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COULD IT SOON be possible to stay in shape without breaking a sweat?
In the newest episode of Future Stories, a monthly podcast from TheJournal.ie and Volkswagen, we’re looking ahead to what workouts could look like in ten, twenty or thirty years time.
You’ve probably never heard of GW1516, but for scientists at the Salk Institute in the US, it could be the key to a long anticipated quick fix: an exercise pill. Initial tests (on mice, not humans, FYI) show a 70% increase in athletic endurance and an increased ability to burn fat.
Of course, the compound has a long line of testing ahead before it could conceivably be made mainstream, as Dr Giles Warrington, head of PESS (Physical Education and Sports Sciences) at the University of Limerick, notes.
“There’s a big difference between showing a short term effect in mice and demonstrating a long term effect in humans,” he says.
It is a drug and would have to pass very stringent regulations, and it’s highly unlikely that this kind of drug would be passed by the FDA in the US and the Irish Medical Board here, for the simple fact that ‘being unable to exercise’ is not currently classed as a disease.
So what else is out there for gym goers looking to boost their gains? In this episode of Future Stories, we speak to Sebastian Corpe of UK-based company DNAFit, who use gene testing to give people a “higher resolution picture” of how they should be training and what they should be eating.
“We can look at genes relating to how well you absorb either fats or carbs, for example,” says Sebastian Corpe of DNAFit. “Or whether you’re better suited to sprints or long distance running.”
And closer to home, we cycle through Santorini and dive beneath the ocean, all while sitting in a Dublin spin studio. West Wood Club is one of just 11 sports clubs around the world using The Trip, an immersive spinning class from the Les Mills fitness empire.
“It’s an indoor cycle class but you’re sitting in front of an IMAX cinema screen with surround sound. It’s a visual journey and we coach along with the visuals,” explains Katie Harvey, studio manager as West Wood’s Aston Quay branch.
“There’s a waiting list every day.”
Want to hear more about the future of fitness? The latest episode is live right now:
https://soundcloud.com/user-118857408-478972716/new-future-stories-the-future-of-keeping-fit
Click-through to be taken to the episode on:
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Helen Mc Entee said she’s ‘delighted’ with the new ‘bands’. But what is the positive/ the advantage of watering down, diluting, the criteria-the percentage required in order to achieve higher grades?
@Mary Linton: Can’t believe I’m doing this but going to defend the minister here. I’m an examiner for state exams and the merit was my main gripe. You have kids with little knowledge getting a merit at 55% yet at the same time, others getting the same merit on 74%. These would have good knowledge of the subject and would previously have gotten a B in the old system. Similarly, many kids who would have gotten an A in the old system, now get a Higher Merit instead of a Distinction as a huge proportion fall between 85 and 89 percent.
Everyone is a winner. Also known as dumbing down the system.
@Mark R: the grade bands have little to do with that. The whole exam has been dumbed down. At least this gives students the same chance their peers had prior to 2017.
Unions will get dog’s abuse this week but we tried to warn you. Trying to warn you about the Leaving Cert now and as usual no one will listen.
@Alan OConnor: by coincidence I had that Fatboy Slim cd on in my car at weekend — ” why try harder?”
@Mark R: not dumbing it down, restoring it to how it was before junior cycle. The highest 3 old grades were, A:85-100, B:70-85, C:55-70. Notice anything? If anything, it shows that the Junior Cycle system is a failure and Junior Cert was better.
@Mark R: that happened ages ago. It’s ridiculously simple now.
@Mark R: It’s to help all the children of our diverse nation.
So, to use a golfing ‘analogy’…..Helen has made it far easier to make ‘the cut’ ?
@Buster Lawless: she has restored what was the system for decades prior to 2017. Should never have been changed.
@Alan OConnor: indeed nothing new in the grading. It’s back to the future LOL. At least fifty years. I imagine the grading goes beyond that to the founding of the state, however that’s just a hunch.
Horray, Helen McEntee is getting the old bands back together! A lot undone but a lot more to undo. Pause the LC change. Publish the JC Reviews.
The new junior cycle is a joke. When it came in a few years back, a friend of mine working for the department said to me to just wait til they redo the leaving certificate.
It’s insane and will inevitably lead to standards dropping in 3rd level too.
It’s to make things easier for all the children of our new nation.
This is mad. I’m already struggling get my teen to study. He is bright but not interested in study. Now his is just laughing. It’s the dumbing down of society. Ridiculous
@Nat C: It’s the exact same grade branding which you used when you did your Junior Cert.
It’s great to see a load of idiots with no knowledge of the system talking about it being dumbed down. The threshold to have an opinion has been lowered to give the likes of yourselves the opportunity to speak, that’s the real issue. If you don’t have any understanding of the problem, which has been raised by the individuals involved, that have an understanding of the whole system, flaws and all, then just stay quiet. It’s people like these with zero clue about most things, other than surface level misunderstandings, that lead to a society where people know nothing, but think they’re experts.
Nothing wrong with making the exams easier for our teenagers! Too much stress on them a/way!
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