Physical Capabilities Of Athletes And Athletic Types

Within sport, as throughout society, gender differences exist. The socially constructed phenomenon of gender dictates a dichotomous system whereby females are feminine and males are masculine. Focusing on females specifically, society determines the feminine traits and roles ascribed to this gender. Being domesticated, slender, passive and heterosexual are a part of the desirable appearance that society has formed surrounding femininity (Wolf, 1991). On the other side of the dichotomy is the masculine realm that sport plays into. Sport is fuelled by muscle, power and aggressiveness, which are behaviours and images associated to masculinity. Sport therefore, defies all existing female gender ideals. It would be assumed that females have no place within this institution due to the gender clash. However, female athletes do exist, and many are very successful. For this to work, sport has established and reinforced the social constructions of gender that exist in society. Female athletes are viewed as inferior and are pushed into gender appropriate sports. Furthermore, they are often labeled as masculine until they can prove otherwise, and so great attempts are made to reassert femininity. The stigma associated to being masculine or homosexual for female athletes is so great that many have become irrationally fearful of this label. The sexualisation of the female body and overt displays of heterosexuality are used in

The voice perceived from Eleanor Robinson’s essay, “CrossFit: the new fitness craze has a lot to tell us about late western capitalism,” has an emphatically melodramatic tone to its words. The essay is written with emphasis on Robinson’s opinions and her ability to persuade the reader the reader, rather than facts and data, as if the essay is essentially a personal narrative on the topic. Robinson’s essay sheds light on a relatively new fitness trend that many Americans have increasingly started to participate in: CrossFit. Robinson claims that this wellness trend is as comical as it is disturbingly unsafe, as she writes that, “There are of course plenty of fit, lovely people who enjoy CrossFit, some of whom even have all their original limbs. To those people, I say: get out now!” While analytically interpreting this quote, the reader may identify several expressions in the voice of the author, all of which pertaining to the idea of the melodramatic voice in her words, as she writes about the consumer loyalty for CrossFit as a new fitness trend. It is evident in Robinson’s quote of her sardonic point-of-view on the fitness trend, as she presumes the fitness trend is not only dangerous, but comical because of the support and popularity associated with it.. Although scarce in the essay, Robinson’s usage of facts and data to support her argument of CrossFit being an unsafe fitness trend also backs-up her melodramatic voice. An example of such data is that 73.5% of CrossFitters become injured at some point in their lifetimes directly from the workouts, Robinson claims. She also refers to the fact that, “Injuries and exertion vomiting are used as a marketing tactic,” and, “The shoulder reconstruction goes with the rippling abdominals,” to compare CrossFit to other, less dangerous and injurious fitness trends. As the essay closes, Robinson writes about how western capitalism and CrossFit relate to one another, in which she agrees with the stereotype that only post industrial-knowledge workers (particularly those who are more financially successful) with a non-labor-intensive occupation will be willing to, “pay $200 a month to throw weights around

Another observance that I made regarded the male and female distributions throughout the day at the UNC Asheville gym. During the morning there was a disproportionate amount of females, with an estimated 65% of the makeup of the gym being females with most using the cycling machines. However later in the day males were the most populous demographic in the gym, and by far the majority was occupied using the weight room or the weight machines. I propose that this may be due to the main motivation differing between males and females using the gym. Society tends to put more pressure on females to lose weight and be in shape, while there is more pressure on males to have large amounts of muscle and generally be larger, with less emphasis placed

Cultural identity and physical activity have changed a lot over time. This is due to some factors such as advances in technology and changes in media. All of these factors have contributed to the changes in physical activity.

While specializing in sports has increased in young athletes, we are now learning more about the side effects of specializing. The research states that in the United States, there is nearly 72% of school-aged youth that participated in one organized sports team or club. Out of 1200 youth athletes, there was 30% of young athletes that reported that they are specialized in a single sport (Myer et.al 66). In the United States the increase in organized sports as increased from children 6 years and younger starting at 9% in 1997 to 12% in 2008. At the High school level, there has been an increase in sports specialization (Jayanthi 251). Although specializing in a sport may allow an athlete to be strong in that sport, it also can hurt athletes that specializing in a sport.

