BooneThink

The first 20 years of my professional life were spent teaching exercise physiology courses at several universities that fully supported the American College of Sports Medicine. At the time, it was the right thing to do. Everyone then and many today still believe that ACSM is an exercise physiology organization. It isn’t and, frankly, it is rather disappointing to see so many colleagues, particularly the young ones fresh out of doctorate school, continue to make the mistakes that I did early on in my career.

The second 20 years has been spent as an advocate of exercise physiologists engaged in their on strategic planning. My particular task has been to help develop the first-ever professional organization of exercise physiologists, the American Society of Exercise Physiologists. I learned much as co-founder of ASEP, but obviously there is much more to learn. Since the founding of ASEP in 1997, the picture forming in my mind has gotten clearer, and by the time I teach my last college class and move on to something else, I have had little doubt about the nature of the transformation exercise physiologists are living through.

I understand that the change process is one of changing fundamental assumptions about what we are and what we do. No one said it would be easy, and it isn’t but that is okay. People (or I should say, colleagues) are threatened by change. If there is a chance that it will influence their lives, consciously or unconsciously, they are uneasy about it. Deep inside is the feeling or uneasiness about how one will deal with the change. How will the new beliefs change what they already see themselves as being? The process is troubling since it has the tendency to trigger the flight-or-fight response.

Imagine, you find yourself in an earth quake or a big flood or a person walks up to you and acts as though he is going to hit you, each one is a big threat to the mind-body complex. You find yourself feeling scared, and maybe you are too scared to move! That is when the fight-or-flight mechanism fails the body. It is supposed to get you ready for the fight. Maybe it is to run faster or think faster in terms of what to do to save yourself. And yet, there is the possibility of failing to do anything. Imagine a body frozen and unable to move. I see some of my colleagues exactly in the same posture. Intuitively and by other ways of knowing, they realize change is good but they are frozen in their tracks. It isn’t that they are necessarily oppose to change, they are instead classically afraid to change. They fear that it will somehow weaken them.

Understanding the role of anxiety and the disruption can be a positive or a negative, much like the fear that associates with terrorism. The fact is, when movement is required to get beyond a car that is out of control or a falling tree limb, it is always better to move than die. This is a fundamental point that is consistent with the professionalization of exercise physiology. Uncertainty and failing to embrace the change process is a failure to grow or to live. Letting the ACSM tree continue to bury you further in the sports medicine and exercise science way of thinking is suicide. This point is increasingly obvious as more and more college graduates find themselves without jobs in the public sector. Wow, talk about the sharpest kind of anxiety when exercise science students find out that there are no credible exercise science jobs. What can they do? Hello, it is rather simple: They go back to school and build up and even large tuition debt.

The next decade or two are critical to exercise physiology educators in particular. They must set themselves free from yesterday’s thinking and become leaders in the development of professionalism in exercise physiology. I believe this with all my heart. The key challenge is not to do one more research study, however important, but to reach out to the ASEP organization and support it. The challenge is to recognize that exercise is medicine and that exercise physiologists are healthcare professionals, and as such they must be members of their own professional organization (i.e., one with specificity for exercise physiology). They must get beyond resisting change. This is truth-telling at its core. It is my sincere attempt to see the world for what it should be for all individuals who desire to be exercise physiologists.

Together, we can come to understand credibility, professionalism, code of ethics, accreditation, certification, and standards of practice. Together, we can learn to do what other established healthcare professionals have done and continue to do on behalf of their profession and that of their members who serve the public. So, why not join ASEP? Why not talk up ASEP. Why not help with changing the fundamental assumptions of what is required to be a healthcare professional with the title, Exercise Physiologist?

The short answer is NO, of course not. Why? There are many reasons, but the primary one is that there is relatively little about sports nutrition that is professionally oriented. As a course in various academic majors, it is hardly a discipline. This is especially the case when the research is commonly driven by the sports nutrition industry. The second reason is convincing athletes to actually abide by solid and credible counseling. Most athletes, even serious ones, are so serious about athletics to even take the time to eat properly. The reliance on sports supplements and drugs is so obvious that it is down right disappointing. Exercise physiologists, who refer to themselves as sports nutritionists, haven’t helped. It doesn’t matter that they believe as strong as they do about supplements. When they are owned, even if they don’t know it, by the hundreds of businesses that sell products, they are not professionals. They are employees of the businesses. The idea of getting money (even if it is the form of so-called grants) to do credible work (i.e., unbiased research) is ridiculous. Ask any one of them and if he or she had any backbone, the comment would be: Well, actually, if I don’t find support for the product, I’m not going to get anymore money from the supplement company. They may also get me to agree not to publish any findings that fail to support their product.

