That doesn’t mean the body enjoys being sedentary. Rather, the body expects to move for reasons like finding food or to avoid predators. Dr Lieberman breaks this down into moving out of necessity or moving for reward (like making social contacts). But we just aren’t evolved to want to burn energy simply for the hell of it.

In an interview for Harvard’s Book Store, Dr Lieberman expands on the meaning behind this book, saying: “People were [historically] very physically active, but they didn’t do what we did as ‘exercise’,” he says. In fact, Lieberman would go as far as to say that exercise is kind of odd – and I’d agree. It is weird that we take a break from our sedentary lives to start jumping around, and then go back to normal again.

Of course, many people would say that contemporary exercise is exciting. From boxing in disco-esque rooms to the empowering feeling of getting stronger, we’ve found ways to love this style of moving. But, really, it is against everything the body was designed to do – hence why many people still struggle with exercise, or find dips in motivation.

Exercise motivation: the scientific reason you don’t want to work out