“Those who say it cannot be
done should
get out of the way of those who
are doing it!” – Anonymous
Have you ever thought about the interplay
of factors in the control of the circulation and the factors that control
organizations? It isn’t the kind of thinking that we do everyday.
As a professor, seldom have I had reason to bring up the relationship between
the two. Few professors would and, yet every professor should be
encouraged to do so. For certain, as exercise physiologists, we know
more about the factors that control the circulation than we do about organizations.
Waking up to this point of view has its challenges; many of which are exhausting
and risky. Both are worth the shared values and behavior, especially
when the work makes the world a better place for exercise physiologists.
The secret is that we have always
had the power to impel our own success. The problem is that we have
been too confined by the past. I have learned that the very essence
of leadership begins with a vision and, in particular, the right to articulate
clearly and forcefully an organized effort to invent the future.
But, not all exercise physiologists have come to understand this point.
They are not willing to follow a different path and, therefore, they are
not willing to be different. It will happen when they shift their
thinking to embrace the new exercise physiology; one that is articulated
by ASEP. Until then, this kind of failure of exercise physiologists
not connecting is similar to different systems of body that fail in their
multiple-interconnectedness and response to a stressor. Only when
our willingness to recognize that all of us have the power to make dreams
come true will we align ourselves with a more “informed sensitivity” to
our needs as professionals. In fact, in light of the commonly discussed
factors that control (and thus regulate) circulation and, similarly, the
factors that govern organizations, the words of Lewis Mumford are very
interesting. “Every transformation…has rested on a new metaphysical
and ideological base; or rather, upon deeper stirrings and intuitions whose
rationalized expression takes the form of a new picture of the cosmos and
the nature of man.”
The American Society of Exercise
Physiologists (ASEP) is the “transformation” within the traditional view
of exercise physiology. It has created deep, irrepressible stirrings
within the emerging profession that have resulted in an entirely new view
(and thus a new definition) of exercise physiology and the exercise physiologist.
The story and its legitimacy have created a community of exercise physiologists
with the connectedness that has enable a fundamental shift in values.
It is retold in the reading of physical therapists, nurses, and other healthcare
professions for they, too, are revolutionary transformations. Their
thinking and philosophical debates regarding professionalism, professionalization,
and what is a profession have helped them recognize their own invisibility.
Orison S. Marden said it best,
“We lift ourselves by our
thought, we climb upon our vision of ourselves.”
To point out how the heart and blood
vessels are important to understanding ASEP and its members is to explain
the reality of accountability. Without a heart capable of a cardiac
output that matches the required muscular work of the body, the tissues
are unable to respond appropriately. At first blush this idea is
obvious but, in reality, few exercise physiologists seem to understand
that the head (or brain) mirrors the creation of possibilities defined
by the body. Profound differences in creating transformations result
from corresponding changes in the “thinking” that leads to new understandings.
The implication is that the body is changeless without the mind (i.e.,
thinking that surrounds new ideas and possibilities). As such, it
isn’t difficult to understand this point. What is less than good-humor
is that some exercise physiologists are acknowledged as little more than
exercise specialist. Being misvalued by others is clearly wrong.
When it is allowed to exist as truth, the comfort level of interacting
with those who fail to bring forth what is right is wrong.
Similarly, aerobic exercise of serious
intensity is not possible without progressive developments consistent with
changes in structure and function of the heart. Thus the most basic
difference between the person who can run well and one who cannot is understood
in physiological terms. What is ultimately important to all exercise
physiologists is that the person who understands the changing values of
exercise physiology versus the fundamentally different reality of sports
medicine is understood in philosophical terms. Furthermore, the only
conceivable way in which we can acquire the understanding of the latter
is to become dehypnotized to the inner compass of sports medicine.
The fact that so few exercise physiologists seem to understand the necessity
to reorder their thinking is a contradiction in the strength of those who
are journeying a different way. While this way of looking at reality
must seem strange to some, it does not necessarily contradict the truth
once awaken in each of us.
ASEP is the transformation of exercise
physiologists in much the same way that training is the cause of the phenomena
change in stroke volume. Hence, ASEP is the heart of exercise physiology
and the members are the “oxygen” that fuel the work of the committees.
