anatomy and physiology in fitness industry

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-Anatomy and Physiology- 1

Anatomy and Physiology in fitness industry to improve lives

[Author Name]




Since centuries, man has remained puzzled by the mysteries of the human body. With extremely

little information about what lies under a man’s skin to even less knowledge about what purposes

internal organs serve, it has always been one of mankind’s ultimate missions to explore the

depths of the human body and manipulate his surroundings according to its comfort. The science

of anatomy and physiology’s application in man’s surroundings and making changes to suit its

comfort is called Ergonomics.

While ergonomics is applied everywhere from kitchens to offices, and it has extreme importance

in the fitness industry. The reason why it is so necessary in the health and fitness world is

because machines and exercises which are dedicated to improving health and appearance of

human body lose their purpose if they end up damaging it instead.

With continuing research in bringing manmade products and services closer to harmony with the

human body, marketers are quickly discovering the hidden stimuli the biological self responds to

in order to obtain physical and mental satisfaction. It has also been observed that progressive

gyms and spas are marketing their ergonomically friendly offerings1 just as much as their ability

to make a person fit with a visually attractive body.

It is commonly observed that fitness experts lay the most stress on carrying out exercises with no

tolerance towards deviation from prescribed instructions and methods. The reason behind this is

that exercise methodologies are developed over years of research and practical experience from

which experts and doctors shortlist and conclude the best path to achieve a fitness objective.

Since exercises are repetitive, they have to be developed in a way they do not cause damage

instead of fitness and muscular endurance. Muscular endurance is the capability to generate

1 (Design & Ergonomics The Key Factors In Selecting Fitness Equipment At Gymbox, 2007)




recurring movements of one or more muscles without getting tired and exhausting one’s self 2.

The knowledge of achieving this only comes when the most accurate of physiology and anatomy

is present to ensure ergonomic, user friendly movement.

According to ‘Tami’, who comments as a book reviewer adds:

“Sometimes, I get frustrated when exercising. I know that a little strength training is supposed to

be good for my bones while promoting weight loss. Unfortunately, I usually only have half a clue

about what I'm doing. Thus, much of my workout is spent worrying whether I'm doing the

movements correctly, hoping I don't hurt myself, and wishing I had a personal trainer to tell me

what to do…3”

Many universities in the present era offer degrees and diplomas of various levels offering

specialization in physical education and training4 because the demand for experts in fitness is on

the rise. Even in the developing world, gyms are reported to have started mushrooming in nooks

and corners of cities and towns with more men and women adopting the fitness oriented

lifestyle5,6. With fitness becoming a megatrend7 of the 21st century, this industry is bound to grow

and prosper, as per all the signs suggest, and this way the knowledge of human physiology and

anatomy which forms the basis this would be required to be worked upon even more. The sole

objective this is to improve health and standards of life.

To present an example of how awareness of human anatomy and physiology is being used in the

fitness industry to improve lives, we take an example.

2 (A method of fitness training for the components of physical fitness, 2009)3 (Strength Training Anatomy, 2008)4 (emagister, 2009)5 (AFP, 2009)6 (Kotler, 2009)7 (Kotler, 2009)




Ergonomics experts, after decades of research on anatomical and physiological movements and

their effects have listed typical areas where people make the most mistakes and end up getting

hurt. These are:

Repetition – “Repetition rate is defined as the average number of movements or exertions

performed by a joint or a body link within a unit of time” 8. Similar movements, when done again

and again can be exhaustive and potentially damaging with the intensity of damage varying. It is

best to allocate periods of movement and periods of rest to improve the exercise methodology

without creating damage.

8 (Ahearn, 2002)

Figure 18




Force – “Force is the mechanical or physical effort to accomplish a specific movement or

exertion”9. The problem with such an effort is that it is often external and unnatural which causes

fatigue quicker than expected.

Mechanical Stress – Mechanical stress is caused by hard, sharp objects, whether they are

exercise equipment, or present in the surroundings. The stress and damage is caused when

muscles are pressed against the hostile product10.

Posture – “Posture is the position of a part of the body relative to an adjacent part as measured

by the angle of the joint connecting them. Postural stress is assuming an extreme posture at or

near the normal range of motion. Posture is one of the most frequently cited occupational risk

factors.” (Ahearn, 2002).

Cold Temperature – “Low temperatures reduce manual dexterity and accentuate the symptoms

of nerve-end impairment” (Ahearn, 2002).