Hello, wake up athletes and world of others, this is the truth. The third reason is rather simple: Guess what? Nutrition as a discipline isn’t actually a discipline. It is more of a “course in sport nutrition gone wrong” because the teachers have failed to adhere to a code of ethics or code of conduct. Even now, those who have come together to promote sports nutrition and applied nutrition are misleading athletes of all ages. Most of these organizations are supported by a dozen or more supplement companies. They are not professional organizations! And yet, there is the appearance that sports nutrition is more than it is. The truth is this: Sports nutrition is a course. To say it is in its infancy as though it is growing is misleading. Please appreciate that this comment is in regards to sports nutrition. Without a doubt there are excellent areas of research that could be coined as sports nutrition-driven, such as fluid and electrolyte balance, CHO requirements for endurance athletes, and others. The reality though is that this research has been done primarily by exercise physiologists who may or may not have an interest in sports nutrition. The fourth reason is nothing will change until the so-called sports nutritionists decide to embrace professionalism. Nothing will change until athletes grow up and stop cheating to win at all costs. The weekend warrior mentality and dietary fads are only part of the story. The rest of it is driven by the title of ergogenic aids. Today, the number is so staggering as to blow one’s mind.

And yes, athletes are known to do just about anything to win, but what about their friendly researcher colleagues (mostly in the form of college teachers) — you know the sports nutritionist? Well, he or she is certainly searching for an edge, much like the athlete. And, they too are willing to cheat. Singly and collectively, the search is about status, greed, and money! It is sad to see so many good people go so wrong. Also, it is unfortunate but true that their ritualistic behavior will not change. And, frankly, the sports dietitian is at times just as bad. Why not simply tell athletes to develop good eating habits or they don’t practice? What’s wrong with a balanced diet? What’s wrong with moderation? What’s wrong with teaching athletes (students and parents) that any field can be (and generally is) corrupt? Why not tell them about the conflicts in rushing publications to press to please the industry? Why not teach the concerns that are at the core of most sports nutrition research, and thus be cautious of nutritional fads? Why not tell athletes that cheating destroys integrity? Why not simply put the foot down and say, “Stay away from the sports performance enhancers” or else you don’t play? Why not spread the message that not everyone can be a winner, and that is okay?

You might be wondering what is on the drawing board, right? Well, wonder no more. Consistent with earlier postings is another one on genetically enhancing athletes! Sounds like a great idea. Or, does it? Frankly, I haven’t heard any of my colleagues in exercise physiology talking about it. But, honestly, why would I think exercise physiologists would be against cheating in athletics? Most aren’t against using performance enhancers, especially the faculty members who have had the opportunity to do research in sports supplements. What is scary to the core are the human enhancers on the verge of being promoted. The technology is there or it is just around the corner. Read what C. Ben Mitchell, PhD, wrote in an Editorial [1]. “…through the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, human embryos are screened for undesirable genetic traits and embryos with those traits and embryos with those traits are not transferred to a woman’s uterus — they are discarded or used in embryo-destructive research. This is not enhancement, but negative eugenics.”

Is it a good thing that parents will be able to make their children different before their children have the opportunity to think about it. Is it their life? Or, is it they will be great full for their parents’ actions? Will the children be happy about their additional athletic skills or will they wake up wishing for a different life? Will the genetically-defined athletes be human life everybody else? Will they understand the work it takes for the “average” to excel? Must athletics be about winning and nothing else? Will parents wake up one morning hearing the screams of the their son or daughter saying, “Enhance me or kill me!”

When will athletes wake up and say to the world, “This isn’t right.” Coaches and others, especially the sports nutrition types, and the gone-wrong exercise physiologists, will then sense the need to run for the hills. Will they run or will they stand on the street corner and sale sports supplements much like the snake oil salesman decades (or should I say) yesterday on television? The act of gaining a “competitive advantage” is over the edge. It is now a battlefield of stupid ideas. Many athletes, certainly not all, are no different from junkies who need their fix.

But, of course, when they are caught, the message changes. “I did it for the fans.” Or, “Everyone’s doing it. Might as well be approved.” “Really, sudden death, forget it. That doesn’t happen.” “Side effects, get serious. Do I look like I’m growing a third arm?” Did I hear you say it is all about hard work and dedication? Get serious. Athletics, like most things in life, is all about cheating, whether it is a game or friends. If you can cheat your way to a position, do it. That’s life as most people know it. This is not only bad news, but bad news for humanity as well.

