This is one of those things that is obvious, but that isn't discussed enough in my opinion. If you look at the most popular sports worldwide, you will see that they are very similar in terms of movement. Basically, almost all major sports involve some type of repeated sprint performance.
Let's take four sports: soccer, (American) football, basketball, and ice hockey. All involve short sprints/bursts with moderate rest periods. That all these sports are so similar is not a coincidence. For all these sports to be watched and valued by society, I belive that this type of physical performance must have been evolutionary valued in ancestral times. That is, these sports mimic to the greatest extent the abilities that would make a good Paleolithic hunter.
Let's take football, the most popular sport in America. It is played on a grass field, mimicking the African savannah. Now let's look at the specifics. This study shows that the average football play lasts around 5 to 6 seconds, and the average rest period is around 47 seconds. To me, this shows that the amount of work or power a person can do in 5 seconds is evolutionary valued. Certainly, the athletes that can perform the most in these 5 second bursts today are rewarded with money, fame, and influence.
The formats of football/soccer/basketball/hockey all have certain similar elements. The burst periods are all roughly in the 3 to 15 second range. They all involve repeated sprints - that is, it is not like a track event where competitors run one race and the event is over. The various sprints are repeated many times over several hours.
Next, they all have somewhat short rest periods. In other words, recovering between sprints is a factor in game performance, and those who recover better or quicker will have an advantage. Or to say it a different way, the aerobic metabolism is involved.
Overall, if you look at sports from an evolutionary view, it tells you what type of physical performance humans (especially men) are suited for: short repeated sprints, with moderate to short rest periods. Also, it would be best if this was done outdoors, on grass, and with other people!
This is one of those things that is obvious, but that isn't discussed enough in my opinion. If you look at the most popular sports worldwide, you will see that they are very similar in terms of movement. Basically, almost all major sports involve some type of repeated sprint performance.
Let's take four sports: soccer, (American) football, basketball, and ice hockey. All involve short sprints/bursts with moderate rest periods. That all these sports are so similar is not a coincidence. For all these sports to be watched and valued by society, I belive that this type of physical performance must have been evolutionary valued in ancestral times. That is, these sports mimic to the greatest extent the abilities that would make a good Paleolithic hunter.
Let's take football, the most popular sport in America. It is played on a grass field, mimicking the African savannah. Now let's look at the specifics. This study shows that the average football play lasts around 5 to 6 seconds, and the average rest period is around 47 seconds. To me, this shows that the amount of work or power a person can do in 5 seconds is evolutionary valued. Certainly, the athletes that can perform the most in these 5 second bursts today are rewarded with money, fame, and influence.
The formats of football/soccer/basketball/hockey all have certain similar elements. The burst periods are all roughly in the 3 to 15 second range. They all involve repeated sprints - that is, it is not like a track event where competitors run one race and the event is over. The various sprints are repeated many times over several hours.
Next, they all have somewhat short rest periods. In other words, recovering between sprints is a factor in game performance, and those who recover better or quicker will have an advantage. Or to say it a different way, the aerobic metabolism is involved.
Overall, if you look at sports from an evolutionary view, it tells you what type of physical performance humans (especially men) are suited for: short repeated sprints, with moderate to short rest periods. Also, it would be best if this was done outdoors, on grass, and with other people!