What You Can (Really) Learn About Exercise from Your Human Ancestors

What You Can (Really) Learn About Exercise from Your Human Ancestors

We all know how indisputably good exercise is for you. Yet a lot of folks still find it a struggle to engage in much physical activity. To understand the reason that this conflict and tension exists and how to overcome it, it helps to understand the lives of our human ancestors. Though, not the way the popular culture understands them, but the way someone who's actually studied them understands them.

My guest is such an expert guide. His name is Daniel Lieberman, and he's a Harvard professor of human evolutionary biology and the author of Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding. Today on the show, Daniel shares what we can really learn from our ancestors as to our modern relationship with exercise, while debunking some of the popular myths about our hunter-gatherer history. We begin by talking about how very recent, and actually quite weird, the whole concept of exercise is. We then discuss the fact that our ancestors were not the natural super athletes we typically imagine, what their state of physicality was really like, and how understanding their lifestyle can help us understand the competing interests going on in our own minds and bodies that can leave us feeling ambivalent about getting up and moving around. We then discuss if, as it's been said, "sitting is the new smoking," and the less and more healthy ways to sit. Daniel unpacks whether we're evolved for running, how our ancestors' strength compares to our own, and whether or not exercise helps us lose weight. We end our conversation with how this background on the past can help us in the present, by showing us the two factors that are critical in helping us moderns make exercise a habit.

Get the show notes aom.is/exercised.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episoder(1159)

#321: How to Think About Money

#321: How to Think About Money

Personal finance can seem intimidating, but the reality is it’s pretty basic — save more than you spend, find ways to earn more, invest for the long-term, and protect your assets. But if personal fina...

14 Jul 201735min

#320: The ADHD Explosion

#320: The ADHD Explosion

You’ve probably heard about the precipitous rise in diagnoses of ADHD in America the past few decades. What was once a rare mental illness has now become a common problem amongst children -- particula...

11 Jul 201751min

#318: Exploring Life's Trails, Literally and Metaphorically

#318: Exploring Life's Trails, Literally and Metaphorically

My guest today is Robert Moor, author of "On Trails: An Exploration."______________One of my favorite things to do in life is to find and hike a trail out in the wilds. I love how a good trail gently ...

3 Jul 201755min

#317: Why Your First Impression Matters & How to Improve It

#317: Why Your First Impression Matters & How to Improve It

My guest today is a psychologist who specializes in the science of first impressions and has written the most useful and thorough book on the topic that I've come across. Her name is Ann Demarais and ...

29 Jun 201739min

#316: An Introduction to Stoicism

#316: An Introduction to Stoicism

Interest in Stoicism has experienced a renaissance in recent years. Yet despite the increasing popularity of this ancient philosophy, misconceptions still abound about it. For example, many people ass...

27 Jun 201743min

#315: The Power of Small Experiments to Supercharge Your Success

#315: The Power of Small Experiments to Supercharge Your Success

Today on the show, Noah Kagan shares what it was like getting fired from Facebook right before it went public and losing out on a $185 million pay day, and how he bounced back from that blow. He then ...

22 Jun 201756min

#314: Building Better Citizens Through Rucking

#314: Building Better Citizens Through Rucking

Today on the show, I talk to GORUCK founder Jason McCarthy, who started the company after serving as a Green Beret in Iraq. What began as a backpack company has morphed into a tight-knit community of ...

20 Jun 201750min

#313:  How Leaders Build Great Teams

#313: How Leaders Build Great Teams

My guest is Chris Fussell, author of "One Mission: How Leaders Build a Team of Teams."Today on the show, Chris and I discuss why traditional top-down leadership organizations aren’t effective today ei...

15 Jun 201752min

Populært innen Fakta

fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
mikkels-paskenotter
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
treningspodden
foreldreradet
jakt-og-fiskepodden
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
rss-bisarr-historie
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
rss-kull
gravid-uke-for-uke
hagespiren-podcast
sinnsyn
level-up-med-anniken-binz
rss-kunsten-a-leve
rss-bak-luftfarten
hverdagspsyken
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf
fryktlos