Book
Exercised : why something we never evolved to do is healthy and rewarding / Daniel E. Lieberman.
"This highly engaging landmark work, a natural history of exercise--by the author of the best seller The Story of the Human Body--seeks to answer a fundamental question: were you born to run or rest The first three parts of Exercised roughly follow the evolutionary story of human physical activity and inactivity, even as each chapter shatters a particular myth about exercise. Because we cannot understand physical activity without understanding its absence, Part One begins with physical inactivity. What are our bodies doing when we take it easy, including when we sit or sleep? Part Two explores physical activities that require speed, strength, and power, such as sprinting, lifting, and fighting. Part Three surveys physical activities that involve endurance, such as walking, running, or dancing, as well as their effect on aging. Part Four considers how anthropological and evolutionary approaches can help us exercise better in the modern world. How can we more effectively manage to exercise, and in what ways? To what extent, how, and why do different types and durations of exercise help prevent or treat the major diseases that are likely to make us sick and kill us? -- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781524746988 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: xix, 440 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Pantheon Books, [2020]
- Copyright: ©2020
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Formatted Contents Note: | Are We Born to Rest or Run -- Inactivity : The Importance of Being Lazy -- Sitting : Is it the New Smoking? -- Sleep : Why Stress Thwarts Rest -- Speed : Neither Tortoise nor Hare -- Strength : From Brawny to Scrawny -- Fighting and Sports : From Fangs to Football -- Walking : All in a Day's Walk -- Running and Dancing : Jumping from One Leg to the Other -- Endurance and Aging: The Active Grandparent and costly repair Hypothesis -- To Move or Not to Move : How to Make Exercise Happen -- How Much and What Type? -- Exercise and Disease. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Exercise > History. Physical fitness > History. Physical education and training > History. |
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeshore Branch | 612.044 Lie | 31681010220119 | NONFIC | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
A natural history of exercise by the Harvard University paleoanthropologist and best-selling author of The Story of the Human Body challenges popular myths about the evolution of physical activity while outlining anthropological approaches to exercising effectively in the modern world. - Baker & Taylor
"This highly engaging landmark work, a natural history of exercise--by the author of the best seller The Story of the Human Body--seeks to answer a fundamental question: were you born to run or rest The first three parts of Exercised roughly follow the evolutionary story of human physical activity and inactivity, even as each chapter shatters a particular myth about exercise. Because we cannot understand physical activity without understanding its absence, Part One begins with physical inactivity. What are our bodies doing when we take it easy, including when we sit or sleep? Part Two explores physical activities that require speed, strength, and power, such as sprinting, lifting, and fighting. Part Three surveys physical activities that involve endurance, such as walking, running, or dancing, as well as their effect on aging. Part Four considers how anthropological and evolutionary approaches can help us exercise better in the modern world. How can we more effectively manage to exercise, and in what ways? To what extent, how, and why do different types and durations of exercise help prevent or treat the major diseases that are likely to make us sick and kill us? -- - Random House, Inc.
<b>If exercise is healthy (so good for you!), why do many people dislike or avoid it? These engaging stories and explanations will revolutionize the way you think about exercising—not to mention sitting, sleeping, sprinting, weight lifting, playing, fighting, walking, jogging, and even dancing.<br></b><br><b>“Strikes a perfect balance of scholarship, wit, and enthusiasm.” —Bill Bryson, <i>New York Times</i> best-selling author of <i>The Body</i></b><br><br>• If we are born to walk and run, why do most of us take it easy whenever possible?<br>• Does running ruin your knees?<br>• Should we do weights, cardio, or high-intensity training?<br>• Is sitting really the new smoking?<br>• Can you lose weight by walking?<br>• And how do we make sense of the conflicting, anxiety-inducing information about rest, physical activity, and exercise with which we are bombarded?<br><br>In this myth-busting book, Daniel Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and a pioneering researcher on the evolution of human physical activity, tells the story of how we never evolved to exercise—to do voluntary physical activity for the sake of health. Using his own research and experiences throughout the world, Lieberman recounts without jargon how and why humans evolved to walk, run, dig, and do other necessary and rewarding physical activities while avoiding needless exertion.<br><br>Exercised is entertaining and enlightening but also constructive. As our increasingly sedentary lifestyles have contributed to skyrocketing rates of obesity and diseases such as diabetes, Lieberman audaciously argues that to become more active we need to do more than medicalize and commodify exercise.<br><br>Drawing on insights from evolutionary biology and anthropology, Lieberman suggests how we can make exercise more enjoyable, rather than shaming and blaming people for avoiding it. He also tackles the question of whether you can exercise too much, even as he explains why exercise can reduce our vulnerability to the diseases mostly likely to make us sick and kill us. - Random House, Inc.
If exercise is healthy (so good for you!), why do many people dislike or avoid it? These engaging stories and explanations will revolutionize the way you think about exercisingânot to mention sitting, sleeping, sprinting, weight lifting, playing, fighting, walking, jogging, and even dancing.
âStrikes a perfect balance of scholarship, wit, and enthusiasm.â âBill Bryson, New York Times best-selling author of The Body
*If we are born to walk and run, why do most of us take it easy whenever possible?
*Does running ruin your knees?
*Should we do weights, cardio, or high-intensity training?
*Is sitting really the new smoking?
*Can you lose weight by walking?
*And how do we make sense of the conflicting, anxiety-inducing information about rest, physical activity, and exercise with which we are bombarded?
In this myth-busting book, Daniel Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and a pioneering researcher on the evolution of human physical activity, tells the story of how we never evolved to exerciseâto do voluntary physical activity for the sake of health. Using his own research and experiences throughout the world, Lieberman recounts without jargon how and why humans evolved to walk, run, dig, and do other necessary and rewarding physical activities while avoiding needless exertion.
Exercised is entertaining and enlightening but also constructive. As our increasingly sedentary lifestyles have contributed to skyrocketing rates of obesity and diseases such as diabetes, Lieberman audaciously argues that to become more active we need to do more than medicalize and commodify exercise.
Drawing on insights from evolutionary biology and anthropology, Lieberman suggests how we can make exercise more enjoyable, rather than shaming and blaming people for avoiding it. He also tackles the question of whether you can exercise too much, even as he explains why exercise can reduce our vulnerability to the diseases mostly likely to make us sick and kill us.
