I should have gotten out for a ride on Sunday. Instead, I did a few chores and then ended up watching football. Now, it is 16 degrees outside, and looks to remain below zero for a few days to come. Even tree-climbing will have to wait. Denver can be a cold place to be, thankfully it always passes sooner than later.

But, watching football makes me think about paleo-type sports – and this question in particular:

If Humans have evolved for muscular efficiency and physical ease in performing certain movements (hunting and gathering movements); then it would make sense that some sports would capitalize on using the muscle groups that follow the natural design of our bodies, whereas others might try to highlight a physical tendency that can only be developed through practice of a unique skillset

And, due to those un-natural (but precise) movements and motions of the second group, there might be a tendency towards injury while on the learning curve. In fact there might always be a tendency towards injury from these sports because an unnatural motion, is always just that – unnatural – practiced or not.

For example: Wrestling – few activities could be more “primal” for our physique. Wrestling is the essence of our basic human defense mechanism. Wrestling is the end-game of the hunt. Only climbing and running would precede it in our DNA (grappling only happens if you’re caught).

Most of the other physical motions of life don’t stack up as competitive, spectator friendly, type of activities. Most hunting and gathering activities aren’t really considered to be “sports”, but obviously, some do lend themselves to competition better than others.

So, what sports make sense? Noting right off the top that excessive force in ANY physical type of contest might cause injury?

I would start with all of the basic track and field events: Running, jumping, and throwing, and I would follow them with wrestling, as noted above, and also swimming. All of these potential “competitions”, whether for fun, or for societal “rank”, unmistakably go back millions of years into our way of relating, as Humans, to each other.

Regarding current sports, baseball and basketball both fall into the “pretty basic movement” category – with some caveats. Balls, leather-bound or rubber, are fairly recent inventions. Especially those that would be capable of bouncing, or being repeatedly hit (with a bat, a wicket, or a club) without damage. But the movements that underlie those sports – catching, and controlling small objects – even in a team setting, remain well within the spectrum of Human motion and muscular capabilities. And once again, the injury is not usually caused by the rules of the sport itself, but more often from the overzealousness of the participants. I might also add that, for the most part, these “basic” sports are relatively low cost as far as the essential equipment goes (the safety-related equipment that follows many sports are a different matter entirely).

Then there is Football – European and American. Purely paleo. At their essence, pure forms of struggle and conquest.

But what about those One-Armed sports? Golf, tennis, and all the other ones that use clubs and special sticks?

I can only say that you should expect injury at some point. There is nothing natural about any of them – they tend to require a “special” talent. And, except for a few pros, the majority of “wanna-be’s” (sadly, especially those who take expensive lessons) end up with a closet full of overpriced sticks, and constant medical ills – Tennis elbow, shoulder injuries, knee surgeries, groin pulls,  – it seems that in hockey, you can even lose your teeth. That might be natural for a few hardy souls, but probably not for the larger part of society that just wants to exercise their physique, or see a little “race”, or a “game”.

I must admit that golf is an oddity, it would seem like it should be great for you – with all that sunshine and walking, and it’s not totally one-armed – but the never-ending reports of shoulder, back, and hip problems might drive a rational person towards the conclusion that: Even though the putt is benign, there is absolutely nothing natural about the swing and drive. I think the Scots were originally looking for a diversion, not a sport.

I will note here that climbing, even though we have done it as a species for millions of years, has only recently been highlighted as a sport – mainly in Parkour and “Ninja Warrior” events. Mountain climbing is excepted because it seems to be a contest that consists of being the “first” to do an ascent, whether someone else was trying to do it or not.

Bicycling? I covered it before, it’s definitely not paleo, but I do believe it is the purest merger of Human power to technology that I have ever had the pleasure to operate.

The bottom line is that sports, on a non-professional level, should be fun, competitive – but fun. They definitely should not cause injury – or even money for pain killers. If they do, you are probably fighting something in addition to your opponent – Probably evolution.