Athletes are everywhere. We watch them at our local high school games and even on television. We pick out our favorite athletes on a professional sports team and worship them as if they were Gods. We all have a favorite athlete. Perhaps it’s basketball star, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, the Olympian, or Peyton Manning, the famous football quarterback who plays for the Denver Broncos. The commonality that these three, world-class athletes share is that they’re all male. Men have always been in the spotlight in regards to sports. When someone is asked to picture an “athlete” they’re most likely going to envision a muscular male who appears strong and healthy. Perhaps this is because males who perform in sports usually have more muscle mass,

Women are empowered, encouraged and even pressured into being involved in a sport or some type of fitness activities today; however, it hasn’t always been that way (Cahn 278). In the 1920s, also known as the “golden age” of sports, women and young girls faced obstacles such as rejection, gender discrimination, and stereotypes when showing interest in sports or fitness activities. One famous author named Susan Cahn, wrote a book called Coming on Strong: Gender and Sexuality in Twentieth-Century Women’s Sports, and focuses on the decades between the 1920s and the 1960s. For most of the 19th century, females were accused of causing a great deal of danger to the moral and physical areas of masculinity. Through the research of multiple different aspects, such as media, appearance, and gender roles, Cahn puts together an idea and theme that athleticism is seen as a masculine trait because it was once constructed by society itself; which fortunately for the women, that idea can be changed. In the later centuries, Cahn writes about the progress of woman 's appearance in sports, however then describes the difference in respect, attention throughout media, opportunities and wages between men and women. Through both primary sources such as newspapers, interviews, and journals, as well as secondary sources like relevant literature, Cahn writes her book in a historical non-fiction genre. After reading Coming on Strong: Gender and Sexuality in Twentieth-Century Women’s Sports by Susan

I believe that we need to understand women’s experiences in the gym as they are affected the most by gender stereotypes and that is what led me to research this

My belief is that gender stereotypes are playing a role in these men and women’s desire to exercise. In most societies,

Canadian sport is divided amongst its classes. Not all people engage in the same sports or do the same things to stay physically active. In following pages, I have critically examined explanations on how to tell there are differences within classes, and what these differences mean to sport and physical activity in Canada.

Secondly, this report will analyze the athlete's ability to perform during a practice. Tom Crawford, interviewed by Charles Bethea (2015) says,

There is a greater need of certain adaptations that can help the challenged individuals to better assimilate into the society. As a responsible citizen we all must take part in how knowingly/unknowingly we are creating these barriers. use of appropriate terminology is probably the first adaptation that we need to look into. Do not put labels such as blind and deaf, mental, insane we all deserve respect and challenged individuals are no different. We may use appropriate words such as a person is suffering mental health issues instead of saying disabled sports, sports for para athletes. In terms of adaptations in sports however, there are hundreds of sports that if modified can be played by the disabled personnel. Few are wheel chair hockey,

The film “Fit” explores the evolution of fitness in the daily lives of American men and women. From being defined as a “vision of the body and its possibilities” to a literal culture of physical strength and appeal, how we understand fitness has been shaped throughout many generations.

The last two types of body build are the most logical and understanding of them all. The athletic type is described as, “[A] strong development of the skeleton...tall man, with particularly wide projecting shoulders, superb chest, a firm stomach” (Kretschmer 1925). This is very similar to the asthenic build in which they also shared the same distinction of being long and tall. Some are also schizophrenic and responsible for violent crimes. The development of the athletic type occurs throughout various ages, "It is apparent in the puberty period-from about 18 years old onwards; with the maturing of the body beyond 25 years old it become more plastic and more significant" (Kretschmer 1925). When I think of someone that has an athletic physique, I think of someone who works out or plays competitive sports. With this idea in mind, it may be possible that those who do workout or compete in sports have a higher aggression level which may lead to the types of behavior Kretschmer states. His description of the athletic build is accurate and representative today. One body type that Kretschmer views as a small group but I believe to be the majority of the population is the dysplastic type. He recognized that not everyone can fit under one of the three basic body types. This is a combination of pyknic, asthenic, and athletic, and their body type is both pyknic and asthenic. Kretschmer believed this type of abnormal physique was found in, “[D]ementia praecox and epileptic patients and

Social lives start and finish with leisure activity. Leisure activity starts social lives because it generates the time that can be spent to engage in recreational time or leisure time. Furthermore, an individual’s activity does not have to be a group activity it can be a solo activity because when the individual is not with friends or families the activity that their doing will be because of a certain socio-cultural factor. Therefore, an individual will workout because of the gender identity and the double bind of masculinity. The reason for this is because most men will workout to change their appearance to become more masculine and powerful but are not suppose to care about their appearance.