shockedcanadian
Diamond Member
- Aug 6, 2012
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I had been thinking about this as I see more and more physically unfit men to the point that men are experiencing lowered sperm counts. This after the Olympics in Paris with the lowest number of world records broken in decades.
This could be for a number of reasons, but the youth today grow up in a vastly different environment than even when I was a kid. Now with the internet, video games and a lack of focus on physical health, I see many more young people who are out of shape. I can;t even imagine how much more out of shape they will be as they age and metabolism slows.
There was research done that compared Jessie Owens 1936 world record of 10.2 to Usain Bolts WR which was 9.58 or something ridiculous which occurred over 70 years later. When they took into consideration the track, which then was much slower and sandy, the shoe technology, which has helped runners immensely and the starting blocks, which Owens didn't have. Experts showed that Owens would have been just a half step behind Bolt.
They actually conducted these tests with real life examples, having De Grasse, a silver medal winner in the 200m and other athletes run in the same conditions as Owens and I believe De Grasse, ran it a full 2 seconds+ slower than normal (don't quote me on exact time but it was significantly slower).
Now, considering the other factors, such as nutrition, advances in training and technology one can harness to improve. Also, the fact that athletes today are athletes 365 days a year with major financial incentives, than it is clear, at least in terms of running, that Owens was the more perfect specimen as he would have benefited significantly from these other advances.
We can discount some of the records during the juiced years of 80s, especially for women, but even decades later, we seem to have plateaued. Am I correct in this assumption? Has technology made us and will it continue to make us more physically more feeble?
.
This could be for a number of reasons, but the youth today grow up in a vastly different environment than even when I was a kid. Now with the internet, video games and a lack of focus on physical health, I see many more young people who are out of shape. I can;t even imagine how much more out of shape they will be as they age and metabolism slows.
There was research done that compared Jessie Owens 1936 world record of 10.2 to Usain Bolts WR which was 9.58 or something ridiculous which occurred over 70 years later. When they took into consideration the track, which then was much slower and sandy, the shoe technology, which has helped runners immensely and the starting blocks, which Owens didn't have. Experts showed that Owens would have been just a half step behind Bolt.
They actually conducted these tests with real life examples, having De Grasse, a silver medal winner in the 200m and other athletes run in the same conditions as Owens and I believe De Grasse, ran it a full 2 seconds+ slower than normal (don't quote me on exact time but it was significantly slower).
Now, considering the other factors, such as nutrition, advances in training and technology one can harness to improve. Also, the fact that athletes today are athletes 365 days a year with major financial incentives, than it is clear, at least in terms of running, that Owens was the more perfect specimen as he would have benefited significantly from these other advances.
We can discount some of the records during the juiced years of 80s, especially for women, but even decades later, we seem to have plateaued. Am I correct in this assumption? Has technology made us and will it continue to make us more physically more feeble?
.
