How The Modern Sport and Fitness Industry Has Failed YOU
In 2014, 70% of Americans over 20 were classified as overweight or obese. In 2016, 80% of American adults did not meet the government's national physical activity recommendations for aerobic activity and muscle strengthening. The year is 2018, and things have only grown worse. An emphasis on sport-specific development at an early age, a lack of qualified physical educators, and a predatory fitness industry have caused the majority of our population to be sedentary, overweight, self-conscious of our bodies, and doubtful of our physical performance.
Too much emphasis on sport-specificity at an early age.
My earliest sport memory was a miserable one. I was 6 years old, drenched with sweat in the outfield, and bored out of my mind. I stood in the Florida heat, waiting for my turn to bat for what seemed like an eternity. “Dad, I’m hot!” I squealed across the field, something my father reminds me of to this day.
Historically, sports have been a means to an end: games have been a way to pass time, engage socially, and hone a warrior’s edge during peacetime. The value of sport came from engaging in a variety of functional, athletic movements that prepared us for a life rich in activity. On that humid afternoon, I was standing in a field waiting for some other kid to hit a ball that would never reach me. My movement was neither varied, functional, nor athletic.
"Who's ready to stand around for 2 hours?!" Photo by NeONBRAND
As humans, there are 7 athletic skill patterns: Running, jumping, climbing, throwing, lifting, fighting, and swimming. These movements form the foundation of all sport, and combine to forge well-rounded athletes and capable citizens. Most of the athletic skills come naturally In children up to about 5 years of age. Set any child loose on a playground and watch as they sprint, climb multiple objects, jump off those objects, throw dirt clods, and even fight or lift other kids! Children at this age are given the time and freedom to perform engaging, creative, and varied movement.
Southeastern Native American Stick ball - the "Little Brother of War"
The tune changes once a child reaches about 6 or 7 years old. Although an increase in motor control and cognition allow children this age to handle instruction and complex tasks, attention spans are often non-existent. This was certainly the case for me. While I longed for the release of the playground, my coaches tediously drilled isolated and uninteresting skills that only worked in a single sport setting. At a time when children are ripe for learning advanced movement patterns, our society removes the opportunity.
We could be captivating our youth through teaching diverse athletic movements with life-long functionality – changing direction while running, climbing up and over obstacles, jumping and landing safely, throwing varying objects with one or both hands, etc. Instead, kids are shoved into sports – typically baseball, basketball, football, or soccer – that only utilize one or two of the athletic skills they should be learning. Of those skills, only sport-specific variations are taught, and winning is emphasized over development and joy.
This is the state of our current population. Specificity has overtaken variety, competition has overtaken camaraderie, and fitness is largely considered a means to improve sport performance or aesthetics. Rather than molding children into well-rounded athletes, we pigeonhole them into a narrow sport, leaving huge gaps in their physical development. This can be mitigated by having children engage in a variety of sports. However, team dues, group practice several times a week, and a demand for high-level competency in order to participate leaves no time, money, or energy for unrelated athletics.
Ill-equipped, uneducated, and unfit Coaches
My incessant complaining on the Little League field was effective. Leaving baseball behind, I dabbled in gymnastics and various martial arts throughout adolescence. While focusing in these sports improved my climbing, jumping, and fighting ability, by high school I began to realize the gaps in my athleticism. Despite the popularity of team-based ball sports at that age, I couldn’t throw a ball to save my life, had no concept of working with a team, and felt athletically alienated from most of my peers. If this sounds familiar to your high school experience, I’m not surprised.
To remedy the issue, I signed up for the local youth Rugby club. I thought this would be a trial-by-fire experience that would bring me up to speed with my peers – I was completely wrong. My teammates, who grew up playing football or soccer, were light years ahead of me despite having never played rugby. Their proficiency in throwing, agility, and teamwork had been instilled at a young age. Unable to keep up with my peers, I looked to my coaches for help.
“Help” came in a variety of forms - I watched my overweight coaches fail to demonstrate drills properly, listened as they repeated the same basic cues over and over again, felt the pain of doing exercise as a form of punishment, and smelled the alcohol on their breath as they mocked me for failing to grasp certain concepts. “He’s just afraid,” they said in front of the team, “too scared to do it right.” I wasn’t afraid, I just didn’t know what the hell I was doing. My coaches had taught me nothing.
