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What's the fastest a human can run the 100-meter sprint?
What's the longest a human can hold his breath?
What are the limits of human performance?
Welcome to The Perfection Point.

Customer Reviews (4)

what if?
Love this book. Love his shoes. Makes science relatable. My boss took my copy so I need to get another one

Interesting study for those who love sports
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1B28135WTQFQV This is a video review about The Perfection Point.

543 Yards: The Limit Off The Tee
Records are made to be broken, or so it is said.At some point, however, one can run into the limits of physics and human physiology. It's probably not possible for a baseball player to hit a home run that travels a mile, for example.Why?Because the momentum the baseball would needed to overcome the air resistance over the course of a 5,280 foot home run could not be produced by a human, whether on steroids or not.That would simply exceed what we are designed to do.

We can do the math, if you like, but I'll warn you, your eyes would glaze over, so I will skip it for now.

Or, alternatively, we can let someone else do the math and we can look at their results.

John Brenkus, the host and executive producer of ESPN's Sport Science did just that to provide a hard look at the absolute limits of human performance. In a new book, Brenkus finds the "Perfection Point" forseveral sports, golf included,by determining the speeds, heights, distances that mark the limits of human performance.To do this, he used statistics, physics, and physiology to uncover the limits for the longest golf drive, among other sports, such as the longest home run, the fastest time for a mile in track and field, the heaviest bench press in weightlifting, etc.

Brenkus results are not a dry math and physics lesson suitable only for a university lecture to engineering students, instead, his illustrations are not only informative, they are quite entertaining and easily understandable.

In the world of golf, Brenkus's examination for driving the ball found a 543 yard theoretical limit, a 23% increase (125 yards) from the current record of 418 yards held by current long-drive champion Jamie Sadlowski. Brenkus states that Sadlowski has slight technical flaws in his swing, and that correcting them would add another 17 yards to the 418 yard record. He also notes that with more flexibility, added height and yes, more muscle, more yards can be added to reach his calculated limit.

Fun book. A must for sports fans.
My 14-year old science-loving son enjoys watching "Sport Science" clips on YouTube, plus he constantly asks questions about the limits of human performance. What is the highest possible dunk? The fastest possible 100m? The mightiest possible power lift? I thought that this book would be a definite hit for him. We pre-ordered the book and it arrived yesterday. I got a chance to read it before my son got home and knew that he would really enjoy it. When he saw the book he immediately rushed to read it. Of course, he wanted to just get to The Numbers at first:) John Brenkus (who is the host of Sport Science) does a wonderful job of making this topic fun and interesting, plus he does a nice job on the analytical bits where he explains how he (or rather the experts he quotes) actually get to The Numbers.

One quibble: The book keeps on going on about what we could theoretically eventually achieve in time, but - hey - we will be a different species by then given our rate of evolution. Huh? According to one expert, we are a different species than we were 200 years ago and we will certainly be a different species in a 1000 years. Hmmm. Strange.

Remember this book is full of statistical models about theoretical maximums. [Note: I am a statistician by training so I appreciate statistical models for what they are.] There is certainly no guarantee that humans will reach these theoretical maximums, but remember these are just that- theoretical maximums. A human will NEVER run a 100m faster than 8.99 seconds. Will he ever reach the theoretical maximum? Maybe, maybe not. He will approach the theoretical maximum, but he never will surpass it because he never can surpass it due to human limitations. (This is where the different species stuff comes in; a different species of human - one more "evolved" -would have different limitations, and, thus, different theoretical maximums and all that).

Now that man has goals to aim for, he will certainly have a better shot at reaching the theoretical maximums. Thank you, John Brenkus, and good luck, mankind!

