Why Running is Overrated

Healthier people are more likely to run than unhealthier people.

But as many people point out, it wreaks havoc on one's knees, feet, back -- and so most people don't run anymore -- particularly as they get older and more out of shape.

The geniuses at the high school physical education departments of the world, would be doing something much more worthwhile and valuable creating/describing movements that everyone can do without causing the injuries, deterioration and pain that tells most people not to do something -- with good reason.

Just turning the head 360 degrees left and right -- for 5 minutes standing or seated, would activate all the muscles of the body and keep one in that condition and proficiency all one's life, rather than produce the graveyard of knees, feet, backs that precludes one from meaningful, healthful movements anymore -- because they injure themselves in that way, but are convinced by the "experts" that those are the only movements that matter -- as if they mattered.

The UPS driver needs that skill at turning one's head and knowing conditions all around him to act safely -- rather than he needs to carry a package for 5 minutes to deliver to the next carrier along the route. 

Humans are an  information-gathering/processing animal, and not one reliant on brute force/strength or ruthless competitiveness for survival.  More often than not, problems solve themselves just in taking in enough information to know what is going on -- at which point, one only needs to contribute a little bit of effort to that understanding and awareness -- rather than invent the wheel entirely with only their own efforts.

That is not an effective or productive way for a human to be -- reinventing everything from scratch -- without that awareness of what already exists -- and leveraging that understanding with readily-available tools.  One of the great inventions, is the chair -- for which many things can serve that purpose, and so one doesn't need to build a chair every time one wants to sit -- for the purpose usually, of sparing their knees, feet, back and hips from unnecessary wear and tear -- so that one has those capabilities ready when actually needed.

That is what humans are doing -- preparing and building the reserves so that they have them when they might actually need them -- and not just burning as much calories, time, energy and resources -- because they have no idea of what else to do, and think that alone is enough.

Let's move health reporting out of the Stone Age.