Extreme sports: pushing it to the max
The New Scientist has been running short features titled ‘Maxed Out: Testing Humans to Destruction’. It is looking at just how far the human body can be pushed.
Now, hopefully we know our own limits. We should also be able to judge what is physically safe – and have a little fun while testing ourselves – but how can we know what is physiologically safe?
Just what are the limits? What can our bodies actually do?
It seems to me that there is no end to how fast we could go, how deep we could dive, or how high we might climb.
Every time a prediction that places a ceiling on human achievement is made, it is proven wrong.
Take the benchmark blue-ribbon event, the men’s 100m sprint. It was thought that a time of 9.6 seconds was the limit. Jamaica’s Usain Bolt has already dipped below this, at 9.58. And he says he can take it to 9.4 seconds. All World records fall; men and women evolve; we develop technology to help us, and the only way is up!
Summarised here, the New Scientists piece makes a fantastic read.
On surviving at altitude without oxygen: Mike Grocott of the University of Southampton, told the journal: “I’d guess the limit would be about 9000 metres.”
On G forces: Alec Stevenson of UK-based defence firm Qinetiq, explained that some people can remain “perfectly conscious at 6g“, while fighter pilots in specialist suits can pull 9g – although higher tolerances have been reached.
On surviving the cold: Once core temperature reaches 24C, the heart stops – usually.
On going without food or water: Fat people can still starve if they can’t metabolise their reserves; water is key, but without it, it is unlikely you’ll manage more than a week.
And without oxygen? Large lungs are helpful, but there really is only so long breath-holding can go on for. “Elite breath-hold divers expect the limit to be extended to about 15 minutes before record-setting will level off,” Johan Andersson at Lund University in Sweden, told the publication.
While as a race we appear to be getting fatter, clearly we are also getting fitter.
So, are we bound to physical limits or are we just slowly evolving? Let us know what you think.
The piece in the New Scientist is available here: http://tinyurl.com/y37lffy
Related posts:
- Scuba diving or skydiving: can you take the pressure?
- Why is everyone following Extreme Sports?
- Extreme Sports: Who’s pushing the boundaries?
7 Comments to “Extreme sports: pushing it to the max”
Post comment
Mark Pawlak
Follow us on Twitter!Real time adventure sports updates
Categories
- Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts
- Cycling
- New Adventure Travel Ideas
- Our Experts
- Top 10s
- Travel Gear
Recent Posts
- Adventure Sports Gear: Penknife or Multitool?
- Holidaying in Burma: Of course you can do it!
- Running to Get Fit for Your Adventure Holiday
- The Rise of Gastro Adventuring
- Adventure Vacations for Couples
- SUP Tips: How to start paddle boarding
- Airline weight restrictions: what every traveller needs to know
The debate around artificial limbs is also an interesting one. There is the Australian amputee 400m runner Oscar Pistorius, who uses carbon-fibre ‘blade runners’: Cybernetics in action.
At the London Marathon I was surprised by how many physically unfit people had taken part in it, how many people over the age of 70 were out doing some of the fitter looking people in their 30s and seeing people clearly in a hell of a lot of pain just carrying on.
Maybe we aren’t evolving but a better understanding of how to train your body for such endurances can make all the difference. If the body is prepared in such a way it can increase your stamina and so being able to push the limit of your previous best.
I think the divide is getting bigger between unhealthy people and those trying to discover their bodies potential.
I think the main point is that we’re all different. In Richard Askwith’s excellent book, Feet in the Clouds, he personally explores the sport of fell running. After months of training he plateaus and it’s only through pushing himself mentally that he’s able to improve on times and distance. The family motto of Ernest Shackleton was ‘Endurance Conquers All’. For me that sums it up.
Gary,
Yes indeed! I remember when running x-country, the fastest runner in our team was not the fittest. He just pushed himself so much further than everyone else. Soldiers, are a useful example. They push (are pushed) to physical extremes, and often the most resilient, most focused and surprisingly,(based on my experience) the ones with the best sense of humour, excel. That many still drink and smoke as much as they do, and still be so fit is proof: It’s all (mostly) in the mind.
As a female pole fitness enthusiast, I’d like to mention the developments in the sport which is still stereotypically linked to the sex industry. Mainly participated in by women, yet with a growing number of men joining in, pole fitness is taking off at the speed of light. Check out these vidoes to see what the sports leading ladies are doing, and how:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF6t0shspBg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_NJiwIVu6k&feature=PlayList&p=A59FE7074BAB34EC&playnext_from=PL&index=10
Many pole fitness enthusiasts want to see the sport entered in to the Olympics and pole fitness participants can respect how much hard work it takes to do a simple inverted trick. Participant numbers are growing fast in the US, Australia, the UK and in many other countries throughout the world – and most ladies have no connection to the sex industry. Time-are-a-changing! For those of you that query whether this is an extreme sport, give it a go and feed through your comments. Anna
I think I’ve found a new hobby!!
Triathlon was the hardest sporting thing I took on, the combination of sports builds up and builds up. When you run out of energy, everything is on empty, all the separate muscle groups.
I think it must qualify as an extreme sport.