Sport is considered a phenomenon of the twentieth century since the western countries became aware of the degenerative processes that occur as a consequence of the new way of life at the end of the fifties. The presidential campaign of the then American president John Kennedy set as one of the goals the revitalization of physical education, since the report on the physical condition of the nation pointed to the fact that the American youth are fatter, clumsier and more incompetent compared to their European and Japanese peers. The cult of slim lines and muscularity, i.e. psychophysical abilities as the foundation of better work and life, was launched.
The media, insurance companies and politicians supported the program, and the film industry, epitomized and embodied by the popular actress Jane Fonda, made aerobics a worldwide women's movement. From the research of the creator of aerobics, Kenneth Cooper, many movements arose: jogging, marathon, triathlon... The world of film launched almighty warriors and masters of various martial arts whose basis is exercise. Sport also has its own satellite TV channels, and with an estimated annual turnover of 700 billion dollars, it represents (after the military industry) the largest legal business, even ahead of the oil industry. Being in good shape is one of the many imperatives of modern Western civilization - a "pain in the back" and a "stiff neck" are considered rude and almost as vandalistic as smoking.
FITNESS BUSINESS: It seems that sports addicts (fans, consumers, recreationists, builders, TV maniacs...) and sports businessmen (owners of betting shops, sports clubs, gyms...) are becoming an increasingly large target and interest group here. From a flirtation with a sporty style of dressing among young people, a serious and permanent connection with gyms and their own body has developed, and the rustling tracksuit and sneakers are no longer a matter of exclusively fashion style. Fitness clubs and gyms are part of the cultural milieu, a fashion that was first accepted by the newly wealthy, businessmen and younger politicians. Cultivating the cult of the body was not neglected even during the biggest crisis of society, and the number of gyms and halls where some kind of exercises were held increased uncontrollably in the last ten years. It is enough to know the director of a school who will rent you a gymnasium, to stick "Aerobics classes" posters on the flags in the neighborhood, to play loud music and – the business has started. It is also desirable that you have practiced aerobics before, or that you have at least watched one of the training programs on television. Assistant professor at the Faculty of Physical Education, Dušan Mitić, president of the association of recreation experts, says that "professionals fight against this phenomenon like dentists once fought against barbers", adding that "there is no legal regulation and supervision": "As far as aerobics is concerned , the offer is large and varied. Only in the territory of the municipality of Čukarica there are about fifteen places for exercise, and west of the Novi Beograd railway there are at least 25 exercise rooms."
His colleague Vesna Repić-Cujić, president of the Partizan Čukarica sports club and a fitness judge, believes that there are few real instructors, and because of the bad law, anyone can declare themselves an aerobics instructor: "The law mentions what is necessary to do aerobics." : certain hall, devices, etc., but nowhere is a professional mentioned. Due to the lack of expertise of the instructors, there were several deaths and injuries in the gym." Our interlocutor believes that training for instructors is now better organized - on the initiative of the Yugoslav Association for Fitness and Sports Aerobics (YAFIS), seminars for judges and instructors are organized in our country, which is a significant step in the development of fitness in our country.
Regarding prices and services in fitness centers, our interlocutor says that they are very different: "There is unfair competition that charges 200 dinars per month for its services, which of course affects the quality." The average price is 80-100 marks per month, and there are various other options: annual membership fee or contracts with work organizations." Club Tašmajdan has several fitness programs (conditioning, aquabike, aerobics...), and the prices range from 900 to 1350 dinars per month. . In closed elite clubs, the membership fee costs several thousand dollars a year, and entry is only by recommendation. The Elite Club of the Hyatt Hotel is a semi-closed type, and to become a member you need to apply and wait a week for a response. The services are top-notch, all our interlocutors point out, but so are the prices. For 18.000 dinars per month, you have at your disposal a gym, swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam bath, solarium, massage, aerobics, cold and hot showers, instructors... You also have the right to bring two guests who pay a daily ticket of 1100 dinars, while the annual membership fee is 105.000 dinars.
AEROBIC EXERCISE: Aerobics comes to us relatively late, and appears in the character of Lokica Stefanović. Aerobic exercise (all forms of aerobics, swimming, cycling, running, rollerblading) is directly related to health: the pulse is calmed down, blood pressure is lowered, the brain is more supplied with oxygen, the risk of osteoporosis, diabetes, diseases of the central nervous system is reduced. , has a favorable effect on the development of motor and mental abilities... Working with a trainer and consulting a doctor is necessary if you have high blood pressure and heart problems. Vesna Repić-Cujić expresses dissatisfaction with the general physical culture of the nation, but emphasizes that the situation has changed in the last 5-6 years. "Most people only start thinking about their own physical fitness around the age of 30. Given that organized school forms of recreation have been canceled (at colleges), or neglected due to poor education, an increasing number of people visit sports centers." According to her assessment, users of fitness services are mostly people with high or secondary education. What equipment do we need? "You need a fitness shoe that you can easily recognize: press the front of the shoe, and if the heel lifts, it's a real fitness shoe." It is also very important that women wear a bra during exercise."
