A sports medicine specialist who visited NIU last week tested students to collect data which he will incorporate into his international fitness study.

George Jurcisin tested members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity Thursday and Friday in the Gabel Hall weight room. Jurcisin and two colleagues, James Rimmer, NIU assistant professor of physical education, and 1984 Olympic consultant Robert Martin, have devised a program designed to prevent injury and improve body alignment.

The idea of the Gravity Fitness Test is described as, “The value of motion/movement in exercise depends upon the posture the body is in at the time the exercise is performed.” The program is composed of six relatively easy postures which work to counteract gravity. Jurcisin also recommends a cardiovascular endurance exercise in addition to the postures.

“If you wake up in the morning and measure your height, and then again at the end of the day, you’ll be shorter,” Jurcisin said. This is due to the compression of the spine. “For any exercise to be of value, the posture is important,” he added.

The three doctors are working on a study involving elementary school students in the United States and Czechoslovakia which will utilize the Cum Gravity test. Jurcisin was visiting relatives in Czechoslovakia when a school principal who had heard of his work asked Jurcisin to test the fitness of the pupils. Jurcisin plans to test American children in Ohio and return to Czechoslovakia to collect more data.

Jurcisin, who holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in physical education, expressed concern about the fitness level of American children and referred to the findings of a study conducted by the 1986 President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. George Allen, chairman of the council, said U.S. children were “last place in physical fitness.”

Jurcisin believes this is due to the emphasis on sports, competition and winning and a disregard for the simple principles of fitness. He also pointed out that U.S. physical fitness classes are only held an average of once a week, but some children are pushed in organized sports at an early age. This emphasizes rules and competition and overlooks fitness for the average child, he said.

The international study will compare children ages eight, 11 and 14 who participate in group sports five times per week versus children who use the fitness test program the same number of times. “Most Europeans put the emphasis on training at an early age, rather than on winning,” said Jurcisin.

Duane Cowley, physical education specialist for Lincoln and Clinton Rosette elementary schools, agreed that children lack adequate physical education. Cowley said kindergarten through fourth grades have P.E. class five times every two weeks for 20 minutes, while fifth through eigth grades have class every day for 40 minutes.

Cowley said it is very rare for students to have P.E. class every day. “The situation varies from school district to school district, but I agree that the children do not have enough time.”

In addition to the elementary school study, Jurcisin is working with the members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity to gain data for his study. He plans to compare the NIU chapter with the Ohio State University chapter.

“I don’t want the ‘Mr. America’,” said Jurcisin, stressing that he is interested in getting a random sample of students, not just the physically elite.

The fraternity members are participating with the study as a training exercise and warm-up for the tug of war contest later this month. In the past, fraternity members have concentrated on weight training and have had injury problems.

Sig Ep member Thor Peplow said, “They (the participants) get big, but they just don’t have the flexibility.” Three other members tested by Jurcisin agreed they lack leg flexibility and cardiovascular endurance. Member Lou Avvisati said the fraternity would stick with the program. “I think it’ll be pretty helpful.”