Part Three surveys physical activity that involves endurance, such as walking, running, or dancing, as well as their effect on aging. What are our bodies doing when we take it easy, including when we sit or sleep? Part Two explores physical activities that require speed, strength, and power, such as sprinting, lifting and fighting. Because we cannot understand physical activity without understanding its absence, Part One begins with physical inactivity. The first three parts of Exercised roughly follow the evolutionary story of human physical activity and inactivity, even as each chapter shatters a particular myth about exercise.
Part user manual for the human body and part detective story exploring our evolution, Exercised will change the way you think about exercise, diet and your own wellbeing Neil Shubin, author of Your Inner FishĪ surprising, erudite and revelatory look at the natural history of physical activity and why exercise is both so necessary for us and so unnatural.This highly engaging, landmark work, a natural history of exercise-by the author of the best seller The Story of the Human Body -seeks to answer a fundamental question: were you born to run or rest?
The book is full of helpful tips - you'll build muscle faster by extending muscles under load rather than contracting them the kind of chair you sit on doesn't matter as long as you strengthen your back muscles and move regularly - conveyed in a humorous and sympathetic style Steven Poole, Guardian Myth-busting, illuminating, brilliant - Lieberman will completely change the way you think about your body Professor Alice Roberts, presenter of Our Incredible Human JourneyĮntertaining and informative. laboratory environment favors a change in body size (i.e., natural selection in the novel environment favors larger or smaller body size), and lifetime or. This is easily one of my books of the year Bill Bryson, bestselling author of The Body Lieberman strikes a perfect balance of scholarship, wit and enthusiasm for his subject. 'Myth-busting, illuminating, brilliant - Lieberman will completely change the way you think about your body' Professor ALICE ROBERTS, presenter of Our Incredible Human JourneyĮndlessly fascinating and full of surprises. and we assume good faith they have the permission to share this book. Drawing on over a decade of high-level scientific research and eye-opening insights from evolutionary biology and anthropology, Lieberman explains precisely how exercise can promote health debunks persistent myths about sitting, speed, strength and endurance and points the way towards more enjoyable and physically active living in the modern world. of the human head The Evolution of the Human Head Daniel E. We are hardwired for moderate exertion throughout each day, not triathlons or treadmills. However, most of us struggle to stay fit, and our attitudes to exercise are plagued by misconceptions, finger-pointing and anxiety.īut, as Daniel Lieberman shows in Exercised, the first book of its kind by a leading scientific expert, we never evolved to exercise. A key remedy, we are told, is exercise - voluntary physical activity for the sake of health.
In industrialized nations, our sedentary lifestyles have contributed to skyrocketing rates of obesity and diseases like diabetes. The myth-busting science behind our modern attitudes to exercise: what our bodies really need, why it matters, and its effects on health and wellbeing. Easily one of my books of the year' BILL BRYSON 'Endlessly fascinating and full of surprises.