Caveman Exercise 103

In the last post, we discussed the general attributes of exercise. In short:

1. It should be hard
2. It should be consistent
3. It should be varied

Now you might be asking "So, Jacob, how do I translate this into actual exercise?" I'm glad you asked. Here are my 4 principles for Devolving your exercise:

1. Make Time Every Day- Cavemen did not get days off. It is that simple. It's not like your stone age ancestor could say "I don't think I'll try and get food today. I'd rather just lounge on the beach and read my granite tablet." Getting food was an all-day, daily activity. There were no rest days. Now, this is the modern world, and we do have the luxury of being able to rest occasionally, so I am not saying that you can NEVER take a rest day, but they should be the exception, not the rule.

2. Push Yourself- Just like with the vacation days, Thag, your stone age ancestor, was not really able to say "I don't feel like running after that rabbit. I'll just walk instead. I'm sure it will wait." Survival was often hard, and required their full capacity. If you want to be fit like them, you'll use yours as well.

3. Do Things a caveman Would Have Done- Cavemen did not have stability, but they certainly had variety. They never knew what they might have to do in the struggle to survive. They might have to run, jump, climb, crawl, or swim. Unlike us, they did not perform the exact same routine day in and day out. This is why they were not overtrained, even though they "exercised" all day, nearly every day. If you want your body to be able to take anything, then you will do a wide and varied spectrum of exercise.

4. Be Patient, Don't Give Up!- We in the modern world like a nice linear progression. We expect to invest a little every day, and see a return in nice regular intervals. At work, we get paid by the hour, and get regular deposits to our bank account every two weeks. The natural world does not function like our social structure. You may work hard for months, and see no gains, then all of a sudden make vast improvements in a week. That is just the way of a natural system. The bottom line is be patient. You didn't become fat and sedentary in a day, and you will not retain fitness in a day. If you aren't making visible progress, just trust the process You will see results eventually, if you stick with it.

Overall, pretty common sense, yet most of us tend not to follow these principles when it comes to our exercise, and fitness suffers for it.