Human evolution – born to be active
reda
‘Your body can stand almost anything; it’s your mind that you have to convince.’
There is so much evidence in many different forms to indicate that we are healthier and happier if we exercise; exercise can come in so many ways and just about everyone can find some activity they can do and hopefully enjoy. However, often people associate exercise with running, and most people in modern times unfortunately don’t run and are horrified at the thought! They are too unfit, overweight, not used to running, don’t find it appealing, can’t get motivated, can’t run very far or very fast and it is simply easier not to bother. And why should we bother when we have cars, trains, buses, bikes, etc. for transport? We no longer have to go hunting for food so we just drive or occasionally walk to the shops. We are very rarely put in positions of danger where we have to run from something or towards something for our safety. There just isn’t the need to run, so why bother?
Well, another way to look at this apart from everything that will be said on the benefits is to show how humans are natural athletes and we are literally born to run. Unlike any other animal on the planet we have evolved into the most intelligent, superior species. That has happened for a number of reasons including the very important ability to run like no other creature.
There are so many features and unique qualities to the human body that seem to show clearly that we were born to run. For example, we have an Achilles tendon that is only needed for running. Why do we have this unless we were designed to run, and why do we have arches on our feet with small toes to allow us to run whereas chimps and monkeys don’t have Achilles tendons or arches, just flat feet with very long toes designed for walking and climbing? We have a nuchal ligament in the back of our neck to support our head and balance it, which is only needed for running. Dogs, cats and horses have a nuchal ligament to help them run but again chimps and monkeys do not. Humans also have big bottoms, which are very helpful for running yet have no benefit for walking. Next time you see a chimp look at how small their bottoms are compared to humans.
A further unique feature of humans is our lack of a tail. No other running animal or two-legged creature has no tail. The way we balance while at speed is the added combination of the nuchal ligament in the neck and the fact that our head is heavy compared to other animals. This heavy weight on the top of our upright position provides support and balance, allowing us to move at speed for long distances without wasting too much energy.
We are upright creatures with features that are otherwise only found on our four-legged animal friends renowned for their running and speed. Yet, unlike horses, dogs, cats, deer, etc., the rhythm of our breathing is not directly related to our movement. Watch a leopard run across the African plains and its breathing is directly related to its strides; as its legs stretch out its lungs open and when the legs close together with the stride the lungs contract like bellows. So while the leopard’s breathing is matched with its running stride, humans’ breathing is different, as we will typically do at least two strides to one breath.
Another very important feature and strong advantage is the number of sweat glands we have. No other creature has as many and can sweat so much. This ability to sweat helps us to keep cool for much longer. So although many animals can run faster than us, they cannot sustain it for very long before they overheat and have to stop or slow down significantly. If you take a dog out on a hot day and they run and run, they will eventually just stop, much earlier than a fit and healthy human would do.
There is an annual horse versus man race over a 50-mile distance. Most people would never dream that a human could beat a horse in a running race, yet most years the humans come out victorious. Animals just don’t have the endurance that humans have because they cannot sweat and keep cool for long periods. Humans have the best air-cooled engine of any animal and are able to run for hours at a time if necessary. Something else that might surprise you is that humans have a longer running stride than a horse. If you record and slow down the footage of a running horse then you will see that each leg has a relatively small stride, and the energy required to run fast with all four legs like that is significantly more than for a human. So whereas a horse can go at a much faster rate for about 10 minutes, it soon slows down to a slower pace than a strong long-distance human runner.
Unlike most sports and activities running is age-friendly. What I mean by that is that humans can go on running until they would be considered very old, without losing much of their ability compared to their younger years. A large study was made of marathon runners and it was shown that if you take the average best times for someone at 19 years of age and compare those across the age range then humans reach their peak in terms of running ability after 8 years, at the age of 27. The subsequent decline in ability is significantly slower than the time it took to reach the peak. Not until age 64 does a human’s ability fall back to their ability at age 19. So 8 years of improving and 37 years of gradual decline. In many ways this shows that ‘you don’t stop running because you get old – you get old because you stop running’!
