Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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My impression, perhaps misguided, is that (paleo) hunter-gatherers walked a lot, might have chased an animal hunting every day (but would not generally get completely tired), and perhaps played some sports. Once in a while they might have fought each other, which I imagine would be full-intensity. But that would be far from a daily, or even weekly occurence.

Is this idea correct? How often should you give a workout 10 out of 10 in effort? And if not very often, can additional maximum intensity workouts be justified as helping reduce the negative consequences of a sedentary lifestyle?

flag	asked Dec 1 2011 at 5:45 dav 1,356●1●14

As I read this, I conjured up the image of chasing a squirrel, which sounds ridiculously exhausting. But I guess they probably would have used traps. – Erik of Rockford Dec 1 2011 at 12:48

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Don't underestimate the competitiveness of young testosterone-filled men. I know from firsthand experience and from running a crew of summer youth workers that near daily wrestling matches as well as competition in all manner of activity can often approach maximum intensity for short durations. – Touch the Clouds Dec 1 2011 at 21:07

Rather than chasing a small bony squirrel I picture them chasing a meaty gazelle. And while the gazelle can outrun humans over short-ish distances, we can outrun gazelles over longer distances. – dav Dec 3 2011 at 1:23

Heavy physical activity for social dominance seems plausible. But then what about women (or would paleo women have also behaved that way)? – dav Dec 3 2011 at 1:25

Judging by the hunter-gatherer women I have seen in documentaries, I doubt paleo women did anything particularly athletic but could no doubt out walk and out work most modern day women. I imagine their physiques would have been pretty similar to todays hunter-gatherer women and not much like those of female physique competitors. – Warren D Mar 24 2012 at 8:08

Dorado Galore · Accepted Answer · 2011-12-01 16:30:06Z UTC

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It's damn near certain our HG ancestors didn't end the day with thoughts of going on a 10 mile run, whether for "fun" or "training." Nor is there reason to think they lifted and carried anything for the purpose of "getting stronger."

I use the 1-10 perceived exertion scale in exercise, though I make it a point not to go to "10" because that says "maximum limit

answered Dec 1 2011 at 16:30

Dorado Galore
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I agree. And I think the same "laziness principle" applies to other animals besides humans. My husband suddenly started having successful hunts when he stopped trying to stalk deer and elk in high-elevation, precarious (albeit beautiful) environments, and began instead to think of them as exerting the least amount of energy necessary to get the food and other resources they need. – Rose Dec 1 2011 at 19:11

How often do hunter-gatherers/would our ancestors do things comparable to a maximum-intensity workout?

1 Answer