Both the organization itself and its members are influenced by a number
of factors, and it is the interplay among these variables that is essential
to challenging the traditional beliefs of sports medicine. The fact
that ASEP exists is a declaration of faith in the inner decision of each
member to regulate the emerging profession. The ASEP reality is in
accordance with the intensity and genius of the commitment to perceive
the world as exercise physiologists. We who have been educated to
the fundamental differences between exercise physiology of yesterday and
the prevailing sense of the new exercise physiology of today appreciate
the interest in the phenomenon of an awaken contradiction. No longer
can the observer sit comfortably with the notion that exercise physiologists
should exist outside of their own kind.
If the role of the heart is to effectively
deal with stress placed on the body, the role of the Board of an organization
is the heart of change and possibilities. Factors that directly
influence the kinds of decisions that involve exercise physiologists are
identified in much the same way the heart adjusts its work in maintaining
the integrity of the interrelated systems of the body. Attention
to matters that influence the members of an organization is extremely important.
Again, it is at the heart of the matter in matching the tissues’ needs
for oxygen. The Board is the heart of the organization and, thus
it helps to regulate the application of exercise physiology concepts and
ideas through its members by creating, nurturing, and sustaining the “exercise
physiology reality”. George Land and Beth Jarman (1)
said it somewhat differently in their book, Break-Point and Beyond:
“When you imagine the possibilities
for your future, you create not only your future but your present.”
In effect, then, just as the cellular
adaptations resulting from regular training allow for new exercise possibilities,
the emerging reality of the interaction between the Board and the members
of an organization set in motion endless organizational possibilities.
The members create exactly the reality that is imagined by the Board.
In order to fully realize the relationship between the heart and the tissues
(and thus the Board and the members), ask yourself, “What if only the heart
was working hard to meet the demands placed on the muscles?” Better
yet, what can the Board accomplish without the members? Each member
is gifted with unique academic training, personal and professional skills,
and a variety of hands-on experiences. The members’ capacity to express
unique skills and talents within the organization is similar to the contribution
of the muscles to the cardiorespiratory response to exercise.
The chronic adaptations of the infrastructure
of the muscles to increase function are directly related to the type and
intensity of the effort just as the forces that shape organizations are
linked to the effort employed in the members’ thoughts. Finding a
way to exercise or making a way in building an organization ensures that
failure is not a possibility. The comparison here is the members’
commitment to make a difference. Their efforts free us from our past.
They are the infrastructure of the ASEP organization that extents peripherally
into the community of exercise physiologists to restructure thinking about
exercise physiology. Just as the muscles are held in high regard,
not only by the heart’s role in exercise but also by the other systems
in the body, the role of the ASEP member is exemplary and unsurpassed.
This new paradigm of self-worth is gaining momentum in the United States,
fueled not only by the belief that exercise physiologists have the right
to direct their own future but also by the profound implications and reality
of the changes that impact our students. No wonder what has constituted
the “sports medicine myth” is being challenged. No wonder there exists
for the first time in the history of exercise physiology a “Board Certified”
national exam (Exercise Physiologist Certified; the EPC). The notion
of what we can do has been expanded under the ASEP leadership; it has created
a multidimensional meaning to exercise physiology.
Those who know men and women like
Dr. Joe Weir, Dr. Dale Wagner, Dr. Don Diboll, Dr. Lee Brown, Dr. Tim Ziegenfuss,
Dr. Robert Robergs, Dr. Paula Papanek, Mr. Steve Jungbauer, Mr. Mark Kaelin,
Dr. David Armstrong, Mr. Patrick Ayres, Dr. Turi Braun, Mr. Chad Hedlund,
Mr. Jeff Janot, Dr. LaGary Carter, Dr. Richard Kreider, Dr. Arlette Perry,
Dr. Lesley White, Dr. Darryn Willoughby, and others like them in the ASEP
organization know that they have sustained a professional relationship
with ASEP. Since its beginning, without apology, they have helped
cultivate an understanding and respect for ASEP that few have done.