While these are the external factors that should be watched, selection of the right machinery for

fitness maintenance is also vital. Every year, large amounts of money is spent in research aiming

to improve fitness machines that best suits the human body’s needs and wants. The aim of this

research is to design fitness products that help achieve fitness objects without increasing the

possibility of damaging the body in any way. Fitness equipment can be harmful if it has been

designed with no consideration towards natural body movements, finishing, awkward angles, and

accurate monitoring of exercise data in case of digital incorporation.

9 (Ahearn, 2002)10 (AN INTRODUCTION TO ERGONOMICS:Risk Factors, MSDs, Approaches and Interventions,2004)




Vibration based exercise machines where cheaper companies use horizontal vibration instead of

ergonomically safe vertical vibration is one such example11. It is no news that unsafe, poorly

designed and finished fitness equipment, combined with inaccurate techniques can cause a

variety of musculoskeletal injuries such as muscle strain, tendinitis and bursitis.

Moving on, it is also vital to highlight facets of the health and fitness industry where evidence

based science of anatomy and physiology is not being applied for the benefit of people and other

issues which may prove disadvantageous to people.

Despite science based developments in the fitness industry, it has been observed in some areas

that gyms and fitness centers often promote incredible fitness instructions and miscellaneous

information sources called ‘bro sciences’. Typically, “bro sciences” is the name given to printed

literature in form of books, pamphlets and so on which are a compilation of popular stories and

knowledge shared among the fitness community. Often, significant parts of this text are based on

experiences and wisdom coming from an accomplished bodybuilder from a relevant circle12.

Modern day medicine does not accept this literature as credible, since it is not research and

evidence based and could possibly result in causing health damage to its user.

There are also instances when old school fitness trainers in the less literate third-world would

instruct their students to ignore the pain as it would only make them tougher 13. However, modern

science refutes this practice by warning people not to push through pain when exercising because

pain is the body’s biological warning system that tells the person something is wrong. In such a

case it is always best exercise in presence of a qualified fitness expert with adequate experience

with injury recovery. A professional trainer would always take the trainee through a number of

11 (Vibration Trainers)12 (Top 5 Fitness Industry Flaws Exposed, 2009)13 (Hussain, 2009)




preliminary procedures before allowing strenuous exercise. These procedures may almost always

include instructions to warm up the body before starting, gradual increase in weight in case of

weight training, balancing of muscle groups with only a specific amount of exertion put on them

because as they get bulky the nerve function is compromised, no locking of elbows and knees,

allowance for muscle recovery time and nutrition advices14. It is only research in physiological

sciences and its application results that physicians and fitness trainers no longer allow behind the

neck pull downs and presses after assessing their negative impacts.

Another issue that is supposed to be an influencing factor in restraining evidence and research

based science of anatomy, ergonomics and nutrition from being applied to its potential in the

fitness industry is the amount of seriousness showed by various governments around the world

towards making their people more aware. This is specially the case with many developing

countries where there are more social and economic problems in the national vicinity and the

topic in focus is not one of primary importance. However, this is not true and fitness does not

merely come with good medicines and surgical treatments – it’s a lifestyle where education and

awareness plays a great role on individual levels. The result of this lack of government

intervention is that myths and popular shared wisdom expands faster than usual and ends up

influencing less aware and more vulnerable masses to turn towards undesirable practices which

do very little to improve lives (Top 5 Fitness Industry Flaws Exposed, 2009).

Moving back to applications, we see that an industry that runs parallel to the fitness industry with

many parts overlapping onto each other is the healthcare industry which consists of doctors and

specialists of all fields including ergonomists and physiologists. Logically speaking, this industry

is as important to discuss under this topic as is the fitness industry because people with maladies

14 (Hajic)




of the body come to hospitals and clinics to get healthy and fit again with the help of

practitioners of medicine. Of recent, patient healthcare, safety and wellbeing have been discussed

in more than typical ways, with the treatment of patients by hospital staff and development of

better ergonomically friendly hospitals and equipment being significant. In the US, a bill to

promulgate a safe patient handling and injury prevention standard is also being considered. The

original idea is threefold:

• “To employ engineering controls to perform patient lifting and relocation of patients and

to eradicate all manual lifting of patients by health care workers, except where the use of

safe patient handling practices is demonstrated to compromise patient care;

• To implement a safe patient handling and injury prevention plan including hazard

identification, risk assessments, and control measures;

• And to obtain input from direct-care registered nurses, health care workers, and employee

representatives in developing and implementing the safe patent handling and injury

prevention plan, including the purchase of equipment.”15

Over the period of past 2 decades, the United States department of labor – Occupational Safety

and Health Administration (OSHA) has been taking steps to incorporate better and more

ergonomically friendly treatment of people seeking health and fitness in hospitals and healthcare

centers.