In recent years, Vesna Repić-Cujić points out, bodybuilding has been in the greatest expansion, because exercising in gyms develops the greatest muscle mobility and strength. Bodybuilding is a sport with very few prominent athletes, but with a large army of fans. Tennis is also very popular - there is information that in the period 1987-1997. In 150, around 250 new tennis courts were built on the territory of Belgrade alone, which, with the existing ones, gives XNUMX playgrounds, as many as there used to be in the whole of the old Yugoslavia. Roller skating is also expanding, because it activates a large number of muscles, and the number of people interested in orientation in space is increasing. Krasomenko Miletić, associate professor of outdoor activities at the Faculty of Physical Education, says that the essence of sports orientation lies in interesting trips, beautiful landscapes and participation. "In the beginning, team participation is mandatory, although the tracks are not complicated and one cannot go astray." Terrain sketches and plans are quite simple, so it is not difficult to orient yourself and find your way in nature. This sport is multi-beneficial for children to learn to navigate less familiar terrain. Moving in a straight line, it will turn out, is not always the best on the field (or in life).
In addition to European sports, Eastern skills and sports also have an army of fans and recreationalists in their ranks, and on weekends you can see them at Kalemegdan waving their arms and legs - they are Thai recreationalists who try to communicate with themselves by performing certain movements with prescribed breathing. In America, the Eastern art of taibo, a type of aerobics created from karate and boxing, is currently a hit.
RESEARCH: From the point of view of assessing how and how many citizens are regularly involved in some forms of recreation, the results of the research published in the article by assistant professor Dušan Mitić in the magazine "Physical Culture" of the Faculty of Physical Culture of the University of Belgrade tell us. A total of 2846 respondents of various occupations and ages (workers, officials, citizens, users of sports center services, students, guests of winter centers) were surveyed over a five-year period. The results showed that depending on belonging to a certain group, from 23 percent (workers and officials) to 82 percent of respondents (regular visitors to sports centers) were involved in the process of regular exercise. The favorite recreation of Belgrade students is basketball (37%), and female students cycling (47,9%). Running and swimming are almost equally popular with both sexes, while aerobics is ranked differently - among female students it is in a strong third place, while it is not among the top ten on the male list. It is interesting that 35 percent of male students and 24,6 percent of female students said they were in favor of billiards, which can be explained by the expansion of billiards at the time when students were surveyed.
Another survey on personal equipment for recreation talks about the degree of commitment to engage in recreation. Based on the results, we learn that 75 percent of citizens own a tracksuit, around 50 percent of respondents own a bicycle, almost every third respondent owns skis, but that's why camping is no longer in fashion - barely 20 percent of respondents confirmed that they own a tent. A boat is a luxury for most of the respondents, judging by the graph that shows that the percentage of those who can enjoy the magic of water is somewhere around ten percent. Tennis equipment is owned by approximately every third member of the two surveyed groups, namely employees of better companies and skiers.
COUNTRY I SPORTS: Recreation is a whole series of activities of free choice with the aim of invigorating - walking the dog is also recreation, but so is a good book or movie. Docent Mitić says that research has shown that people have realized that recreation reduces stress, increases concentration and contributes to general psycho-physical stability. "Our people are aware that recreation is necessary, and that it is an integral part of the culture of living, as evidenced by the numerous gyms, fitness and cycling tracks, and the mentioned exercise rooms." We were among the first in Europe, right after the Netherlands, to build a trim track in Kosutnjak in the 1970s. For a while it was neglected and fell into disrepair, but ten years ago it was revitalized. Now we can say that it has failed from use and use."
Unlike the American society, which cares about the working capacity of its nation and invests in popularizing sports and propaganda, our society does not care about the physical health of its citizens. Mitić says that the state promotes and finances top sports, because that's how it advertises itself. The media also push and nurture sports idols and events (transfers, fights at matches), and pay little attention to mass sports. The role of sports is, among other things, in preventive action on the behavior of minors, preventing delinquency of young people and channeling aggressiveness and energy into physical activity. "However, the conditions in the schools are catastrophic: one third of the schools do not have a gymnasium at all, another third of the schools have a small space for physical activities, others have halls that are often destroyed because they are rented out to third parties who hold aerobics there in the evenings..."
