Play as if Your Life Depends on It: Functional Exercise and Living for Homo sapiens

Rating:
Summary: Creative Thoughts on Promoting Physical Activity
Review: "As we grope our way into the 21st century, it is becoming increasingly obvious that many of us are suffering ill health and that much of it can be traced directly back to inactivity and sedentary living. It is also becoming clear that our current programs and orientations towards physical fitness simply aren't working."

Frank Forencich has written a book about exercise that is primal, humorous and realistic. He studied human biology at Stanford University and has experience in martial art, functional fitness, massage and aviation. He has also climbed throughout North America and loves traveling in Africa to study the environment.

The author believes that most books about fitness present information about weight-loss, nutrition, strength, flexibility or single-sport performance and yet ignore the history. In this book, the author seeks to present the core concepts behind exercise.

A lot of research is very apparent in this book. For example, since WWII, he says the rate of depression has more than doubled and the use of anti-depression medications have also skyrocketed. The author might just be correct when he says we have lost contact with our bodies and the joy that occurs from spontaneous play.

Now, the author does start with the premise that we have evolved and goes into detail about human evolution. If you are a believer in creation, you can breeze on by "Life in an Alien Environment" and go on to read "The Cult of Cosmetics." Now and then the author returns to the evolutionary discussion.

The author presents some intriguing points about American society. Too often, yes, we do focus on strict routines and workouts. I guess he is right when he says we should ?play? more. I myself miss a good wrestling match, the kind you had as a kid where you and your friends ended up on your backs laughing yourselves silly. There is definitely room for play.

"When we play, we're excited and enthusiastic. There's no labor involved, no drudgery. We're focused, engaged and attentive. In other words, we're stoked." ~Frank Forencich

I'm imagining a workout video that takes this into consideration.

I enjoyed reading his theories about walking barefoot. Often I will exercise barefoot because it does feel more primal. I?ve had foot injuries from wearing certain shoes and to me the barefoot life is sometimes best. I run about barefoot as much as I can, but probably because I grew up in Africa as a child. The fact that this author has traveled so much in Africa probably has influenced him. I wonder if he has walked barefoot on the sun baked earth in Africa. To me, it was bliss. I felt equally as blissful walking barefoot in New Mexico for some reason.

I'm so glad my treadmill is finally fixed. Now I'm in the mood to go for a walk. I'll imagine I'm walking through a beautiful field of flowers in Africa. They do have those and plenty of them.

I like the authors idea about putting your scale in the closet. That is where mine lives most of the time, however I do weigh myself occasionally, normally after a diet to see if it worked.

"Play as if Your Life Depends on it" has some intriguing and original ideas. It is a book about fitness that will definitely appeal to your intellectual side.

~TheRebeccaReview.com

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring and Revolutionary
Review: "Play As If Your Life Depends On It" will motivate everyone, from sofa slugs to physical dynamos.

Incorporating the idea that humans evolved in the African Savannah, the author makes a compelling case that we need to be physical in ways that honor our ancestry. While he doesn't advocate giving up the 9 to 5 in favor of hunting and gathering, he encourages considering one's every day movements and varying them in ways that emphasize grace and flexibility.

No program is instituted, but his concept is one that deeply resonates. Whether this translates into a spring in one's step, or a determination to engage in playful activity every day is left to the reader.

Truly a refreshing, sound idea without the vehemency or stridency and guilt that one finds in run-of-the-mill "fitness" books.

Rating:
Summary: THE END OF AMERICAN SPORT CULTURE
Review: Don't read this book if you are afraid to see into the future of being healthy.
Frank Forencich has put into words what may well be the best vision for the future of health and physical activity. As we more and more come to see the dangers of a sedentary life and the inability of the American sport and fitness industry to help all but a special minority of people, something has to give. Our need to make "exercise" a separate chore to be accomplished could be the best thing to let go. _Play as if your life depends on it_ shares what it could mean to do so, and provides the rationales behind it and extensive examples for getting started - all in an enjoyable, conversational read.

The missing fifth star is for the lack of references. I believe in Mr. Forencich's message that his approaches to activity are justifiable from any angle, including that of rigorous Western science, and most of the details he builds on are relatively straightforward and well-agreed upon physiology. I was surprised, then, that he has not included abundant references in the book or his web site ("...") to satisfy any skeptics and to put his case out to the scientific community, including medical professionals. While it really is crazy, as _Play..._ describes, for living creatures like people to need to seek the advice of a physician before exercising, it would be worthwhile to make efforts to help people like physicians agree with that, even in a book for everyone.

Rating:
Summary: THE END OF AMERICAN SPORT CULTURE
Review: Don't read this book if you are afraid to see into the future of being healthy.
Frank Forencich has put into words what may well be the best vision for the future of health and physical activity. As we more and more come to see the dangers of a sedentary life and the inability of the American sport and fitness industry to help all but a special minority of people, something has to give. Our need to make "exercise" a separate chore to be accomplished could be the best thing to let go. _Play as if your life depends on it_ shares what it could mean to do so, and provides the rationales behind it and extensive examples for getting started - all in an enjoyable, conversational read.

The missing fifth star is for the lack of references. I believe in Mr. Forencich's message that his approaches to activity are justifiable from any angle, including that of rigorous Western science, and most of the details he builds on are relatively straightforward and well-agreed upon physiology. I was surprised, then, that he has not included abundant references in the book or his web site ("...") to satisfy any skeptics and to put his case out to the scientific community, including medical professionals. While it really is crazy, as _Play..._ describes, for living creatures like people to need to seek the advice of a physician before exercising, it would be worthwhile to make efforts to help people like physicians agree with that, even in a book for everyone.

Rating:
Summary: A Refreshing Change
Review: Hats off to Frank Forencich for offering a new outlook on our state of decreased health! This book offers a very interesting and educational view of exercise and physical activity from an evolutionary standpoint. Mr. Forencich is definately an original thinker and quite possibly ahead of his time with such a unique outlook on exercise. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in aquiring original knowledge about health & fitness.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent new outlook to fitness!
Review: I've always been quite active, but I have wanted to add pizzazz to my otherwise gruesome workout routine. Play as if Your Life Depends on It is an excellent guide that helps the reader integrate unconventional workout and play moves into our ordinary lives. Frank Forencich gives workout and exercise a whole new meaning by explaining how hunting and gathering is relevant to everyday physical activity. This book is as essential as it is insightful. I for one look forward to play as though my life depends on it!

Rating:
Summary: Time to play
Review: This book is fun to read, thoughtful, and inspirational. Frank Forencich has figured out how fitness got boring and why "working out" really seems like work: we've forgotten the importance of play. This book is satisfying on a number of levels -- intellectual (it discusses the importance of function in an evolutionary context), emotional (it reminds us how fun it USED to be to exercise), and practical (it gives us good, simple roadmaps to recapturing the love of movement we had as kids). Forencich gives the reader a great paradigm: focus on function, and the other benefits of fitness will come naturally. The title isn't just tongue-in-cheek -- by the end of the book you realize that not just the quality of your life but your life itself might really depend on your playing as if your life depends on it. This book goes way beyond your typical exercise book. It's the only one of its kind I know of. As a fitness book, though, it's definitely the best I've read. Ever.