The majority of youth sports are not taught by professional educators, but volunteer parents. While often good-natured, these coaches are not equipped to deal with the important task of teaching young people how to move. They may understand the definitive techniques and rules of the sport, but do not comprehend the biomechanics of the underlying athletic skills or how to teach them. They often have not exercised themselves since college, and are not educated in leading teams with diverse skill levels. This means that those on the team who have previous experience are the ones who receive the most attention, and those with little experience are expected to catch on or drop out.
My last resort was the one-semester of physical education required at my high school. When I think of P.E., I dream of Stan Leprotti’s La Sierra High School Fitness Program. Fundamental, systematic, and progressive, P.E. should be the place for children to learn well-rounded athleticism. In reality, my P.E. class consisted of reading about exercise from an old textbook, one day spent on push ups and the beep test, one day running for time, and the rest of semester playing four square or basketball. Except, I never learned how to play basketball, so I just played four square.
Lack of Athletic Opportunity Post-High School
Frustrated, embarrassed, and lacking confidence, I was the poster child for the current U.S. Physical Education System. Pushed into specific sports too early, taught by incompetent coaches, and unable to participate in physical activity with many of my peers, I left high school with a mission: master my athleticism, and help others do the same.
The unfortunate truth is that about 98% of high school athletes do not go on to play collegiate-level sports. And while Rec Sports provides an avenue for those who do not make it to the college level, the focus again is on team-based ball sports, and even those opportunities quickly dry up post-college. The sports that we spent the majority of our childhoods specializing in abandon us by our mid-20s, and leave us with little skill or ability to trying something new. We are left with a desire to use our bodies as they were intended, but halted by a lack of holistic physical education.
Even those who do continue to play sports throughout and beyond college come up against busy schedules, a lack of required workouts, and a distaste for exercise cultivated by coaches using it as punishment. This leaves little time or motivation for strengthening the muscles and joints outside of practice, causing injury risk to skyrocket. The body must be fit to play sports, not the other way around. 28% of working adults lose at least one day a year from work due to sports injuries. I have personally seen a massive number of ruptured Achilles, torn ACLS, and worse in weekend warriors who casually compete without the proper exercise to support it.
Just like with learning a language, our childhood years are the most crucial for developing lasting, “natural” athletic ability. Because of my experience in youth gymnastics and martial arts, I still possess an ability to climb, roll, crawl, combat, or adapt my body to similar skills. And while my peers can still play backyard football or a pick-up game of basketball, they move like uncoordinated robots when tasked with climbing, jumping, or fighting.
The Rise of an Abusive, Predatory Fitness Industry
It's all in the shoes!
Like many people, I finally turned to the world of fitness for answers. Two Exercise Science degrees later, I have come to see the modern fitness industry for what it is: abusive, manipulative, and predatory. Instead of an industry that champions exercise as therapeutic, creative, and joyful, popular marketing trends prey on our insecurity and scientific ignorance. How many ads do you see referring to exercise as “the Grind”? How many articles or hype videos have told you that if you’re not seeing results, you’re just not doing enough?
Today’s industry glorifies the diet and lifting programs of elite level athletes and celebrities, but fails to mention the amount of steroids and other PEDs these individuals may take to achieve their success. Constantly preaching heavy weight, maximum volume, and little rest, these programs set you up for failure. In truth, muscle tissue is only broken down in the gym, and rebuilt outside the gym through rest and recovery. Instead of grinding down your body with ego-fueled training programs, combine smart programming with recovery and restorative activity to build sustainable strength. These companies are trying to mislead you, and it’s working.
The Solution: The Adventure Athlete Training System
Exercise is essential to our survival. Exercise is fun and freeing. Exercise armors the body, strengthens the mind, and sharpens the spirit. While many of you may be embarking on this journey as adults, athletic movement can be safely learned and enjoyed at any age. It is time to overcome the pitfalls of our formative years and reunite with the super-human version of ourselves.
The Adventure Athlete Training System is a progressive, functional, and creative approach to exercise that will teach you how to move with well-rounded athleticism. With a focus on safe technique and realistic results, the Adventure Athlete Training System is designed to match any fitness level or ability. The body is first armored through strengthening the fundamental movement patterns: Squatting, Hinging, Pushing, Pulling, and Carrying. The strength obtained from proficiency in these movements allows for the 7 athletic skills to be taught and practiced with safety, efficiency, and diversity.
Forging together the ancient wisdom of a heroic past with modern advances in strength and conditioning, The Adventure Athlete Training System can help you become the hero of your own adventure.