Skip to main content

Exuberant animal


Continuing the Paleo theme, you should also check out Frank Forencich's Exuberant Animal site. This used to be badged as "Go Animal", when all he had was his book, Play as if your life depends on it and then it contained lots of free articles. The site has evolved over the years, but still contains some great research




Play as if....is a superb book. It is simple and straight forward pleading for a more playful and natural approach to life, free from some of the stresses that we impose on ourselves....Keith discusses his approach here.

A thoroughgoing evolutionary approach: This book takes a refreshing, even subversive, look at human health and wellbeing in an explicitly evolutionary context. It is an application of Occam's Razor to our physical and mental health and wellbeing today. The author, Frank Forencich makes the point, familiar to readers of this journal, that "human physiology and biomechanics have been sculpted over the course of millions of years to enhance our survival in a semi-wooded grassland environment". In the next three hundred pages he explains how we can all mimic those challenges to improve our health, fitness and overall wellbeing. Although this book follows in the tradition of The Paleolithic Prescription1, Neanderthin2 and The TBK Fitness Program3, it actually breaks significant new ground, shifting the focus from reductionist physiology to how we can each apply the principles of evolutionary health to our everyday lives – not just our bodies – through to old age and really enjoy ourselves in the process.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dry January

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was taking part in "Dry January".  I didn't make a big song and dance about it, but I decided to go for a calendar month or so with no alcohol.  A few people have asked me about my experience, so here are a few points. Why take a break from drinking? Alcohol is an interesting topic.  As a drug it is widely accepted in society, central to so much of our socialising and leisure.  There seem to be lots of health benefits - so we are told - yet there are also a lot of problems in terms of health, relationships and lifestyle that come from drinking. Over a few years I'd begun to become aware and then concerned that I was drinking too much and too regularly.  I am in a busy and stressful job and sometimes a glass of wine after work to relax is really helpful.  But over time, one glass became two.  Two glasses became ....I might as well finish the bottle.  A habit got established....and was starting to get too e...
7 comments
Read more

So where have I been?

You will have noticed that this blog has been quiet for a while....  There are a few reasons for that, reasons that I thought I'd list here: WORK -  my day job has been incredibly busy and stressful this year. Working 10-14 hour days the last thing on my mind when I got home was putting something on here.  FACEBOOK/TWITTER - I suppose I've been using other channels to do some of what I used to do here. Quick fire posts pointing to interesting studies or news etc tend to get posted to Twitter (@chrishighcock) or to the Facebook Hillfit group http://www.facebook.com/groups/263083947097000/  REASSESSMENT - I've found myself less comfortable with some of the positions I've taken in the past. Sometimes I'm embarrassed by some of the things I've promoted. I'm not Paleo or low carb. I think Tabata and intervals are misunderstood and misapplied. I cannot really claim to be HIT.   I find myselfunable  honestly to post things on here and pretend that I am some sort o...
12 comments
Read more

Taking up space for a brief update

I've a couple of posts in draft that I will get up soon -  an update / reflection on Dry January and some thoughts on the scheduling benefits of short workouts if your life is busy.  Before that though, I am pointing to something else. However, I wanted to highlight something that is coming this weekend that I've been involved in.   Amber Rogers (Gokaleo and author of Taking Up Space ) has been pulling together a bundle of books from various authors with a common theme, one that I've been pushing here recently.   Keep it simple, avoid the hype, be patient, be consistent and flee the gurus.   I've talked before about how we get obsessed with pushing for more and more, when enough is OK.  I've given my view that so much of the health and fitness internet world is more like a gnostic religion than something that will benefit your life. There are other voices out there saying similar things and I'll be pointing to a bundle of books later this week ...
1 comment
Read more