A Day in the Life of a Hunter-Gatherer by Loren Cordain

[Brian Stone]

Originally Posted by Rafe Kelley

In crossfit they have a pyramid of fitness with nutrition on the bottom followed by met-con and then gymnastics. I think from an evolutionary perspective the latter two categories are both really part of the broader category of locomotor ability and to me the traditional systems of metabolic or monostructural training, and artistic gymnastics are missing something because they are not rooted in that basic evolutionary understanding. I think for optimum human fitness it is important to be fast or enduring not just on flat ground but over complex terrain, and to show motor control, dexterity and co-ordination not just on a simple apparatus divorced from any natural function but on increasingly complex terrain grounded by the basic fundamental aim of being able to get from here to there as effectively as possible.

Rafe, welcome and good points.

Kind of splitting hairs, but I think this is kind of what is covered by "sport" in Coach Glassman's pyramid in that gymnastics, metcon and weightlifting all develop foundational elements that affect performance, but no combination of those things specifically addresses the unpredictable and changing nature in the arena of sport. It's the real life evolution and application of more base and theoretical movements, if you will.

[Christian Mason]

I believe this was also (Word for Word, or close) in "The Paleo Diet for Athletes"

[Rafe Kelley]

Thanks for the Welcome Brian. Let me explain my position. I appreciate sport but I think from an evolutionary perspective it is not logical to treat it as the top of the fitness pyramid and I don't think it offers nearly the complexity of locomotive adaption a practice like parkour does. I am sure you are familiar with parkour videos you have seen the variety of movement that arises from trying to solve complex environments, the multitude of variations on jumping, vaulting, rolling, climbing, swinging, were is this complexity in most sports? Were are the football leagues played in tree's or soccer leagues played on bolder fields. Flat turf fields and tracks are were most sport is practiced and as far as developing movement complexity and functional capacity to overcome complex environments flat turf isn't that developmental, its also nothing like he environments our ancestors faced.

I think from an evolutionary fitness perspective if you created a pyramid similar to the one in crossfit as I said before at the bottom is locomotor abilities, in the middle is manipulating external objects I.E weight lifting and throwing as well as carrying, catching, dragging, and pushing, and at the top is combative abilities dealing with resisting external force, grappling, striking etc. I think the logic here is obvious these encapsulate the primary areas of physical challenge our ancestors might have faced as well as the type that still might save our life today. Each layer builds on capacities developed in the layer below and each layer is increasingly complex, and finally each layer is decreasingly common as a challenge in day to day life for our ancestors and or for us today.

Sport is an evolution of inate play behavior which we have in order to sharpen our skills in these three realms of ability its easy to categorize sports into one of these domains. Track and field and gymnastics - Locomotive, Powerlifting, Oly lifting, strongman - manipulative, MMA, TKD, Boxing, Fencing - Combative. Some sports contain elements of all three like football but from my perspective these are really ways to train the capacities necessary for group combat, strategy teamwork, the ability to recognize patterns in your opponents movements and predict his actions.

[michael blevins]

ditto on the "paleo for athletes" I think its a bit more expanded as well.