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 keep cool.
What our ancestors did was the following : They would plan their hunts around midday.. and approach the deer and antelope. Who of course - would get up and run away. And then our ancestor would run and chase .. forcing the antelope to keep running and moving in the hot sun, never allowing it to rest. And they would run and chase for miles - until the poor antelope would ultimately collapse from heat exhaustion and be unable take another step.
Our ability to sweat allowed us to be long distance runners - which enabled hunting successes that helped us get the much needed protein for survival.(The larger brain consumes more energy)
The discovery of fire - helped keep night predators at bay. It also led to cooking which allowed us to eat food with our inferior teeth. Eating around a fire - led to our social skills . And in time - Social skills and language (larger brains) led to better tool making via sharing etc . Fascinating! So enjoy your dinner - with your family ! And run - we are built for it.
(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 keep cool.
What our ancestors did was the following : They would plan their hunts around midday.. and approach the deer and antelope. Who of course - would get up and run away. And then our ancestor would run and chase .. forcing the antelope to keep running and moving in the hot sun, never allowing it to rest. And they would run and chase for miles - until the poor antelope would ultimately collapse from heat exhaustion and be unable take another step.
Our ability to sweat allowed us to be long distance runners - which enabled hunting successes that helped us get the much needed protein for survival.(The larger brain consumes more energy)
The discovery of fire - helped keep night predators at bay. It also led to cooking which allowed us to eat food with our inferior teeth. Eating around a fire - led to our social skills . And in time - Social skills and language (larger brains) led to better tool making via sharing etc . Fascinating! So enjoy your dinner - with your family ! And run - we are built for it.
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