'Drop Dead Healthy': 8 of A.J. Jacob's unusual get-fit regimens

For his book 'The Know-It-All,' writer A.J. Jacobs read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. In 'The Year of Living Biblically,' Jacobs tried out every rule in the Bible – even the more unusual ones. For 'Drop Dead Healthy,' Jacobs, driven by a desire to become as physically fit as possible, consulted experts and made a 70-page list of strategies he was going to try. Here are 8 of the more unusual strategies he tested in his quest for perfect fitness.

By Molly Driscoll, Monitor contributor

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1. Exercise like a caveman

Jacobs joined an exercise class in Central Park that embraces the Paleo movement, also known as the caveman movement. It stresses that participants should eat a diet similar to that which a caveman would have enjoyed, such as a lot of red meat, and exercise outside. Jacobs participated in a workshop run by the creator of the movement, a man named Erwan Le Corre from France. The Paleo workout included running, moving on all fours along a log, and later carrying the log on the participants' shoulders. Jacobs said he admired some aspects of the caveman workout. "I have to concede that Erwan has a point about exercising under the sky," he wrote.