-copied from here.
After a collapse of civilization, the survivors would return to that level of fitness. After SM Stirling's Change, the people in one community:
are no longer fat;
need all the calories that they can consume;
are trained in combat from the earliest age.
"'The best archers start with the bow as a kiddie. They've grown up rough, too...'"
-SM Stirling, The Protector's War (New York, 2006), Chapter Thirteen, p. 368.
Without a collapse, we need a way to combine the benefits of civilization with optimum health and fitness. Gym is necessary to counteract a sedentary lifestyle. What is the lifestyle that would make gym unnecessary without forfeiting intellectual and cultural pursuits? Maybe we need Ythrian bodies pumping oxygen directly into the bloodstream?
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I agree with what both Anderson and Stirling said about how a very rough life at a low level of technology WILL make for a very fit people. Far fitter than most of us are, I suspect.
The only alternative to using gyms is to exercise at home (which is what I do). And eating less!
Sean
Human beings are designed to average about four hours of fairly hard work a day (lifting, running, throwing), and a good bit of less intensive activity (walking, etc.) on a diet of lean meat (including organ meats) and high-fiber, minimally processed vegetable foods. This is rather difficult to duplicate today, though one should note that a peasant's life is nearly as "unnatural" as a sedentary 21st-century type's.
I do about 1.5 hours a day at the gym six days a week, and I'm still not nearly as fit as I'd like.
Dear Mr. Stirling,
That does fit in with what I read and observed elsewhere. It seems to me the best anyone can do is live with reasonably temperate habits and make sure to get regular exercise.
Sean
Maximizing the convenience of walking and biking for getting around cities would help.
This would also reduce traffic problems because people would tend to use cars only when the distance to be travelled or amount of stuff to be moved is to large for walking or biking to be practical.
Kaor, Jim!
That might work in some cities, but not all! Here I'm thinking of what happened to Sarah Comrie recently, in NYC, when a gang of black bullies threatened and harassed her into giving up a bicycle she had rented. A six months pregnant nurse!!!
Incidents like that will discourage what you suggested if law abiding citizens don't feel safe.
Ad astra! Sean
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