... Read more

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Could anyone else other than Usain Bolt be on the cover of Athletics 2009. The Jamaican superstar sprinter won the 100 and 200m at the Beijing Olympics in world record times and then took a third gold in the sprint relay. The sport of athletics had not seen his like before. Athletics 2009 is the yearbook of the Association of Track & Field Statisticians and has been published every year since 1951 a year after the organisation was founded. Once again this book is essential reading for all enthusiasts of track and field. ... Read more

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This text is a contributed work by well-known trainers and educators, written under the direction of Dr. Prentice. The 6th edition continues to be the only text developed specifically for athletic trainers. This text is also appropriate for those physical therapists that are involved in a sports medicine curriculum. ... Read more

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Updated and invigorated, Management Strategies in Athletic Training, Third Edition, helps readers deal creatively with the management challenges athletic trainers face on the job. Like its predecessor, the new edition uses a case-study approach to teach students theories of organization and administration and to apply them to real-world situations in the profession of athletic training.

The text, part of Human Kinetics’ Athletic Training Education Series, is an excellent resource for athletic trainers who want comprehensive knowledge of management theory and practice. The book’s organization strategies can also be applied beyond athletic training to a variety of fields related to sports medicine, making it a valuable resource for any sports medicine professional. In addition to 10 updated chapters, Management Strategies in Athletic Training, Third Edition, offers new sections on finding a job and planning conferences, plus current coverage of

·health insurance concerns,

·new administrative standards from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA),

·prescription medications,

·application of the Americans with Disabilities Act,

·computer hardware and software applications,

·reimbursement for athletic training services, and

·emergency action plans.

Designed to encourage critical thinking, Management Strategies in Athletic Training, Third Edition, opens and closes each chapter with realistic and fascinating case studies presenting real-world dilemmas faced by athletic trainers. Students are challenged to analyze and apply the principles in the chapters to solve the kinds of problems they’ll face from day to day as professionals.

To support learning, the text includes tools such as chapter objectives, boldfaced key terms, review statements for each major section, a running glossary as well as a complete glossary at the end of the book, chapter summaries, sample administrative forms that readers can both study and adapt to their own work situations, review questions, and an index. Special elements and appendixes also provide direction for deeper study by referring students to Internet resources, other Athletic Training Education Series texts, sample forms for athletic training program analysis, and material on regulations and ethics in athletic training.

The instructor guide is loaded with additional case studies, course projects, chapter worksheets, and a sample course syllabus, all of which can be used for organizing classes, testing students’ knowledge, and creating exciting learning experiences. A test bank also is included.

Human Kinetics’ Athletic Training Education Series contains five outstanding textbooks, each with its own superb supporting instructional resources. Featuring the work of respected athletic training authorities, the series was created to parallel and expound on the content areas established by the NATA Educational Council. Management Strategies in Athletic Training, Third Edition, addresses the following NATA content areas: Health Care Administration, Professional Development and Responsibilities, Risk Management and Injury Prevention, and Acute Care of Injury and Illness. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Outdated
While there are many management strategies that hold true for all time, there are others that need revising to stay within the technological era.Simply put, this book is outdated. ... Read more

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Prepare athletic trainers to provide emergency treatment for acute sports-related injuries and illnesses in children, adolescents, and adults on and off the field. Noted practitioners and educators address all aspects of the evaluation and management of the full-range of medical problems that may be encountered. From emergency evaluation and airway management through the major categories of injury, this timely text meets a critical need in the classroom and in practice. ... Read more

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Helps students learn how to resolve the day-to-day problems they will face as practising trainers. This book presents 30 real-life scenarios that should improve critical thinking skills and facilitate classroom discussions. ... Read more

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This book offers practical advice, backed both by the author's personal experience as educators and coaches, and by empirical data, on how to create, implement and maintain a character based athletic program.The principles in Character and Coaching can be applied to any level of sports and to participants from all age groups, from elementary gym classes to college football. ... Read more

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This textbook discusses pharmacological aspects of common medical conditions that certified athletic trainers may encounter in their careers. Mangus (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) and Miller (Western Michigan University) describe the action of drugs for treating inflammation and pain, diabetes, cardiovascular arrhythmias, respiratory and gastroi ... Read more

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Pharmacology: Athletic Training
Book was in great condition, looked brand new. Delivered fast and process was extremely smooth. Very happy with purchase. ... Read more

