According to Oprah Winfrey, “Passion is energy. Feel the energy that comes from focusing on what excites you.” This quote simply means that being passionate about something brings so much energy. It is interesting to see the expression on people’s faces when I tell them that I am studying Kinesiology. As a kinesiology major, I realized that many people chose this major because of their passion to help others and the many career paths they could take with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. The long list of career opportunities in this field includes Athletic Trainer, Physical Therapist, Personal Trainer, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Exercise Physiologist and Sports Management just to mention a few. The easiest way to grow in this industry is by networking and a number of Kinesiology organizations make networking a possibility.
First of all, there are a number of organizations that promote and enhance Kinesiology in their own unique ways. One of the organizations is the American Kinesiology Association (AKA) that defines Kinesiology as “an academic discipline, which involves the study of physical activity and its impact on health, society and quality of life.”(American Kinesiology Association, 2018). The mission of this association (AKA) is to promote Kinesiology internationally /nationally and provide resource materials, leadership and educational opportunities. They also, support member departments in any way they can especially at Universities. Another organization that offers a full-circle view of Kinesiology is the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The main goal of the ACSM is to ensure everyone is living a healthy life across the globe with a mission of taking scientific research to the next level. Also, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) are a nonprofit organization that is committed to providing the world with amazing strength and conditioning professionals. The NSCA spreads research-based knowledge by conducting one of the industry-leading certifications, research journals, career growth opportunities and continuing education credits.
Neil Armstrong once said, “Research is creating new knowledge.” Majority of the knowledge in the field of Kinesiology is acquired through research. Research in kinesiology is done in several methods to obtain both qualitative and quantitative data. First, qualitative data is collected through interviews, observations and open-ended surveys. Interviews are usually structured, semi-structured or unstructured. Structured interviews help to confirm a theory by giving all participants the same questions in the same order. Semi-structured interviews are the most common way for data collection because all participants are asked about broad topics that may focus on specific areas. The unstructured interviews are quite flexible and involve informal conversations. Simply observing someone or something helps to obtain qualitative data. Open-ended surveys have no limits and that makes it easy for respondents to share their thoughts.
Quantitative data on the other hand, aims to discover the relationships between variables. The common research methods include randomized controlled trials, meta-analysis as well as pilot studies. Researchers use the qualitative or quantitive methods based on the goal of the research.
In addition to the above, the major publications in Kinesiology provide us with more knowledge. The popular journals include the American Journal of Sports Medicine, which comprises of articles that focus on the causes and effects of injury. These articles are written specifically for orthopedic surgeons who specialize in sports medicine, physicians, physical therapists and athletic trainers. The American College of Sports Medicine also published the ACSM Health and Fitness Journal to equip fitness instructors, personal trainers and other health professionals with the skills needed to be successful in the industry. This journal covers all aspects of exercise science and current topics of interest in the industry. Another important journal is the Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly Journal of peer-reviewed research in adapted physical activity. This journal encourages diversity of topics and provides current scholarly inquiry related to physical activity for individuals with disability. The mission of this journal is to encourage physical activity in people with disability.
It is very essential for students in the field of Kinesiology to learn how to use the APA format to cite papers. As the typical citation style used in Kinesiology research articles or journals are the American Psychological Association (APA) format. Most of the students that graduate with a Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology like to further their education and learning how to cite papers using the APA format will help them excel in graduate school when writing research papers.
There has been an active discussion going on around the world, especially on Social Media. The recent discussion is about High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). A training session that involves using maximum effort for about 20-90 seconds followed by low-intensity recovery. It is the biggest fitness trend now, and thousands of fitness professionals are using HIIT. A typical session lasts for about 30 minutes. There has been a debate about the effectiveness of HIIT and current research shows that HIIT is very beneficial and more people are being encouraged to participate in High Intensity Interval Training. Also, there have been numerous discussions about bone health in the youth. Many people in the fitness industry agree that strength training as well as weight bearing exercises in the youth will go a long way to prevent osteoporosis during their old age. The youth is being encouraged to participate in strength training programs now to reap the benefits later. On the other hand, people are saying that strength training will result in stunted growth so they should refrain from such exercise. The benefits outweigh the risks involved.
Knowing how knowledge is generated in the field of Kinesiology will help you to be successful. To rise above others, it is important to focus on reading articles, research papers and shadowing professionals who have years of experience to attain more knowledge and grow in the field.
In conclusion, you will be very successful in this field if you know exactly what you want to do with your major after you graduate. I hope this guide has given you insight into what Kinesiology entails. Wishing you the very best in all your endeavors.
...(download the rest of the essay above)