Work Vs. Play: Purposeful Movement in the Neolithic

I'm making an effort to remove the word 'workout' from my vocabulary. I dismiss it not because of the blatant etymology ('work'), but because the word is symptomatic of an unnatural paradigm, a man-made way of thinking about fitness.

Let's begin with the evolutionary role of exercise. Relocating, hunting, gathering, fighting, and building shelter were all forms of necessary work in the paleolithic. Our species likely performed rituals and played, but raw physical labor was the bulk of exercise. It was stressful, dangerous, and most important: vital to survival.

We may crave vigorous exercise for the very reason that it was part of our ancestry, but that's another matter, because those activities are no longer vital to our survival. We now live in modern times. Farmers hunt and gather for us and specialists build our houses. These paleolithic activities have been replaced with our own man-made professional specializations that arose with the development of civilization. Thus, there is no need to mimic the stress or danger of intense physical exercise. We have the opportunity instead to replace aspects of work with the ample benefits of play.

I grant that vigorous exercise has a place in a healthy fitness pyramid, but some contemporary fitness enthusiasts push too hard. They stress their bodies, their minds, and ultimately their spirits by succumbing to unnatural motivators: hyper-hierarchy, elitism, and the excesses of competition.

Why explore natural movement or natural diet without pursuing natural purpose for that movement?

I was a Division I athlete at the college level, rowing for Santa Clara University. By all means, we engaged in high-level training two and sometimes three times per day. I fought hard with my body to overcome barriers, win personal records, and get the edge over the competition. I want to be clear that I understand the drive to excel, the thrill of victory, and the pride of accomplishment. But these things come at a terrible price.

During my period of competition, I developed a back and shoulder problem that persists to this day. I slept little due to early wakeup times and worried constantly about my performance. Our boat lost more than it won, as will always be the case when multiple competitors means only one winner. That period of my life stands as a time when I was unhealthy, unhappy, and blind to my long-term needs.

Not long after competition, I developed an autoimmune disease that requires constant management of inflammatory response. It's unrelated to competition, but it's what affirmed the validity of the paleo diet (almost overnight), the discovery of which was the beginning of my transformation into a happy, healthy human being.

Play-based Fitness Pyramid

I've seen a few fitness pyramids out there that attempt to either represent the work done by our paleolithic ancestors or to alter the paleo model to reach peak 'weight loss' (more later on why weight loss is the worst idea in health). But I suggest a better pyramid that takes into account natural complex movement, strength training, and play.

Unlike the others, this one touts profound psychological and neurological benefits for the average person who wants to maximize happiness and escape unhealthy competition and elitism. Soon, I'll cover the detriments of high-intensity training, but here's what I strive for:

There are a few things worth noting in this pyramid:

Exercise is group-based. Social dynamics mean real and lasting value for the health and happiness of the individual. We are social creatures, after all.

Exercise is mostly non-competitive, and playfully so. Competition is healthy, but not when people become obsessed with winning to the point of stress, or when they start thinking hierarchically about their abilities or worth in the social context.

Fitness is productive individually, cooperative socially. Working on a hobby requires healthy movement and leads to measurable success when the project is complete. Likewise, cooperating with others in a team, rather than competing, is fun and stress-free. Persistence hunting is an anthropological example of healthy, non-competitive teamwork in the paleolithic.

Ultimately, this pyramid is preferable to others because fun is a whole lot more sustainable. It emphasizes play and cooperation over work intensity and competition. In a state of natural play, like working on a hobby or dancing, the individual will instinctively reach comfortable limits of output without affecting health or happiness. In fact, play advances health and happiness on a psychobiological level.