cover of episode Recap: Why we avoid exercise and how to overcome it | Daniel Lieberman

Recap: Why we avoid exercise and how to overcome it | Daniel Lieberman

2025/2/4
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@Daniel Lieberman : 我研究发现,人类祖先的活动只出于两种原因:必要或奖励。这与现代人为了健康而锻炼的概念大相径庭。数百万年来,人们为了获取食物或避免成为猎物而活动,或者出于娱乐的需要,例如玩耍。而现代意义上的‘锻炼’——为了健康而进行的自主性身体活动——是一种相对较新的行为。 我们现代人讨厌运动,是因为我们被要求做一件与我们进化历程相悖的事情。数百万年来,人们都在努力获取足够的能量,而锻炼则意味着不必要的能量消耗。因此,在食物匮乏的时代,锻炼是不可取的,甚至是有害的。 我们可以通过观察人们在面对楼梯和电梯时的选择来理解这种本能。大多数人会选择电梯,因为这更省力,符合我们本能的懒惰。即使是那些热爱极限运动的人,也并非天生就喜欢运动,而是克服了这种本能的懒惰。 要让人们喜欢上运动,我们需要让运动变得必要或有益,或者两者兼而有之。我们可以通过与朋友一起运动,设定目标(例如参加马拉松),或者让运动变得有趣(例如跳舞)来达到这个目的。重要的是,不要因为不喜欢运动而责备自己,这是符合我们进化历程的本能反应。

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This chapter explores the reasons behind our aversion to exercise, contrasting the body's natural craving for movement with the brain's resistance. It defines exercise as discretionary physical activity and explains that this is a relatively modern concept, unlike the physical activity our ancestors engaged in for survival and reward.
  • Exercise is a modern behavior; our ancestors were physically active for survival or reward.
  • Wasting calories on discretionary exercise is maladaptive for those who struggle to get enough food.
  • Our aversion to exercise is rooted in our evolutionary history.

Shownotes Transcript

Today we’re exploring what evolution can teach us about exercise.

When it comes to doing exercise, there’s often a tug-of-war between our body and brain. Our body craves movement - it wants to be leaner, fitter, stronger. But our brain? Well, that’s a different story. It often dreads the thought of going on a run or lifting weights and will try and find any excuse to avoid doing it.

So, why does this conflict exist, and more importantly, how can we overcome it?

Harvard Professor of Biological Sciences Daniel Lieberman is here to unravel the mysteries of our exercising ancestors and explain how this can help us train today.

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