Human bodies are meant to move—walk, run, bend, squat, reach, pull, hang, twist, kick, jump—every day. Our ancestors would have moved throughout the day by necessity, hunting and foraging for food, collecting water, playing with kids, gathering firewood. Sure, they would have rested plenty, but they needed the rest because their lives were otherwise so active. Nowadays, we don’t have to move our bodies that much, so we don’t. We sit… and sit… and sit.
Technology has made our lives easier in many ways, but it has come at a cost. The modern world not only allows but encourages us to be sedentary. This represents a profound misalignment between what our genes expect and what we actually do. It’s no wonder that so many people nowadays struggle with physical pain, excess body fat, and fatigue!
To make matters worse, when people do endeavor to move their bodies more via exercise, they often do too much of the wrong types of movement. The fitness space is filled with pseudo-inspirational mantras like:
- No pain, no gain!
- Go hard or go home!
- If you’re not puking, you’re not going hard enough.
Talk about overcompensation! Ironically, excessive exercise also undermines health. Exercise is a form of stress. In the right balance, exercise stress is hormetic, meaning that it challenges the body to become stronger and more resilient. However, you can have too much of a good thing.
The Goldilocks Principle
With many variables related to health and fitness, a moderate dose is best. Too little and too much can both be detrimental. This is called the “Goldilocks Principle.” You might remember the fairytale about Goldilocks. She’s the little girl who broke into the bear family’s cabin and ate the oatmeal that was neither too hot nor too cold but just right.
In the health sphere, the Goldilocks Principle refers to inputs that are harmful at levels that are too high or too low. You want to find the “just right” amount. Some examples include:
- How much you eat
- Intake of specific vitamins and minerals
- Sun exposure
- Sleep
As we’ll discuss later in the program, it also applies to exercise. Being sedentary is bad for your health, but too much intense exercise can also do more harm than good.
The Primal Blueprint Fitness Pyramid looks like this:
You’ll notice that the base of the pyramid comprises low-intensity movement. Walking is the ultimate Primal exercise!
Resistance exercise is important for building and maintaining strength, skeletal health, and metabolic health. However, contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to spend hours per week in the gym to reap the benefits. Brief and intense is preferable.
Occasionally challenge yourself with high-intensity sessions. Sprints are ideal but not suitable for everyone. Any very brief, very intense bursts of effort will do. Other options include Tabata-style exercises or “sprints” on a bike or in the lap pool.
Finally, don’t forget to have fun! Play is a core element of Primal life. In fact, it is one of the Primal Blueprint laws.