Hiking through the mountains of France
(also referred to as...)
Aerobic / Endurance / Flexibility / Isotonic / Isometric / Muscle Building / Static / Strength Exercise
Anaerobic Training, Bodybuilding, Cross Training, Speed Training, Weightlifting
Introduction
In earlier human existence, survival depended on being physically active. Whether it was obtaining food, building shelters, traveling great distances on foot, or working with hands, people were constantly engaged in a variety of life-sustaining occupations. The same still holds true in many parts of the world.
In North American society, however, our jobs and lives have become less labour intensive. Through a number of societal shifts, we now live in a time and place where the automobile is the dominant form of transportation and entire cities are constructed around its use. Physical work, although still useful, also no longer serves as the primary means of our existence. Machines can handle what we no longer do by hand. Freed from physical work, our minds have become our greatest assets -- and the tools we will use to carry us into future generations.
In some ways we should feel grateful for this "physical freedom"; however, it does not come without its price. As our lives become less and less physically demanding, we are becoming more and more sedentary. Physical work has become a choice -- a recreational activity that not enough of us engage in on a regular basis. And despite ongoing trends in fad diets and exercise products, North Americans suffer with a current epidemic of obesity, particularly among children.
Not only is one out of every two North Americans substantially inactive, but one out of three are considered obese, or dangerously overweight (more than 20% over the maximum desirable weight for gender, height, and build). Being sedentary also extends to youths; only 36% exercise regularly and even less are able to pass minimal fitness tests.
The problem with this situation is not an aesthetic one; being sedentary is harmful to your health. The human body has generally not evolved since our ancestors were still relying solely on muscle power. It cannot be stressed enough that exercise is not extra work but rather a natural function of the human body, without which we start to suffer. Disuse of your body is misuse of your body.
