Synthesis of Modern Exercise Physiology and Evolutionary Theory — James Steele, Ph.D. cand. (AHS14)
Channel: AncestryFoundation
Date: 2014-08-12

The approach of Ancestral Health utilises an evolutionary framework to explore interdisciplinary means of optimising health and fitness. Within its disciplines Ancestral Health often looks to partly inform practices based upon the Hominid fossil record and observation and emulation of extant hunter gatherers. However, within the discipline of exercise prescription there has been a lack of corroboration of anthropological data with evidence from modern exercise physiology. A more appropriate approach would be to learn from, as opposed to automatically accept emulating, hunter gatherer physical activity patterns. Thus this chapter will seek to examine and identify exercise variables (i.e. mode, intensity of effort/load, volume, frequency) common to extinct and extant hunter gatherers and then critically evaluate them with comparison to evidence from modern exercise physiology. From this, similarities and differences with regards to optimality for health and fitness outcomes will be highlighted and recommendations offered for exercise prescription.

Abstracts and information about the Ancestral Health Symposium can be found at www.ancestralhealth.org/ahs14-program.