Taking an example, according to one ergonomic standard by OSHA, all healthcare employers are

required to implement an ergonomics plan, plus “the elements of management commitment,

employee participation, hazard assessment and control, and medical management. It also would

15 (Health Care Employers Targeted Again on Ergonomics)




have mandated “work restriction protection,” which would have required that certain pay and

benefits for employees be maintained for periods they are out of work due to a work-related

injury.” (Health Care Employers Targeted Again on Ergonomics).

According to Dwyer, W., “there are eight16 commonly performed tasks in a healthcare and fitness

facility that pose ergonomic risks:

1. Repositioning patients within a bed

2. Quarter turning a patient

3. Laterally transferring a patient from the bed to a gurney

4. Pushing beds or gurneys

5. Transferring a patient from a bed to a chair

6. Transferring a patient from a chair to a toilet

7. Transferring a patient from a wheelchair to a car

8. Assisting patients with gait”

After observing the trends of the fitness and healthcare industry and analyzing the progress and

application of anatomical and physiological sciences in various aspects of this industry, we can

safely conclude that this knowledge is being developed and used for the improvement of human

lives on an ever increasing basis.

The concept of living a fitness oriented lifestyle has become a megatrend over the past few years

and this is only the start of awareness building of people in this aspect. All the trends show a

16 (Springer, 2007)




very healthy increase in demand for all products and services aimed towards improvement of

living standards with respect of health, fitness and comfort. Of course, there are negative trends

as well, but they are negligible. The reason for that is that as people become more educated and

aware of realities, their faith shifts from myths, word of mouth stories and urban legends towards

belief in evidence based research and results. This is why negative trends are on fast decline and

with the passage of time and involvement of governments, systematic changes are being made in

these fields with positive results.

Change is always difficult to embrace, and even more difficult to bring about, however nothing

beats truth and evidence and this is exactly the case with modern physiological and anatomical

sciences and their applications taking over fitness and healthcare industry for the betterment of

mankind for generations to come.

References




(2009). Retrieved November 2009, from emagister:

http://www.emagister.net/physical+fitness+programs/ek-933.htm

A method of fitness training for the components of physical fitness. (2009, Mar 24).

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AFP. (2009, November 04). India’s pot-bellied males hit gym for Bollywood buff look .

Retrieved Nov 04, 2009, from Dawn Newspaper:

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/sci-

tech/04-gym-bollywood-buff-look-qs-03

Ahearn, D. J. (2002, April/May). Productivity Re-defined (Part II). The Independent

Dentist Newsletter , pp. 9-10.

AN INTRODUCTION TO ERGONOMICS:Risk Factors, MSDs, Approaches and

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Design & Ergonomics The Key Factors In Selecting Fitness Equipment At Gymbox .

(2007, June 20). Retrieved November 2009, from Technogym:

http://www.technogym.com/gb/viewdoc.asp?co_id=760&target=commercial&la=2#

Ergonomics. Call Centre Comics.

Hajic, M. (n.d.). The Weighty Issue of Ergonomics - Tips for the Gym. Retrieved

November 2009, from Bellaonline: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art50740.asp

Health Care Employers Targeted Again on Ergonomics. (n.d.). Retrieved November

2009, from Lawfirms.com: http://www.lawfirms.com/feed-item/health-care-

employers-targeted-again-ergonomics

Hussain, F. (2009, October). Insight into Pakistan's Fitness Industry.

Kotler, P. (2009). Marketing Management (International Edition) (11 edition ed.).

Pearson Education.

Springer, T. (2007). Ergonomics for Healthcare Environments. Knoll.

Strength Training Anatomy . (2008). Retrieved November 2009, from Goodreads:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45838.Strength_Training_Anatomy

Top 5 Fitness Industry Flaws Exposed . (2009, August 17). Retrieved November

2009, from askthetrainer.com: http://askthetrainer.com/top-5-fitness-industry-flaws-

exposed.html




Vibration Trainers. (n.d.). Retrieved 2009, from Smooth Fitness:

http://www.smoothfitness.co.uk/7/vibration-trainer.html

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