Is the human body designed for running?
The other day I got to wondering - If we are evolved from apes , who essentially hang from trees- are we really built for running and jogging? (The thought was triggered in part because of a lower back pinched nerve - that I thought would be relieved by hanging to stretch the spine.) I got my answer on a NOVA show about our true ancestor - Homo Erectus and Turkana Boy that I happened to be watching last night. The Surprising answer is : Yes we are - built for running! In fact , this is what helped us survive! Here we were - as a species - not very fast (compared to antelopes and deer we wanted to hunt) - not possessing powerful claws or slashing teeth. And the stone axe -in reality just a handheld stone (iPhones of the era) wasn't really a good enough tool to throw and kill. So how were we successful at hunting? We had one advantage - the loss of body hair (hairless apes) and sweating , kept us cool at midday, when the rest of animal kingdom had to lie down and pant - to ke