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In 1900, American League president Ban Johnson convinced Connie Mack to managethe newly created Philadelphia Athletics, which had been strategically placed in the same market as the National League Phillies, making the City of Brotherly Love a two-team town. The Athletics thus began their 54-year history by attempting to split the city's fan base, perhaps the first indication of the team's tendency toward polarity and vicissitude. As Ed Fitzgerald put it, "Like the little girl with the curl on her forehead, when the Athletics were good, they were very very good. But when they were bad, horrid was hardly the word." The A's won nine pennants and five World Series, yet finished last 16 times; they raided the Phillies roster in 1901, and later stripped themselves in a couple of baseball's first great fire sales; they boasted the illustrious "$100,000 Infield," yet often were barely solvent: Mack had to borrow $400,000 from Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey to pull the A's through the Depression. This book, written by a long-time fan of the defunct team, relates the Athletics to the city of Philadelphia and tells the stories of the organization's signature seasons, from the championship years to the days when the A's were synonymous with baseball's cellar. The book also details the exploits of such Hall of Famers as Chief Bender, Eddie Collins, Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx, and Al Simmons, and considers the unique achievements and personality of Connie Mack, baseball's "Tall Tactician." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Athletics of Philadelphia Were Led by Connie Mack
What a delight to find a book on the Amazon site that concerns the professional
baseball life of my cherished Granduncle, Connie Mack.Allowing for personal
prejudice for this beloved gentleman, we enjoyed the book.More, it was my
pleasure to have been in his company on many occasions every summer when the
A's played the Red Sox at Fenway Park.Please read this book and enjoy this notable period in baseball history which is now, sadly, lost to us forever.
This is a book for those who love the history of baseball. ... Read more

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Current Topics in Musculoskeletal Medicine: A Case Study Approach is a comprehensive text that provides the athletic training student and professional a unique perspective in looking at musculoskeletal injuries in physically active and athletic populations.This user-friendly volume is divided into five sections, allowing the reader the ability to quickly find specific topics with greater ease. The sections include Head, Neck, & Spine; Shoulder; Elbow, Wrist, & Hand; Knee; and Foot, Ankle, & Lower Leg. Each case study provides in-depth literature on the topic with an extensive look into the mechanism of injury and differential diagnosis. In addition, treatment and rehabilitation considerations including the latest surgical techniques are presented.Inside you will also find the inclusion of documented outcomes such as strength and range of motion, along with a timeline for returning to athletic activity and subjective outcomes as conveyed by the athlete. An added benefit is an up-to-date reference list and bibliography to support treatment methods used in each individual case. ... Read more

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How is sport in contemporary society related to sport in earlier civilizations? Why is the expenditure of energy involved in sport considered exhilarating, while the equivalent expenditure of energy in other contexts can be dispiriting? David Sansone offers answers to these questions and advances a revolutionary thesis to account for the widespread phenomenon of sport. Drawing upon ethnological findings to demonstrate the ritual character of sport, he explores the relationship between ancient Greek sport and sacrificial ritual and traces elements common to both back to primitive origins. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"... a ritual ... and a sacrifice ..."
In creative works resulting from study, research,
insight, and explanation, one might point out two
particular types:the creative work of origination
and the creative work of synthesis.The originator
creates a work that is seen as being one of the prime,
essential works of theory and exposition around a
particular subject.Such a study is widely admired
and often quoted, sometimes favorably, sometimes in
argument against its ideas...or even jealousy of its
fame.
The creative work of synthesis is built around a
person's enthusiasm for a subject, their fervent
desire to know it to its core.They study it, live
it, breathe it.They want to explain it to others.
So they begin to research, or they have collected
research and quotes and source citations over time.
Then they decide to commit their own understanding
and insight about the subject using all of the
materials and sources and ideas which they have
shaped into a presentation of enlightenment.This

