Thousands of years ago, how do humans exercise

Primitive Era: To Live, to Have Sports

It is not far away, as it was in 10,000 BC, when human minds often reverberated like this: "Running, out of danger, you can live." Under the harsh natural conditions at that time, "strengthening physical fitness" was the key factor for human beings to stay alive from danger and survive.

The physical function of humans evolved rapidly during that period. In addition to simple “running”, they also learned to walk slowly, balance, jump, move forward, climb rock, lift objects, carry, throw, chase, and confrontation. These are all for better adaptation. The wild life, even if it was an early dance, was also considered to have been created when it was full of food and no beast threatened.

Primitive humans do not have any fitness programs. Their bodies are entirely based on the survival instincts they practice in their daily lives.

Neolithic Age: Changes in Agriculture

About 10,000 BC to 8000 BC, humans entered the Neolithic Age and began to learn to cultivate. This is generally regarded as the first light in the history of human civilization.

Humans who know how to cultivate are no longer struggling, but begin to build homes in fixed locations. Human activities have changed from hunting and grazing to repetitive daily agricultural work. The previous run jumps and moves forward without any use. In a relatively closed agricultural environment, all kinds of actions have become easier and safer than ever before - climbing ladders and climbing trees is a different difficulty.

Ancient Empire: Exercise to defend the country

From 4,000 BC to the collapse of the Roman Empire in AD 476, the progress of human civilization was accompanied by a continuous war, from Babylon to ancient Egypt, ancient Persia, to later ancient Greece and Rome. Boys began to receive militarized training from a very young age. Why did they come? Prepared for the war.

The purpose of military training at that time was clear: marching on various terrains, squatting, carrying forward with weight, fighting with arms and some weapons training. When the east wind of civilization has blown into the history of mankind, physical exercise is still very popular - the earliest Games in history were to appear in ancient Egypt, that is, the earliest Olympic Games. The earliest sports events also came without surprise from actual wars and survival needs - races, high jumps, throws (discus or javelins), and wrestling.

In addition to militarization training, ancient Greeks and Romans were also very keen on the strength and beauty demonstrated by the human body. Both intelligence and body shape were the ultimate goals pursued by them. It was from this point on that they began to sculpt and became the needs of the war. A higher pursuit.

Early fitness venue

Medieval: Basic Abandonment of Physical Exercise

From the fifth century AD to the fifteenth century AD, during the dark medieval period, feudal separatism led to frequent wars. At the same time, church rule was very strict and controlled the cultural education in Western Europe. They not only adopted asceticism in varying degrees in practice, but also It is believed that there is a savior who is willing to exchange for the believers the eternal life after death at the cost of life. At this time, the flesh is seen as an insignificant torso that bears pain and there is no way to talk about physical exercise. With the exception of a few nobles and mercenaries who are physically training for the war, the vast majority of people can only exercise their strength through agricultural labor.

Renaissance: Restart

The Renaissance (1400-1600) broke the dark shackles of the Middle Ages, and humankind's exploration of the body also resumed. This time, it also includes multiple aspects such as human body structure and function, human anatomy and sports.

Vitorino, a famous Italian humanist educator, built the school “Happy House” in 1420. He not only attached importance to moral education, but also attached importance to physical exercise and linked physical education with intellectual education. He believed that a healthy body is the basic condition for the development of students’ intellectual development.

In 1569, the Italian medical scientist, H. Mercurialis, published a book called Gymnastics. The book introduces the purpose and classification of ancient Greek sports, describes ancient Greek sports such as running, jumping, pitching, ball games, and dance, and discusses the medical effects of various Greek sports programs and the methods for resuming these sports. This book has far-reaching implications for later generations.

After the industrial revolution: Europe and the United States are not the same

The occurrence of the industrial revolution made the traditional handicraft industry replaced by the machine industry. The seemingly simple changes have profoundly affected all aspects of human life and development. The widespread use of machines has greatly reduced the amount of human activity, and it is human beings who exercise their own physical exercise. Maintaining the health and strength of the body to cope with the threat of war that may occur at any time has become a national consensus.

The full rise of modern fitness

The concept of "fitness" was promoted and popularized. Thanks to the Frenchman Edmond Desbonnet, he wrote many articles related to fitness, coupled with pictures of athletes for men and women, and put the concept of fitness in It is promoted throughout Europe. He himself also gained a lot from this process. During his heyday, he had more than 200 fitness centers in Europe. Going to the gym became a fashionable choice in the European high society. Many early famous fitness stars benefited from De Niro's philosophy.

In contrast to the American continent, Bernard MacFadden became a leader in the field of fitness. He not only invented the earliest chest clip machine and founded "Sports," one of the earliest bodybuilding magazines in the world, and in 1903. The first in the body-building contest was to bring Charles Atlas, the symbol of bodybuilding. By 1935, McFeddon’s publishing empire had 35 million readers, and he himself had become a billionaire.

It can be said that De Niro and McFadden have opened the curtain for the vigorous development of the fitness industry for mankind. Since then, it has become a consensus for everyone to maintain a good figure through sports. Today, fitness centers and fitness equipment can be found everywhere. There are countless types of fitness magazines, books, DVDs, and even mobile apps that all have the same purpose - how to practice the best shape in the shortest possible time.

In the past century, in order to build, humans spend money like running water—vibration bellybands, teaching videos of Godfather Lalane, Jane Fonda’s aerobics, Bofei home fitness equipment, and thigh bodybuilders. , Abdominal, Tae Kwon Do, Pilates, Spinning, P90X Training Video, Wii Fitness Games, etc., etc. There are always one for you.

Contemporary fitness culture: What have we lost?

While the fitness culture is in full swing, we need to pause to reflect on what we have gained in this long process and what have we lost?

The advantage is that exercising is almost the consensus of all human beings. We know more about our body, pay more attention to our health, and are more active in our actions than at any other time in human history. I believe in finding a place in the community where you live. The gym is not difficult.

But at the same time, over-reliance on fitness has left us farther away from nature than at any time in history. Although the current medical and fitness industries are unprecedentedly developed, a recent World Health Organization survey showed that the average life expectancy of Americans is now smaller than that of 1993.

One important reason is that with the advancement of science and technology and the convenience of life, mankind is no longer as strongly motivated by physical activity as in the past, and everyone's tolerance for “fat” is high. One is because of poor self-management. People who have gone out of shape will not receive too much blame from society in the present age.

One of the more important reasons is that most people, regardless of "fitness" or "weight loss," are really looking for "looking type". Going to the gym has become a trivial "routine" rather than a real commitment to sports. Going to exercise and happiness. In the face of hundreds of fitness methods, we are completely lost.

Future: Finding Back to Heart

We can all foresee that the rapid development of science and technology will bring new vitality to the fitness industry, such as smart wearable devices, which can monitor and record the data of the human body at any time. You can clearly see the display on the mobile terminal. To his own various data analysis charts, use high-tech means to master and manage his physical condition.

This is certainly not a bad thing, but is it really the right direction? Does not rely on science and technology to make us more and more lazy and more and more indifferent to the true meaning of fitness? Perhaps something more worthwhile for us to do is to return to nature and return to the beginning of human fitness.

“Birds raised in cages can never understand flying.” We sweat in the gym and we begin to ignore the real needs of the body. Although we live in a company where we can only use our fingers (called take-aways) to stay in the indoor gym, we can develop a perfect contemporary society. However, this does not mean that human instincts have changed. After all, the history of human fitness has been traced back. For thousands of years, our sports and fitness are all based on our survival instincts. It is only in the last hundred years that we have begun to explore more targeted fitness programs because of the rapid advancement of technology and society.