PS. There was year-and-a-half long period of time where I forced myself to do at least an hour of vigorous cardio exercise every day. The worst days were the ones when the gym was closed… because that meant I had to run. Christ, it was awful. I’d say I averaged about one sprawling forward fall every two weeks. You can still see the scars on my knees. Fuck that. No more running for me.
No, we humans did not evolve to run. We evolved to travel long distances by walking upright.
Here is dramatic telling/showing of a San hunt. Note that of the three men, only one was specialized as a “runner”. Further note that despite the dramatic narration and slow-motion video edits, the real-time shots show the “runner” mostly either walking or jogging/loping. He’s not a “runner,” but a ‘pursuer’. That is what some few specialized members of early human groups had to do–be able to lope along for eight hours in scorching sun at a pace just fast enough to deny prey the chance to eat, drink, or cool off.
Dude, that’s called trolling.
Actually, our buddy Ambivalid is a good example - he can not run, even to save his life. Not so much unwise as unpossible. On the other hand, if anyone here had a chance of ripping a hungry bear’s head off with sheer brute force my money is on him. He’s in fantastic shape, but he doesn’t and can’t run. I’m still willing to bet that on every stat apart from his 100 yard sprint and time for the mile he’s got most if not all of the runners here beat.
I don’t run for fun or exercise. I am ABLE to run if I need to, but choose not to, because I’m at high risk of injuring my knees. Meanwhile, there are plenty of other exercises I can do to maintain cardio health, strength, etc. to a sufficient level that if I ever NEED to run I will be able to. Let’s face it, if you’re trying to outrun a bear or a collapsing building or whatever no one will give a damn if your form is perfect or not, and if it really is a matter of life or death to hell with worrying about tomorrow’s joint pain. But normal life isn’t like that, and I see no reason to further degrade my knee joints on a regular basis.
Is that why you responded to me in a snarky manner when I suggested that running in the morning could be a really good way to keep your weight in control?
I ran for 11, ELEVEN, years (military fitness requirement). Hated every step of the way. “Runner’s high” Never felt it. Never got easier. Never got my pace better than a 10 minute mile, no matter how hard I tried. Trained for and ran a 10K, took me over an hour to cover the distance. Even with all that, running a mile and a half still wasn’t easy or enjoyable. So glad when I got out of the military and knew that I wouldn’t have to run again.
For many reasons, some people are not physically designed to run. Or do whatever exercise you think is “easy”.
I’m glad I’ve discovered that I like to swim and exercise in the water. I’m “getting better at it and a better person for it”. I’ve lost 40 pounds!
If you have a problem with the OP, take it to the Pit – don’t make (just barely) veiled accusations of trolling in MPSIMS.
twickster, MPSIMS moderator
Sometimes this board sucks.
One kinda interesting observation is that there doesn’t seem to be any other physical activity whose practitioners have this “one true exercise” attitude. That seems to be unique to runners (but not universal, thankfully). I wonder why that is.
Why would I be a better person for it, exactly?
Walking is easy and necessary. Running is tiring and useless when you’re not chased down by a lion (useless too when you’re chased down by a lion, in fact).
Building a model of a cathedral using matches is also a challenge and a bit difficult at first, and then you get better at it. So is playing the tuba. So is solving crosswords. So is learning the scores of all the major football teams during the twenty last years. So is spelunking. So is brewing your own beer. Why don’t you do all those things? I hope not just because you don’t like doing them, that’s obviously not a good enough reason.
No need to be overweight. One of my coworkers, about 55, who is in perfect shape and for all I know always has been, has cartilage issues and will soon be on his second surgery as a result of a lifetime of running (not in a competitive way…just as a hobby). He’s still running every day, though.
You were a tribologist? How exciting! I have plenty of question, since I never met one.
The first question would be : what is a tribologist?
I dunno, the OP sure seems to think so judging by his own posts.
If something is easy or natural or enjoyable, it can’t be good for you. Obviously you have to do things that you don’t like, or find difficult, or just regular things done the hard way, in order for them to qualify as “good.”
Goddamned Puritan mindset pops up everywhere and screws up everything.
You like running - it’s easy for you and makes you happy. Fine, live long and prosper. I think runners are nutters for liking it, but do you see me starting threads about how nuts runners are for enjoying something that’s obviously painful and bad for their bodies?
How hard is it to understand that people are different, have different physical capabilities, take enjoyment from different forms of activity, and have different exercise goals?
While I agree with what others have said, I have a feeling that the OP’s opinions may be coming from what people used to believe in Sparta (ancient Greece). Basically, man and toughen the fuck up. Back in those days, if you exposed any weakness or anything you didn’t like, your parents or your military guy (boys were forced into the military at age 7) would make you do that exact thing a lot. Hate broccoli? Guess what you are getting for dinner every day for the whole week? Afraid of the dark? Guess where you will be put?
The idea is that conquering your fears and doing what you hate/are weak in will help eliminate that weakness. Now they don’t give a milliliter of pig diarrhea about how much you hate doing [insert task here]. In fact, they didn’t really even care if you got injured or died in the process (that just proves you are too weak and don’t deserve to live). Get asthma attacks or have weak joints? Tough shit.
While I obviously don’t agree with this, I can understand where the OP is coming from. He is thinking sort of like the Spartans. Basically, get rid of your fear/hate for running by actually doing it a lot. However, as others have noted, it isn’t like that.
I like to run, but I have a lot of trouble doing it if I don’t have my Ipod to listen to.
I think jogging is great for you and it’s improved me mentally and physically. At the same time, I can understand how people couldn’t like it. I can’t stand lifting weights, and I’m sure many people would be bewildered by that.
It’s the same difference. You would be a better person for picking up those skills. I don’t do those things because I don’t really have the motivation, not because I would actively dislike it.
Some people are looking too far into this. Running is a skill and can help improve your health. But, if you can’t do it for one reason or another, so be it. There are plenty of other exercises that you can pick up to compensate for your lack of running ability. Diet is still most important anyways.
You keep saying this but you haven’t explained at all how becoming a proficient runner or spelunker or matchstick castle-maker would make someone a better person. You just assert it. Please explain.
Because having useful skills is a good thing.
I hate running. Maybe one day I will have a go at it properly, but I get plenty of exercise on my bike. I’ll happily spend a whole day out cycling, but running for more than a minute or two at a time? Pain.
I do vividly remember a couple of years ago that I fleetingly experienced what it was like to run effortlessly. I was running to get to a shop before it closed and suddenly it seemed like my feet were barely touching the ground and I was speeding along, almost floating. It lasted about 30 seconds and then I had to stop to cross a road, and I could never quite recapture the feeling. It was weird, but I did love the sensation.
I agree. I’ve been working on my people skills.