Oh, the good 'ol days, when everyone was a 4-minute miler. Once overheard a co-worker tell a couple other co-workers that he's "not as in good of shape as when he was younger, but can still run a 4-minute mile" (he's in his 50s).
this is a "no sh*t Sherlock" article. Kids are fat and play video games all day. Go figure
So when I yell at a kid to get off my lawn, I should expect it to take them longer.
Kids today won't even make it to your lawn so you have little to worry about.
Way too many of these around.
http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/childrenatplay.jpg
If they go outside, they might be abducted!!! What is wrong with you people?!? There are perverts and pedophiles just waiting to snatch kids as soon as they step out the front door! And my god, what if they scratched a knee, they might get that flesh eating bacteria!!!
SMJO wrote:
Kids today won't even make it to your lawn so you have little to worry about.
aewfsd wrote:
Oh, the good 'ol days, when everyone was a 4-minute miler. Once overheard a co-worker tell a couple other co-workers that he's "not as in good of shape as when he was younger, but can still run a 4-minute mile" (he's in his 50s).
I hope you called him out.
A minute and a half seems an awful big difference. I know kids have more indoor activities to choose from today and are probably less fit on average than in the past. Still, sports are just as popular now and I don't recall there being kids running around on soccer fields as much in the past like in the 80's now they are just everywhere. All in all a minute and half just seems way too big a difference.
Yeah, slow news day, they just made it up.
My dad told me he once had to a mile in gym class, and without any training or background in track he did it in "around 4:20".
My conclusion is that all old people lie about their former athletic prowess.
seems too big wrote:
A minute and a half seems an awful big difference. I know kids have more indoor activities to choose from today and are probably less fit on average than in the past. Still, sports are just as popular now and I don't recall there being kids running around on soccer fields as much in the past like in the 80's now they are just everywhere. All in all a minute and half just seems way too big a difference.
Not at all. When I was a kid, ALL the kids in the neighborhood would be out playing, all day. There were maybe one or two fat kids in your entire grade. Now nearly half the class is overweight or obese, parents wont let their kids go outside to play because they are so afraid of the boogieman stealing their kids (despite the fact that kids today are statistically far LESS likely to get abducted than 30 years ago)...and schools cutting out PE classes to save on money and to give the kids more time for standardized testing (I actually worked at a high school that had classroom based Phys Ed classes. They counted for the Phys Ed credit, but it was all book learning....they claimed there had been too many parents complaining about their overweight or out of shape kids with great grades being punished for being fat...and you cant get into a great school without that 4.0 GPA SO ITS SO UNFAIR...WERE GONNA SUE.)
There is one other reason too. I've seen elementary kids doing 'The Mile' in P.E. most of them are walking. Kids are also LAZIER today. I remember only a couple of kids walking back when I was that age, but now much of the class is walking. Probably because they are fat and out of shape, but still, they dont even try. That right there is enough to bring down the class averages by 90 seconds. That isn't a giant leap.
aewfsd wrote:
Oh, the good 'ol days, when everyone was a 4-minute miler. Once overheard a co-worker tell a couple other co-workers that he's "not as in good of shape as when he was younger, but can still run a 4-minute mile" (he's in his 50s).
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Local 5 mile race around here. local public access TV picks it up, with a guy commenting from the back of a pick up truck. The lead pack goes through 2 mile ( and I'm not making this up) in 10:10, and he says to the other commentator "right now, they're running about 4 minute miles.."
Since when is running a mile a good assessment of fitness for kids?
Much more important to compare 40 yard times. Have they changed?
Why do people focus so much on childhood obesity when the vast majority of adults are in horrible shape as well? We keep hearing about the kids of yesterday who played outside all day every day. Those kids grew up to be fat adults who sit all day at work and then sit in front of the television all evening. I constantly hear fat adults complaining about fat kids.
Who cares that you played outside all day when you were a kid if you turned 30 and decided to let yourself go? Do we just focus on childhood obesity because adults would rather ignore our own issues and just complain that other people aren't doing the right thing?
seems too big wrote:
A minute and a half seems an awful big difference. I know kids have more indoor activities to choose from today and are probably less fit on average than in the past. Still, sports are just as popular now and I don't recall there being kids running around on soccer fields as much in the past like in the 80's now they are just everywhere. All in all a minute and half just seems way too big a difference.
Beyond the average time, it would be interesting to see the change in distribution (or standard deviation) over the years. My guess is that the "active kids" you see playing soccer and such are essentially as fit as ever, but there are ever more "inactive kids" that are dragging down the curve. This would be consistent with the general increase in overweight kids and adults we've seen with each successive generation.
As a kid of the 70s and 80s - there were not that many organized sports outside of school.Here is the big difference - it is about lifestyle. Kids back then mowed the lawn, did yard work, worked manual labor jobs, walked or rode bikes to friends houses, walked from the bus stop, played baseball in the vacant lot in the neighborhood, etc. ... Aside from organized sports, you dont see kids today outside doing anything.
seems too big wrote:
A minute and a half seems an awful big difference. I know kids have more indoor activities to choose from today and are probably less fit on average than in the past. Still, sports are just as popular now and I don't recall there being kids running around on soccer fields as much in the past like in the 80's now they are just everywhere. All in all a minute and half just seems way too big a difference.
I agree with the person who mentioned laziness. I've been offered to coach at the MS/HS level and I always turn it down because the kids nowadays don't want to put in the work. You can't succeed without passion.
thats why more kids broke 9 in the two mile in the last 3 years than in the 80s and 90s combined. yeah. makes sense.
the fast 1% are getting faster and the slow 99% are getting slower.
THANKS, OBAMA
