"For generation after generation, our ancestors young and old woke up each morning thankful to be alive and with no choice but to spend several hours walking, digging, and doing other physical activities to survive to the next day. [...] The resulting paradox is that our bodies never evolved to function optimally without lifelong physical activity but our minds never evolved to get us moving unless it is necessary, pleasurable, or otherwise rewarding. Plunk us down in a postindustrial world, and we struggle to replace physical activity with exercise—an optional and often disagreeable behavior."

Exercise is something we know we SHOULD do, but most of us don't. How can something be so beneficial to us and yet also be used as a form of punishment? It turns out that our bodies evolved during a time where we got physical activity simply because we had no other choice. You don't need a Peleton when you have to walk 5 miles to and fro to find food.

This book does a fantastic job in distilling the research about the myriad ways exercise benefits us, including an entire chapter dedicated to our most common diseases and how exercise specifically benefits each one. Liebermen manages to convey his topic in a way that does not come across as preachy or pedantic, but does not sacrifice detail either. While this book might not get you onto a treadmill, it'll at least help you understand why it is that you don't want to. (but probably should)