For me, they are the nerves of the organization that reach out from the
Board to the colleagues who feel left out and undervalued. They understand
that in every work place, department, college or university, there are
individuals who need guidance and support. By building and maintaining
their vision and interpersonal relationships, they help others grow in
the ASEP vision. They are reflective, caring leaders with the ability
to get others involved. They awaken the truth within us, thus allowing
us to connect with time, space, and each other. They are the different
systems of the body working in a coordinated fashion to reinterpret exercise
physiology from the ASEP perspective.
Increasingly, therefore, more exercise
physiologists are seeing things that they had not seen before. ASEP
is the new paradigm in exercise physiology. It is a new set of rules
(2) with straight thinking professionals. The old
paradigm that has blocked the ability to perceive and understand the reality
of necessary change is being replaced, even as you read this article.
The evidence is literally right before your eyes, and the catalyst for
triggering the paradigm shift are the men and women who have had a profound
effect on how ASEP has set out to solve the problems in our students’ lives.
Members appreciate that only exercise physiologists should be fashioned
in their own image and thus, again, it is the members who bring with them
the notion of exercise physiology that further enriches ASEP.
Try as the heart will (i.e., the
Board), it cannot by itself exploit the physiology of other systems (members).
Meaning this, the individuality of the members and their singular and/or
collective opportunity to awaken abilities in non-ASEP colleagues crystallizes
an interconnected effort that is defining the new profession. Hence,
it is no wonder that behind every great organization is peripheral work
of indispensable members that supports the central function at the Board
level. In this regard, most, if not all, of the exercise physiology
community understand the contribution of the central and peripheral components
to oxygen consumption. The product of cardiac output and arteriovenous
oxygen difference equals energy that fuels muscle contraction. This
is, of course, the point with the members. Their contribution along
with the Board’s work adds a richness of hope and possibility of an energy-rich
result. Instead of breaking down fuels for the production of energy,
and instead of nerves guiding the contraction of muscles to perform predictable
human movement, the work of specialized ASEP committees support efforts
to realize work-related improvements in the public sector. The key
is in knowing the members, not just numbers in an organization.
The body’s ability to tolerate and
adapt to exercise has been known for many years. In 1979, Costill
(3) pointed out in, A Scientific Approach to Distance
Running, that the net result of endurance training is the larger amounts
of energy for muscular work. That is, with endurance training, we
should expect to see improvements in both the ability of the cardiovascular
system to deliver oxygen and an enhanced capacity of the muscle fibers
to use the oxygen. The movement to professionalize exercise physiology,
its practice and those who practice it, are important to all exercise physiologists
as has been the struggle to understand the chronic adaptations to endurance
training. Each generation of exercise physiologists has, as part
of its professional responsibility, struggled with major issues before
them. Much of the work has been for decades the research analysis
and quantification of the physiology of exercise and training. Significant
to the analysis is the research background that exercise physiologists
have been recognized for doing. Less significant across the same
period of time is the lack of the quest for professionalism as portrayed
by the lack of any genesis of discussion of the subject (i.e., up to 1997).
To find results and discussions similar to the theme of chronic adaptations,
exercise physiologists must refashion themselves. Part of the process
is not in the indifference to research and exercise, rather in the simple
upgrade of their thinking about the quest of professionalism.
In the spirit of fulfilling a special
ministry for exercise physiology, members of ASEP cast an influence over
their colleagues who are exhorted to join what is the only professional
organization of exercise physiologists in the world. The attitudes
behind the members’ beliefs are not unique to the field. Clearly,
in an interesting parallel, it can be argued that the emphasis on professionalism
spans all fields of study just as the systems of the body are obedient
to the impose training intensity governed by the central nervous system..
References
1. Land, G. &
Jarman, B. (1992). Break-Point and Beyond: Mastering the Future – Today.
New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
2. Barker, J.A.
(1992). Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future. New York, NY:
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
3. Costill, D.L.
(1979). A Scientific Approach to Distance Running. Los Altos, CA: Track
& Field News Press.
Copyright
©1997-2001 American Society of Exercise Physiologists. All Rights
Reserved.
ASEP
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