Back in April 07, I ended up looking at some old bookmarks and found a link my wife had sent me to an Evolutionary Fitness blog by Arthur De Vany. (She sent me this as I often talk of becoming as strong as an ape and do a lot of body weight exercises. I also often joke that I’m not made for modern life and that the Caveman life calls to me.) The writings there definitely were well in contrast to what I had paid 1000’s to learn as I was becoming a Personal Trainer and Nutrition Consultant. Not everything was different, but there were some big ones.
I was curious and did a lot of reading. Here’s a summary of contrasts I found:
- It wasn’t the steady feeding cycle that I had just learned was required to boost the body’s metabolism.
- It wasn’t following the USDA Food Pyramid.
- It wasn’t doing “cardio” for hours on end.
Here is a very simple interpretation of what I found.
- Consistently be variable in the exercises you do.
- Do short intervals of high-intensity.
- Eat fibrous vegetables, fruit, and fauna. Aim for nutritiously dense but calorie sparse foods. Nutrient density is more valuable than caloric content. This may not be true in all cases.
- Eating should have some variability as well.
- There was a great deal of positive words on Intermittent Fasting. Here’s a supporting link from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on fasting.
Transitioning to evolutionary fitness
As I continue to explore Evolutionary Fitness for myself, I think it’s advanced. I mean I think it’s advanced for some. Many of the people I see day to day would probably suffer some ailments (or just out right keel over) if they did short bursts of high-intensity movements. Also, telling someone who’s greatest part of the day is visiting the bakery that they shouldn’t eat grains would probably get me hurt. So, I think entry into Evolutionary Fitness definitely will require a major mental shift for most.
For me, I am having great results. I think it’s fantastic. I’ve been doing it consistently variably for about 2 months.
- My body fat has dropped 2%.
- I’m not thinking about my joints aching anymore. That’s because it’s a rare occurrence now.
- Indigestion is a thing of the past. Things are working smoothly.
- I am stronger and faster.
- People who haven’t seen me in a long time say I look like I am really in shape.
In a couple months more, I am going to go in for a physical and get my blood work done. I’m curious to know how things look on the inside of my body.