The Paleo Diet - Loren Cordain [93]
Structured Exercise Programs
The physical activities of hunter-gatherers most closely resembled those of modern cross-training athletes, in that they were required to do both aerobic and strength activities periodically. Men commonly hunted from one to four days a week, with intervening days of rest. Hunting involved long walks and jogging (up to 10 to 15 miles) to find herd animals; dramatic sprints, jumps, and turns; occasionally violent struggles; and lengthy hikes home carrying the kill. Every two or three days, women routinely gathered; they spent many hours walking to sources of food, water, and wood. Foraging often involved strenuous digging, climbing, and then carrying heavy loads back to camp—usually with an infant or a young child on the woman’s hip or back. Other common activities, some physically taxing, included taking care of children, making tools, building shelters, butchering animals, preparing food, and visiting. Dances were a major pastime and could take place several nights a week—often lasting for hours. The overall activity pattern of these people was cyclic: days of intense physical exertion (both aerobic and resistive) alternated with days of rest and light activity.
These activity patterns suggest that most of us are best adapted to exercise programs that alternate strength and aerobic activities, accompanied by intervening days of rest or low-level activities. As you develop an exercise program, you should keep these concepts in mind. Hard days should be followed by one or more easy days, and strength training (weight lifting) should accompany aerobic training. Although the bottom line is that any exercise is better than no exercise, you will be less susceptible to injury and will obtain superior overall fitness if you can follow these fundamental principles.
Aerobic Training Programs
You may already be fit and exercising regularly. Or you may do sporadic exercise. Or maybe you are overweight, and you hardly ever exercise. What you begin to do now—the amount and intensity of your exercise program—will necessarily depend on your starting point.
In order to gain the minimal health effects of exercise, you will need to accumulate at least thirty minutes of aerobic activity (walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, aerobic dance, stair climbing, racquetball, basketball, etc.) of moderate intensity on most, and preferably all, days of the week. Additional health and functional benefits of physical activity can be achieved by devoting more time to the activity, by increasing the vigor of the activity, or by increasing the number of times per week you exercise.
If you’re a beginner, you may not be able to walk for thirty minutes a day, every day, right away. Always listen to your body and increase or decrease your exercise accordingly. If you have a family history of heart disease, are very obese, or have other health problems, you should talk to your doctor or even have a checkup before you begin your exercise program. However, don’t use this as an excuse to avoid exercising. Not exercising is more hazardous to your health than exercising is. If you feel sore or tired from a day’s exercise, take the next day off, just as our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have done. Gradually, as you become more and more fit, you will be able to increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of your exercise program. Your fitness level will generally change more rapidly if you heighten the intensity of exercise, rather than increase the frequency or duration.
The key to any successful aerobic training program is to stick with it. You need to keep it interesting and stimulating. The best way to sabotage an aerobic training program is to walk in boring circles around a track or ride a stationary bicycle in your closet. Personally, I find jogging or walking on hiking trails or little-used dirt roads on