Reference

1. Mitchell, C. B. (2008). Genetically Enhancing Athletes? International Journal of Bioethics. 24:1:5-6.

Here we are…the World Cup 2010 and more questions about “sex and athletics.” I have to admit that “the time for talk is over.” Sex before an athletic competition has “zero” to do with whether the athlete performs well or not. Sex is an amazing thing. Under no circumstances should it be implicated in an athlete’s failure to perform well. So, let me provide a few facts. First, the most aggressive sex requires an average of 250 calories per hour or 4 calories per minute. If sex intercourse leads to orgasm in 5 minutes on average, the caloric cost is 20 calories! That’s it. The energy cost of “the sexual release, that is, orgasm,” is essentially 25% of what it would cost to walk a mile in 20 minutes. Why, because everything other than the orgasm itself, which is admittedly the most aggressive physical aspect of love-making, is on average 5 minutes or less once the business of sex gets underway. I should add that some experts say 2 minutes after penetration, orgasm is the name of the game.

This thinking (i.e., energy cost) is consistent with the man-on-top and an average heart rate of 130 beats per minute versus woman-on-top of 110 beats per minute. Yes, blood pressure is increased, but not too high. It is consistent with the body muscle contractions. Think about it. Sex requires “on average” 3 to 5 METs. Remember that one MET is equal to resting metabolism. So, say “4 METs” or 980 ml/min (based on an average of 250 ml/min at rest) is the energy cost of sex, which is equal to walking 4 miles an hour on a treadmill. Please appreciate that after 30 minutes of continued walking, sexual intercourse that led to orgasm was completed 25 minutes ago. Of course the walking doesn’t wear out or exhaust the athlete or even the non-athlete. So, why would 5 minutes of sex to orgasm diminish the athlete’s physical abilities? The obvious answer is that it wouldn’t.

That’s why sex before an all-out athletic event can’t hurt the athlete, that is, unless the athlete is convinced that it would. Who would convince the athlete of such thinking? The most obvious person is the COACH. This brings up an interesting point. If there isn’t any scientific data that says athletes shouldn’t engage in sex before competition, then, why are coaches telling their athletes to abstain from sex the night before? It is time that they get the facts straight. Hello, this is the 21st century! Why in the world would the British coaches tell their athletes “no sex” and that “coaches would monitor their hotel rooms.” It makes no sense whatsoever. Why? What if the athlete’s aerobic power is 60 ml/kg/min? This is equal to a little more than 16 METs, which provides the athlete a 75% aerobic power reserve above the actual cost of sex. The Argentine team doctors and the Brazilian coaches have it right. They understand that sex doesn’t hurt athletics, and they get that sex actually can have numerous positive benefits (such as sleeping better, facilitating a sense of well-being, decrease stress, and increase self-esteem.

I hope this helps.

If you are a parent, have you thought about the connection between your children and athletics? More specifically, have you any idea of the people who are betting that you will buy into human enhancement? The role of genetics in sports is just around the corner. Maybe you should think about whether it is a good idea today while your children are still young. The technologies for human enhancement are in the future, but not too far. In fact, just over the horizon is an awakening! That is why it is likely that the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis is something you should think about. Screening embryos for genetic traits isn’t athletics as usual. It is about DNA winning-at-all-cost. Is that a good thing?

There isn’t any question that athletics is a battlefield. Athletes are already trying to access genetic intervention for physical enhancement (refer to Scientific American, July 2004). By now, everyone should know that athletes are big-time steroid users and everything else they can get their hands on to get the medal. Hardly anyone thinks of the bad effects anymore. Regardless of Congress signing into law HR 6344 in 2006, gene doping is big time U.S.A. Sports! Sure, of course, athletes work hard. They are dedicated to their sport. Achievement is everything. Winning is even more. But, “cheating” is still cheating! Hello, wake up athletes, coaches, trainers, doctors, exercise physiologists, and anyone else involved, including parents, the use of performance-enhancing drugs or performance-enhancing genetic modifications to gene-doping is unethical.

Athletes, amateur or professional, regardless of age, keep sports clean. Celebrate sports for what it should be, not for what it is.

After getting a degree in exercise science, graduates can choose a career path in fields such as nursing, teaching, nutrition, therapy, counseling, coaching and research.

My intention is to tell
of a new exercise physiology.
The sports medicine folks and everyone else,
specialists and trainers alike,
All disappear,
And we, the EPCs,
Become visible.

The power of wisdom is power! But, first, what is wisdom? Maybe it is simple as “stop digging when you find yourself in a hole.” New thinking is always a historical event. If one does not believe that the birth of new ideas is possible, why suffer from speaking out? But, if one could affirm a new idea, perhaps, then sports medicine could be suspended in a timeless existence never to influence exercise physiologists again. If only, there was just one person with a new idea, something different from the countless statements of fussy thinking.

