Reconnecting with Our Primal Roots: Embracing Physical Challenges in the Modern World

As summer approaches, many of us may find ourselves feeling confined, not by quarantine, but by the monotony of our daily routines. The 9 - 5 job, the daily commute, the nightly indulgence in television, and the regimented workout schedules can seem both typical and dehumanizing.

The Evolutionary Dilemma: Our Bio - evolutionary Program

Throughout the vast majority of human history, the need for deliberate exercise as we know it today simply did not exist. Our ancestors' lives were filled with activities such as hunting, foraging, building, climbing, and playing, which naturally burned calories.

Energy Conservation and the Modern Paradox

Our bio - evolutionary programming is designed to conserve energy whenever possible and consume food when it is available. This inherent trait, while beneficial in our evolutionary past, now works against us in the modern environment. With an abundance of food and a plethora of inventions that reduce the necessity for physical movement, we have been compelled to make exercise an obligation.

However, understanding this bio - evolutionary programming can provide valuable insights into making our exercise routines more engaging and enjoyable.

The Role of Boredom in Motivation

We possess numerous competing needs that act as a regulatory mechanism, keeping us balanced and focused on appropriate tasks at the right times. Even well - nourished hunter - gatherers did not conserve energy indefinitely; boredom would drive our ancestors to utilize their time more effectively.

Boredom's Motivational Impact Today

In the contemporary context, boredom often leads us to switch apps or select a new show, but it does prompt action. As Michael Easter, author of The Comfort Crisis, elucidates, "As humans evolved, we'd become bored anytime we were doing something that had a low return on our time invested."

Boredom spurred our predecessors to explore more efficient fishing techniques, construct better structures, develop superior tools, hunt more effectively, and engage in social play. Historically, humans alleviated boredom by either undertaking new physical projects or enhancing social connections, or both. We can apply the same principles to make our fitness endeavors more inspiring this summer.

Strategies for an Inspiring Fitness Routine

• Workout Partners: Fun workouts are typically social in nature. Assemble a great group, and you'll anticipate seeing them at each workout session.

• Adopt a New Sport or Physical Skill: Activities like racquetball offer a social and enjoyable experience, while Brazilian Jiu - Jitsu can ignite your competitive spirit and motivate you to master new skills. Re - embrace the world of sports.

• Build Something: Whether it's a garden, a deck, or a set of cornhole boards, building engages our primal instincts and gets us moving in a natural, slow - paced manner.

• Take on a Grand Challenge: Easter's book details his month - long caribou hunt in the Alaskan backcountry. Isolated from civilization, he spent weeks transporting supplies in pursuit of sustenance. This is an example of a profoundly human experience.

Human Endurance: Defying Physical Limitations

Hunter - gatherers were constantly on the move, carrying all their possessions and young children. Despite being slower, weaker, and more physically vulnerable than many similarly - sized mammals, humans are elite endurance athletes in the animal kingdom.

Society's Standards and Rites of Passage

As Sebastian Junger elaborates in his book Freedom, "Other primates can't come close to matching human performance on the ground, and even horses, dogs, and wolves have trouble outrunning humans in steep terrain or hot weather."

The Western States 100, where runners and horse - back riders compete over 100 miles across the Sierra Nevada, showcases similar race times for humans and horses (competitors race separately on nearly identical courses). In 2019, ultra - marathon runner Jim Walmsley set a record of fourteen hours and nine minutes, finishing almost two hours faster than the fastest horse - and - rider entrant that year and outperforming all but one of the horse - and - rider entrants in the previous twenty years.

Many animals can sprint faster than humans, but few can rival our endurance across various distances, especially in hot conditions. This natural desire to conquer challenging terrains is ingrained in every society's standards and rites of passage.

Nearly every Native American tribe expected their warriors to be capable of running all day. Similarly, in ancient Cretan culture, as Christopher McDougall writes in Natural Born Heroes, youth was referred to as apodromos, meaning not quite a runner, and the ritual for entering adulthood was the festival of Dromaia, meaning the running.

The 50 - Mile Challenge: A Tradition of Distance Excellence

American society also has a tradition of excelling in distance - based challenges. Concerned about the low physical standards of older military officers in his era, Theodore Roosevelt issued a directive mandating that officers of all branches prove their ability to march 50 miles in 20 consecutive hours.

When John F. Kennedy became president, he reinstated this challenge for the marines. His brother, Robert F. Kennedy, took on the challenge before the marines had a chance and completed it in under 18 hours. The marines followed suit.

Media coverage of these events inspired organizations across the United States to undertake the 50 - Mile Challenge. Around this time, World War II veteran Stanley LeProtti created the renowned La Sierra High - School P.E. program, which included distance - based standards, such as the distance Man Lift and Carry (also known as the Fireman’s Carry). The lowest - performing group was required to carry a similarly weighted classmate 800 meters, while the most elite group had to carry a like - weighted classmate a total of five miles.

In conclusion, the challenge has been presented. It is time for you, the reader, to decide which of these challenges you wish to undertake. Then, lace up your shoes and start moving. It is time we re - embrace our humanity and engage in activities that connect us to our primal selves.