Principles of Human Locomotion: Notes from an Exercise Biologist

Thomas Rowland

Sep 2020 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

About this ebook

This book addresses how the general principles of biology influence the human capacity for locomotion, and, conversely, how understanding the nature of muscular activity might provide insights into the basic nature of living beings. Through a series of essays, the book relates the evolutionary basis of animal locomotion to recognizing the determinants of exercise capacity. While raising more questions than providing answers, the discussions will assume that without knowing the correct questions to ask, the answers will not be forthcoming. At the root of this book lies the central query: what is it that separates the principles governing the function of living beings from those that dictate the inanimate world? The discussions here address this issue from the expectation that clues to the answer can be obtained through understanding adaptations to the stresses imposed by physical exercise. As such, the book provides thought-provoking analyses of the biological basis of locomotion that will stimulate future efforts to understand these phenomena.

About the author

Thomas Rowland, MD, is a retired pediatric cardiologist whose research interests have concentrated on exercise physiology of children. His publications include over 200 peer-reviewed articles and 13 books. He was the founding editor of the journal Pediatric Exercise Science, a position he held for 23 years. Dr Rowland has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the American College of Sports Medicine and as President of the North American Society for Pediatric Exercise Medicine.