More evidence that palaeo tribespeople were stronger/fitter than us

[kurite]

I know that bushmen poisoned there prey then ran them down for days if nescessary. Eventually the animal would give up and the bushmen would then spear it to death. Some of the still existant bushmen still do it this way.

[miles]

"As for being 120lbs and strong, it is technically possible, I suppose, if you were an African pygmy."

Paleophil: "...."

Strength isn't that simple these days, when many people, even a large proportion of athletes and body-builders included, suffer similar chronic issues to those you had with your ankle Paleophil. A man can have a decent amount of muscle, but due to his diet actually be frail. For example, he may be able to lift a large amount of weight in a controlled environment, but if he were to jerk it at all, go slightly out of his usual ROM or to attempt to try and swing a hard punch without warming up for example, he would hurt himself...

[PaleoPhil]

Strength isn't that simple these days, when many people, even a large proportion of athletes and body-builders included, suffer similar chronic issues to those you had with your ankle Paleophil. A man can have a decent amount of muscle, but due to his diet actually be frail. For example, he may be able to lift a large amount of weight in a controlled environment, but if he were to jerk it at all, go slightly out of his usual ROM or to attempt to try and swing a hard punch without warming up for example, he would hurt himself...

Excellent point. Connective tissues (ligaments and tendons) and joint health are also important to strength. Given that modern foods cause damage in all these areas, Stone Agers were likely stronger in this way too.

[infinitenexus]

In something such as a 100m race, modern sprinting shoes would give a clear advantage only because the spikes would give traction for a faster take off.  Other than that, the only "advantage" modern shoes may give is protection from sharp objects, although anyone who runs barefoot regular can tell you that the bottom of the sole toughens notably, and after running barefoot for a while you get really good at paying attention to the running surface.

120 pounds and strong - Look up some olympic weightlifters, some of those guys are brutally strong and weigh relatively little.  However, a 300 pound olympic lifter will of course be overall stronger.  After reading multiple articles about how badass early man was, I can only imagine that Cro-magnon man must have been like mariusz pudzianowski, in terms of strength and performance.