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At 05:06 PM 2/2/2005 -0500, you wrote:
>Jim > 1) Intensity.  Agreed, this is a vital aspect of paleo exercise.  At
>least for men.
>
>Wally > I believe it should be a mix, as in HIIT. When I bike I alternate
>between easy and hard. Some weight training I do with heavy weights and
>low reps, some with lighter weights and higher reps. I believe it's more
>reflective of paleo-life.
>
>Perhaps.  And less effective.

>Jim>
>I am a big believer in attempting to mimic our paleo past.  As far as
>exercise goes, we (at least the men) did intense exercise every few days
>followed by periods of rest.  And the harder we worked, the more our
>bodies' responded to the intense effort.  So intensity and irregularity
>and to exhaustion are elements of paleo exercise.

I'm not sure which of the above I am agreeing with...  I think high
intensity effort was there, but was it sought out, or avoided at all
costs?  High intensity efforts were called for in the hunt, inter-group
conflict, and certain rituals.  How often was that?  I don't know, but it
most certainly varied between groups and the physical and societal
environments they found themselves in, and the time of year.  I wonder if
paleo-man, in an area flush with easily available food (think coastal
environments), in a time of little conflict, would have done any
high-intensity stuff?  Maybe that's what the dancing and rituals were for.

Beyond that, conservation of effort by dividing tasks and 'taking it easy'
would seem to make sense.

I guess it makes an argument in my mind for a fairly chaotic and random
approach, though I don't think that is optimal for modern athletic performance.

Tim

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