Since 1998, physical education has been abolished as a compulsory subject at the faculties. "There is a proposal to restore physical education as a compulsory but optional subject with the new university law, which means that students will be able to choose the physical activity that suits them, and the physical education professor would be the coordinator of the various sports activities that will take place at the faculty," says assistant professor Dušan Mitić. Vesna Repić-Cujić advocates the introduction of aerobics in elementary schools: "In cooperation with the sports secretariat, we experimented with step aerobics in physical education classes in elementary schools, and got great results."
Despite the poor financial situation and the marginalization of mass sports, at least 40 different sports federations, associations and associations that organize various actions and manifestations still exist and work in Serbia. "By bike to health", "Expo winter", "Challenge day" - these are some of the actions organized by the association "Sport for all", founded in 1992 after the organizations of the same name that exist in 130 countries. Petar Stakić, the director of this association, says that their target group is ordinary people, and their idea is to popularize mass sports through play, movement and education about preserving the mental and physical health of the nation. On the last Saturday in May, the sixth action organized by this association called "Challenge Day" will be held. "The goal of such actions is to bring together various municipalities and cities of the world." Last year, Jerusalem was our guest, and Hong Kong the year before last. Our intention is to involve as many people as possible on that day - last year, 369.000 people were involved in the action," says Stakić. The association is currently preparing the fourth issue of the magazine "Recreation", which deals with practical issues in this field related to cycling, triathlon, mountaineering, disabled sports and many other disciplines.
Stakić believes that recreation is a matter of culture, but also of standards, which is evidenced by the fact that only 15 percent of our people regularly (2-3 times a week) recreate: "In fact, that's a weak excuse, and we can recreate without money." Whoever says they can't afford it, doesn't really want to. We strive to move things, and we especially take care of the education and recreation of young people. The state allocates insufficient funds for sports (the Ministry of Sports and Youth has been abolished), young people are left to fend for themselves, and drugs are unstoppably penetrating Serbia. We must give them a chance to live healthier, and the state is obliged to make it possible for them." It is not known that any of the spokesmen of the new government announced a campaign to heal the mind and body of the nation.
Do the "health authorities" really expect you to give up fast food? NO, actually. The easiest way to a healthy life, experts point out, is the gradual introduction of a new, healthier way of life. Listen to the experts and do this:
Start with a delicious breakfast - stories about the importance of breakfast are not made up.
Eat a variety of foods recommended by nutritionists - eating healthy doesn't have to be boring. Eat lots of grains, fruits and vegetables. (Steam vegetables because they retain more nutrients. Don't avoid meat because not eating meat can lead to uncontrollable hunger.) If you want to lose weight, consume no more than 40-50 grams of fat per day. Avoid butter (or replace it with margarine), mayonnaise and sauces. If you get a craving for some unhealthy food, don't put yourself in a desperate situation by trying to eliminate it from your menu, but allow yourself such food in small portions. Two hours before any physical activity, drink at least 300-500 ml of fluid to balance fluid and energy levels, and immediately before exercise, drink another 130-300 ml of fluid. Every 15-20 minutes during exercise, take in another 130-300 ml, and after finishing, drink an additional 300-500 ml of liquid. You can also make your own "sports" drink: mix 100 ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice with a liter of black tea, and sweeten the mixture with a little honey or yellow sugar. Get to know your nutritional weaknesses, and focus on the benefits that will follow: increased energy and self-confidence, stress reduction and better sleep.
When asked what is your favorite form of group physical activity, a sample of 3201 surveyed visitors to www.fitnes.com voted for aerobics. The most popular type of aerobic exercise is kickbox aerobics, which was declared by 38,70 percent of respondents, followed by step aerobics (22,07%), high/low aerobics (17,32%), spinning (14,25%) and jazz training (7,69 .XNUMX%). In addition to surveys, this site contains detailed information about the amount of calories you can take in during exercise, the choice of the right fitness studio and program, the quality and quantity of training programs depending on whether you want to lose weight, become an athlete or a recreational person.
Exercising sports activities dangerous je po health za older people. FALSE, because the blood system and muscles allow physical activity even after the age of 70. However, when you enter the "third age" you no longer trust your body and are afraid of injuries, which causes certain psychological difficulties. It is precisely for this reason that more and more elderly people are in fitness centers. Experts in this field recommend consulting with a sports doctor and trainer, because intensive training certainly carries some risk. Hiking might not be the best idea if you haven't played any sports since high school. However, regular physical activity such as running, swimming or cycling reduces the risk of heart disease.
Pregnant women je forbidden dealing recreation or fitnesom. FALSE, because if you exercise while you are in a different state, you will significantly reduce the load on your spine. In the first trimester of pregnancy, engaging in fitness is not recommended, while in the later months of pregnancy, exercise is recommended. It is necessary to consult a doctor, check blood pressure, and decide on swimming or relaxation aerobics rather than step aerobics and strength exercises. In the last months of pregnancy, it is good to go to the preparation for childbirth, which consists of breathing exercises.