I’m compelled to state that you should not hold your breath looking for that one person with insight and determination to think afresh. Instead, the empire continues unabated with its usual cruel and oppressive functions. The cult of sports medicine personalities is a politically driven life line of decades of failed rhetoric. The imposing reality of exercise science as if there were exercise scientists and/or actually real jobs in the public sector where exercise science graduates are hired isn’t laughable. It is sad, hurtful to students and their parents, and it should be a crime. Remarkably, at least the present time, it isn’t. Personally, I believe it will be at some point in the future. The common culture of education isn’t just to educate, but to set the stage for graduates to work, to make a living, and to be in position to pay back tuition loans and still financially survive.

Even from this brief sketch it is evident that the power of an education is not linked to misinformation and/or a certification that isn’t part of the complete identity that communicates professionalism. Thus, when you decide to go to college, do not play around with the academic major. Pick a major that has the greatest potential for being successful. Do not allow yourself to be ambushed by those who keep telling you the same old stories. Honestly, they will tell you that exercise science is exercise physiology. It isn’t. They will tell you that there are a lot of clinical exercise physiology jobs and you should join a clinical exercise physiology association. This is absolutely untrue, and it borders on hypocrisy, if not some kind of morbid fantasy.

My point here is that the common everyday social ritual of the sports medicine puppet is just that “common.” Each one approaches every student with the same line. For example, if you like strength training, get a strength and conditioning certification and work as a strength and conditioning trainer. Hello, have you looked as to how many such jobs actually exist? To the college graduate who will emerge just long enough to call his or her parents to tell them “there are no jobs and I would like to come home” — “help, please help me, please help me.”

Yet, on the other hand, “being successful” is all about thinking straight and standing up for one’s rights. It has something to do with critical thinking, that is, the ability to think clearly and objectively. But, more than anything, it is all about understanding the symptoms of failed rhetoric. Once stupid thinking is understood for what it is, one can be beyond the vomiting and nausea of being a loser for so many years. In conclusion, it is always good to recall as William Bolitho said, “The adventurer is within us….”

Being successful means thinking, and I mean seriously taking the time to think and uncover the facts, then face the reality of what you find, and finally “stay the course” of something better.

1. Change takes time — years and decades.
2. Change takes people out of their comfort zone.
3. Chnage begins with an idea or vision of something better.
4. Change starts with a few people more so than a lot of people.
5. Change requires talking and writing about the vision.
6. Change starts with action.
7. Change takes place with commitment.
8. Change is associated with mistakes.
9. Change requires creative thinking.
10. Change is an emotional roller coster.
11. Change is carried out by ordinary people.
12. Change requires persistence.
13. Change is too much for some people.
14. Change is about creating a new culture.
15. Change requires a core of people who share the same vision.
16. Change involves people.
17. Change is driven by an acknowledged reality.
18. Change is dependent upon a trusting environment.
19. Change is associated with resistance.
20. Change is difficult.

There are many sounds of silence, but occasionally you hear a sound of life. Usually, it is a tap-tap, much like “I’ve been thinking about joining ASEP.” For all those who have moments of “sound” that says, “Join ASEP and support the organizational leaders in the professional development of exercise physiology.” There is truth that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” In short, there is strength in numbers. Join ASEP. Join the American Society of Exercise Physiologists on behal of all exercise physiologists worldwide.

Your power to choose your future is your right. Every minute of the day every exercise physiologist should be in the state of mind to choose his or her future. Is it the exercise specialist’s path or is it the professional organization of exercise physiologists, the American Society of Exercise Physiologist? The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that failing to choose the right path is a function of not knowing you are in charge.

For those of us who work towards change in exercise physiology, it should be comforting to know that it is possible to be in charge. One can only imagine how difficult it must be for those on the outside of ASEP (i.e., those who can’t imagine something other than what they have been doing for decades). Hopefully, it is just a matter of time before it becomes clear to them that they need their own professional organization. That moment will be by choice a very special one. Then, their future in exercise physiology will be defined and guided by them.

The outcome of this thinking will help to define the professional experiences the exercise physiologists will come to understand, and how their work will be interpreted in terms of surviving financially as professionals in the healthcare market. With each of these considerations, it will increasingly become your choice to create and/or sustain the work towards the professionalism of exercise physiology.

Each of us has been granted the power to choose. We possess the power to choose what to believe or not to believe. If you choose to believe that you have no control over the future of exercise physiology, your outcomes will continue to manifest exactly as they have, based on that belief. On the other hand, if you believe you have the power to choose what your future will be, then you are part of a profession that you helped to create. Enjoy it. Understand that you have the power to change. Choose wisely.