PEPonline
Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline

An international electronic
journal for exercise physiologists
ISSN 1099-5862

Vol 11 No 8 August 2008

 


Fitness and Sport: A Look into the Future – A Personal Perspective
Jonathan N. Mike MS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Doctorate Student - Exercise Physiology
The University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM
 
"Be not be afraid of greatness, some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."
– Shakespeare

 

During the 1960s the modern fitness movement gave rise to a new focus of fitness, exercise, and wellness seen today.  Not only did this movement influence recreational exercise, but sports competition as well. With the running boom of the 1970s and the publication of the book Aerobics by Dr. Kenneth Cooper [1], endurance performance dominated the scene during that decade. During which, sporting events, although competitive in nature were all about fair play. Very seldom was the mention of parents storming the field because their players did not meet the expectations. Very seldom were professional players accused of administering and taking performance-enhancing drugs. After all, how and why did Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and many other great professional athletes dominate their sport? I personally believe that you cannot take away pure God-given talent. Do you honestly believe Hank Aaron used performance-enhancing drugs, regardless of the home runs and RBIs?

Then, it seems that building character, self-assurance, and playing to the best of one's ability went across the board or flew out the window. Today, sports participation is an entirely different story. The mentality of “whatever it takes” has taken over people’s lives. As an athlete, I understand that, but how far do you need to go? How much is too much? And is it enough? So, have you ever wondered what the future will hold for fitness, sports, and exercise? It is a good question, and certainly it takes time to contemplate. How many times have we seen the results of a game changed or manipulated over a frivolous call by the referee? So, I ask you, considering this has changed the course of history, should we rid ourselves of human error? Is this necessary? Or do we need more stringent control? 

Today’s games assist us by catching everything on camera; both on and off the court. But imagine if we had not caught the knockout punch replay, or the last second shot that won the game. The truth is you want to see the replay, because it reminds you how entertaining the event was, how else would you remember the details? However, because of the current availability of T-VO, and multiple simultaneous channel viewing, I believe that more sports will start adapting the camera review program, and possibly terminating the official on the field and maybe leaving the rest to those in the booth, watching the screen. What do you think?

What about performance-enhancing drugs?  Will Steroids eventually be accepted by society, leading to a spike in human performance in all sports? It is possible humans will eventually evolve into a more “meathead” like species, with limited brain power. You never know.  We may even grow wings, creating a new outlook on sports and weapons of war. However, my friends, that thought certainly seems ridiculous.

The fascination of developing new technologies is inescapable and ubiquitous in all sports. Nonetheless, when it is all over, talent stands alone. The fastest and strongest will always be watched. And although training and sadly, doping will become more high tech, the attraction to pure athleticism will never fade. One may wonder though about the fight against steroids and growth hormones.  Is it a losing battle?  Will it be commonplace in 25 years? Maybe we will start to see athletes wear company logos, in support of the many sponsors. I can see it now, the logo of the century entitled “got juice” or better yet, it reads, “How is my performance? Call, “pump me up.” Granted, athletes will choose to refrain while living longer and healthier but, perhaps, their own performance will drop precipitously compared to other teammates. What do you think?

Sports devices and apparel will have build-in systems and a direct connection to the internet, providing a direct feed and real time examination and guidance of the athlete. For example, marathon runners will wear shoes designed for monitoring distance, stride length, stride frequency, and temperature. Shirts and shorts will adapt specialized chips that monitor physiological changes such as heart rate and sweat rate, and level of hydration. All changes to performance will be sent via central location to the athlete during the event.

Some people might think that sports should return to the way it used to be; without gluttony, and egoism. As we approach the 2008 Olympics and beyond, it is highly likely we will see more sports that do not demonstrate these behaviors. Although these behaviors and potential questionable ethics exist, the exposure of the non ‘main stream’ sports will increase such as soccer, skateboarding, BMX, and possibly other sports including La Crosse, and Strongman.  Also, what about current professional sports that exhibit ongoing controversies and dubious acts of moral character? The best example is the NBA. Dunking the ball is yesterday’s news, but perhaps the future of the NBA will be altered by a 12 to 13-foot Basket, and actually reinvent exciting elements of the game. Who knows?

So, what is the future of fitness and elite sports?  Does the arrival of new technologies signal the beginning of the end of the most successful entertaining project of the century? YOU DECIDE!

 

Reference

  1. Fransen, J. (2008). Paradigm Shift in Exercise Physiology. Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline. 1:3. [Online]. http://www.asep.org/asep/asep/ParadigmShiftsInExercisePhysiology.html






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