Something else to consider and observe at the opposite end of thye scale is how young children are so naturally active. The can seemingly go for hours playing, running, jumping and being active and it looks so normal and natural. The reason is that it is natural and normal for children to be active and enjoy being active, and this should be encouraged for as long as possibl
There is so much evidence in many different forms to indicate that we are healthier and happier if we exercise; exercise can come in so many ways and just about everyone can find some activity they can do and hopefully enjoy. However, often people associate exercise with running, and most people in modern times unfortunately don’t run and are horrified at the thought! They are too unfit, overweight, not used to running, don’t find it appealing, can’t get motivated, can’t run very far or very fast and it is simply easier not to bother. And why should we bother when we have cars, trains, buses, bikes, etc. for transport? We no longer have to go hunting for food so we just drive or occasionally walk to the shops. We are very rarely put in positions of danger where we have to run from something or towards something for our safety. There just isn’t the need to run, so why bother?
Well, another way to look at this apart from everything that will be said on the benefits is to show how humans are natural athletes and we are literally born to run. Unlike any other animal on the planet we have evolved into the most intelligent, superior species. That has happened for a number of reasons including the very important ability to run like no other creature.
There are so many features and unique qualities to the human body that seem to show clearly that we were born to run. For example, we have an Achilles tendon that is only needed for running. Why do we have this unless we were designed to run, and why do we have arches on our feet with small toes to allow us to run whereas chimps and monkeys don’t have Achilles tendons or arches, just flat feet with very long toes designed for walking and climbing? We have a nuchal ligament in the back of our neck to support our head and balance it, which is only needed for running. Dogs, cats and horses have a nuchal ligament to help them run but again chimps and monkeys do not. Humans also have big bottoms, which are very helpful for running yet have no benefit for walking. Next time you see a chimp look at how small their bottoms are compared to humans.
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| Benefits of Exercise |
We are upright creatures with features that are otherwise only found on our four-legged animal friends renowned for their running and speed. Yet, unlike horses, dogs, cats, deer, etc., the rhythm of our breathing is not directly related to our movement. Watch a leopard run across the African plains and its breathing is directly related to its strides; as its legs stretch out its lungs open and when the legs close together with the stride the lungs contract like bellows. So while the leopard’s breathing is matched with its running stride, humans’ breathing is different, as we will typically do at least two strides to one breath.
Another very important feature and strong advantage is the number of sweat glands we have. No other creature has as many and can sweat so much. This ability to sweat helps us to keep cool for much longer. So although many animals can run faster than us, they cannot sustain it for very long before they overheat and have to stop or slow down significantly. If you take a dog out on a hot day and they run and run, they will eventually just stop, much earlier than a fit and healthy human would do.
There is an annual horse versus man race over a 50-mile distance. Most people would never dream that a human could beat a horse in a running race, yet most years the humans come out victorious. Animals just don’t have the endurance that humans have because they cannot sweat and keep cool for long periods. Humans have the best air-cooled engine of any animal and are able to run for hours at a time if necessary. Something else that might surprise you is that humans have a longer running stride than a horse. If you record and slow down the footage of a running horse then you will see that each leg has a relatively small stride, and the energy required to run fast with all four legs like that is significantly more than for a human. So whereas a horse can go at a much faster rate for about 10 minutes, it soon slows down to a slower pace than a strong long-distance human runner.
Unlike most sports and activities running is age-friendly. What I mean by that is that humans can go on running until they would be considered very old, without losing much of their ability compared to their younger years. A large study was made of marathon runners and it was shown that if you take the average best times for someone at 19 years of age and compare those across the age range then humans reach their peak in terms of running ability after 8 years, at the age of 27. The subsequent decline in ability is significantly slower than the time it took to reach the peak. Not until age 64 does a human’s ability fall back to their ability at age 19. So 8 years of improving and 37 years of gradual decline. In many ways this shows that ‘you don’t stop running because you get old – you get old because you stop running’!
Something else to consider and observe at the opposite end of thye scale is how young children are so naturally active. The can seemingly go for hours playing, running, jumping and being active and it looks so normal and natural. The reason is that it is natural and normal for children to be active and enjoy being active, and this should be encouraged for as long as possibl
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