our ancestors is best: I think that they were relatively physically well because the stresses they endured were things like gathering/hunting for food and evading predators... and in between, there was probably a lot of down time to "chill." Since food was hard to come by, they were only able to obtain just the right amount to live, so there was less glut, I would guess. Simplicity of life + nothing automated (meaning more exercise) + just enough food - modern medicines = a decently fit body unless you already had a sickness, which would then be the end of you. So... I can see where he's coming from. There are some pearls to get from his point of view.