Physical Activity Patterns
in the Paleolithic
Hunter-Gatherer
Fitness in the 21st Century
Physical activity is an important part of the gene-environment
discordance we’re now facing in today’s society, and it’s clear that
in terms of physical fitness, the typical modern man is only a faint
imprint of our Pleistocene ancestors. (4) This declining fitness level
began with the Agricultural Revolution, and it has only continued
as we’ve moved further and further away from a hunter-gatherer
existence.
Estimates suggest that hunter-gatherers’ energy expenditure
was in the range of 800 to 1200 kcal per day, a number 3 to 5 times
higher than that of modern sedentary individuals. (4) Although some
isolated tribes studied in modern times, such as the Hadza, are
much less active than this, it’s clear that human activity levels have
decreased dramatically since our hunter-gatherer days.
The problem isn’t necessarily that the average Westerner has
less willpower or discipline than prehistoric man; it’s simply that we
no longer need to be active. The ancestral environment demanded
a great deal of physical activity, and those who weren’t fit enough
to gather food, evade dangerous animals, build shelter, etc., would
have been weeded out through natural selection. However, this
has completely changed in the modern world, where food is readily
accessible, dangerous animals are a thing for the zoo, and modern
technology allows us to build comfortable homes without exhausting
ourselves. We’ve created an environment that eliminates many of
the selective pressures that have dominated human evolution.
While I don’t believe this mismatch necessarily entails our
emulating indigenous human activity patterns, there’s no doubt
that looking at physical activity in an evolutionary perspective
can teach us a lot about the types of activities that our genome
expects, as well as the duration, intensity, volume and frequency
we are adapted to handle. This quote from a paper by Dr. Loren
Cordain and colleagues is a great summary of why knowledge
about activity patterns in the Paleolithic era is valuable: “The portion
of our genome that determines basic anatomy and physiology
has remained relatively unchanged over the past 40,000 years.
Thus, the complex interrelationship between energy intake,
energy expenditure and specific physical activity requirements for
current humans remains very similar to that originally selected for
Stone Age men and women who lived by gathering and hunting.
Research investigating optimal physical activity for human health
and performance can be guided by understanding the evolution of
physical activity patterns in our species.” (5)
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Although there wasn’t a universal hunter-gatherer activity pattern,
there are some general characteristics: (4-6)
• Plenty of light–moderate activity such as walking, carrying, etc.;
on average, 6 to 16 km per day!
• Hard days typically followed by an easier day.
• Walking/running on natural surfaces (grass, sand).
• Physical activity performed barefoot or with minimalistic
footwear.
• Occasional intermittent bursts of moderate-to-high-intensity
exercise with intervening periods of rest and recovery.
• Rotation among many different forms of exercise, such as
strength training (lifting stones, carrying logs), endurance
training, climbing, etc.
• Virtually all exercise performed outside.
• Hunting and gathering in groups, rarely alone.
• Dancing often performed as a part of rituals and celebrations.
• Sexual activity as an essential part of human existence.
• Ample time for rest, sleep and recovery.
As pretty much all personal trainers, coaches and others
involved in health and fitness know, physical activity comes
with a wide spectrum of benefits, including improved metabolic
and cardiovascular health, increased protection against several
chronic diseases, and enhanced bone strength. However, what is
perhaps less known is that many of these benefits can be tracked
back to the positive effects exercise has on gene expression. (7)
While our actual DNA sequence doesn’t change, our environment
and lifestyle have a significant impact on which genes are
expressed. Recent epigenetic studies even suggest that changes
in gene expression can be heritable, in the sense that epigenetic
markers are passed on to future generations. (8, 9)
This is where a hunter-gatherer fitness style regimen really
shines. It won’t get you ready for the bodybuilding stage or the
Tour de France, but it will optimize gene expression and promote
multifaceted fitness. (4, 7) This is the expected response, as our
genome was forged in an environment that demanded a very
physically active lifestyle.
The Important Distinction
Between Exercise and Training
If your goal is to optimize gene expression and enjoy robust
vigorous health, the physical activity patterns of our prehistoric
ancestors certainly provide many clues on how to achieve this.
However, it’s important to note that this type of exercise will make
you a generalist—it will not cause a specific adaptation to one
type of activity. Hunter-gatherers didn’t exercise with a definite
performance objective in mind, and they didn’t focus on progressive
overload; they simply did what was necessary to survive.
And this is where we get into the distinction between exercise
and training. As strength coach Mark Rippetoe puts it, exercise is
performed primarily for the effects it produces today, while training
is performed with a long-term performance goal in mind. In other
words, while exercise often features “random” exposures to a wide
range of activities, training is about creating a specific adaptation.
So, if your goal is to maximize strength and/or muscular
October 2014 eNewsletter 13