is the person's bold presentation of his synthesized
vision and creative interpretaion of the ideas and
justifications gathered from sources.
In this excellent work by David Sansone, we have
a very satisfying blend of research, source citation
(footnotes), personal insights, and a very obvious
outpouring of love of the subject and a desire to
understand it to its very depths and in multiple
aspects.
Sansone is a Professor of Classics at the University
of Illinois, Urbana (back cover).In his "Prelude"
to this work, Sansone says that he inherited a course
to teach which had been originated (ahh..) by William
Abbott Oldfather, "the American classical scholar."
The course was on the sports of ancient Greece and
Rome, and its purpose had been to "stem the tide of
moral and physical degeneration and to inculcate the
healthful lessons offered by the model of Greek
athletics." Sansone says that when he inherited the
course he hit the books to supplement his lack of
knowledge in some aspects of the subject. But he
believed a more sophisticated and rigorous approach
than Oldfather's was needed, for Oldfather had basically
seen sport as a practice for war carried out by "blond,
tall, muscular Nordics" who found war to be not only
a necessity but an amusement, a form of entertainment.
This approach did not satisfy Sansone, since he was
not Nordic by heritage.
Sansone says that when he started teaching the course
he had no idea of what sport was or why it was so avidly
pursued by so many.Over time, he says, he began to
notice "the intimate connection between Greek athletics
and sacrificial ritual" and it occurred to him "to
wonder whether the athlete was not in some sense
regarded [in ancient times] as a [type of] sacrificial
victim."
Sansone cites many sources in his footnotes, but
they are not overwhelming.The ideas and quotes he
uses are clear and compelling.What is of excellent

benefit is his clear, linear presentation of the
accumulated treasure of his own findings of the
evolution of sport from primitive times to the time
of the Greeks.
But Sansone does not merely stop there.He also
includes relevant comments and tie-ins with modern sport
and events.He has one very interesting section on
the practice of a particular ball sport among the
Cherokee Indians and uses that as a basis for relating
it to aspects of Greek sport. His source is "Cherokee

Ball-Play" (1890) by James Mooney, included in S. Culin's
_Games of the North American Indians_ (1907).
Sansone's other favorite source is a work by Karl
Meuli, "the great Swiss scholar," whose title is
"Griechische Opferbrauche."
Sansone's work is divided into two parts.Part One is
titled "The Genesis of Sport," and Part Two is titled
"The Nature of Greek Athletics."
In the first part, Sansone goes into the characteristics
of "ritual" and shows how those aspects relate to sport.
Then he does the same with the characteristics associated
with "sacrifice," and also relates them. There is a very
good "Selected Bibliography" which cites sources such
as W. Burkert, _Structure and History in Greek Mythology
and Ritual_; E.N. Gardiner, _Athletics of the Ancient
World_; J-P Guepin, _The Tragic Pardox: Myth and Ritual
in Greek Tragedy_; and H.A. Harris, Greek Athletes and
Athletics_.Perhaps the most provocative source is
W.E. Sweet, "Protection of the Genitals in Greek
Athletics," published in _Ancient World_ (1985).
This is a highly interesting, informative, and
enlightening work of synthesis.And is much more
valuable and useful than the "crock of self-evident
nonsense" or the "eccentric curiosity that happened
to contain a meticulous examination of the work of
others" that he feared it might be labeled as being.
Heck, I would have paid part of the price just for
the cover photo of my favorite piece of sculpture,
formerly known as "The Wrestlers," now titled as
"Pankratiasts in action" (Florence, Galleria degli
Uffizi) [back cover information].
* * * * * * * * * ... Read more

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This basic text is written for courses focusing on introductory care and prevention of athletic injuries in athletic training courses. It is designed to meet the needs of students studying to be coaches and teachers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Athletic injuries book
Back of the book was a little water damaged. but the book came within 3 days, very fast delivery

Wish I had it for class...
WELL...where to begin?!I am probably not qualified to even answer a review questinare for this product as I have yet to recieve it (about 25 days after ordering it!)Needless to say my class is almost over...so I guess I didn't even need the book after all.Thanks.

This needs better oversight
The 6th edition of this text was released in 2005, but should be roughly 608 pages. This is listed as such in another listing under the same title, though the softcover info for this text also seems to be incorrect. If this is the correct text the list price is also significantly higher for new texts.Double check before you buy ... though I tried and couldn't figure out how to do so. ... Read more

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