Make A Difference To One

By Alan

Most people who think about those who like technology usually picture the stereotypical image: someone who avoids the sun, skips physical fitness as boring, and stays on the couch playing on the computer rather than doing anything else. However, it's pretty obvious to anyone who might have ventured into a fitness center, gym, or even a YMCA, that technology plays a pretty significant part in modern physical activity.

Technology has played an primary role in organized physical fitness ever since 1952, when Dr. Robert A. Bruce, took the treadmill and stuck it under a human for stress testing of the heart and lungs. If you think about it, exercise equipment has to be able to last through thousands of repetitions, look cool, provide good behavior, all while not killing the person using the thing. Exercise provides stimulation to the heart, lungs, muscles, nerves, and even digestion. And while exercise is definitely beneficial to the brain, the act of exercising is not necessarily all that stimulating. When you run outside, at least you have the scenery changing, but running on the treadmill is... well... boring. The only scenery change will be the next sweaty person on the mill next to you, who is also disappointed in the brain stimulation going on.