| You cannot deny it: We all have to exercise. We have | | | | vegetables. Even later, our closer ancestors became |
| no choice. It is the way we are made. You can pay | | | | farmers. Farming does not reduce the amount of |
| money every year to do your exercise at a gym or | | | | physical activity needed to feed the family. In |
| you can pay money once to buy equipment to use at | | | | evolutionary and planetary terms, we are not very far |
| home. A good way to get the best equipment for your | | | | from this agrarian past. That means that our bodies |
| money is to buy used fitness equipment. When the | | | | have not evolved to correspond to our new sedentary |
| snow is falling outside, you will appreciate your used | | | | life styles. We still need to exercise. |
| treadmill and other used exercise equipment. The best | | | | Let us take a trip through the imagination now. Is there |
| way to set up this equipment is in a dedicated area of | | | | an alternate evolutionary path that we could have |
| your home in view of a television. Since exercise on a | | | | followed that would allow us not to have to exercise |
| machine can be repetitive and boring, a television can | | | | now and thrive on inactivity? What other creature |
| provide the distraction needed to keep your eyes off | | | | could have developed the intelligence to become |
| the clock. Another good distracter is a good book or | | | | human? A list of mammals might include dogs, cats, |
| the latest magazine. Some people are kept amused | | | | elephants, and horses. Dogs and cats are carnivores |
| with nothing more than some good music. Whichever | | | | and must chase their prey. Exercise is required. |
| you prefer, a diverting activity will keep you on the | | | | Elephants are intelligent, but they travel long distances |
| equipment for a longer time than doing nothing and | | | | to find the vegetation they need to keep their large |
| being bored by the ticking of the clock. | | | | bodies well nourished. Horses probably would not |
| But why do we have this animal need to exercise? | | | | become human because, as herbivores, they do not |
| Why can we not just sit like a blob on the couch | | | | get the necessary nutrition to support the growth of a |
| eating ice cream and watching movies? The reason is | | | | large, intelligent brain. How about the cetaceans? |
| our evolutionary history. We come from the same | | | | Dolphins and whales are very intelligent. Could they be |
| roots as the apes. Our distant ancestors were active, | | | | sedentary humans? They live in the sea and do not |
| wiry creatures that traveled distances to find their | | | | even have arms and legs. But, again, these sea |
| food. The early ancestors spent time in the trees | | | | creatures travel long distances. Human dolphins or |
| searching for fruit. Later, when our ancestors became | | | | whales would still have to keep in shape. |
| human, they were hunters and gatherers. We | | | | So the only conclusion is that, in order to be human, we |
| developed to have long, strong legs so that we could | | | | need to exercise. |
| walk the distances needed to find our meat and | | | | |