The Selfish Gene as a Possible Driving Force Behind HIIT

Abstract

Purpose: High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a training method aimed at increasing the fitness of individuals. It is based on a combination of periods in which high-intensity alternate with low-intensity exercise or passive rest. The topic of this paper is a reflection on the benefits and risks of HIIT health use in recreational athletes. We investigate humans' conscious and unconscious motivations for choosing this specific method in the philosophical discourse. Problem: HIIT is a method that, in some ways and with particular approaches, strongly reflects the imperative of the postmodern age - to get as much as possible, as quickly as possible. Martin Heidegger perceives three fundamental existentials in the context of temporality – historicity, everydayness, and within-time-ness. Here conscious motivation may be linked to the temporal characteristic of human being. As Richard Dawkins presents, unconscious motivation may be related to the application of the selfish gene theory. The philosophical approach to the problem: The Heideggerian concept of temporality leads us to research the authenticity and inauthenticity of the Dasein phenomenon. Some features of motivation for applying HIIT can be examined as inauthentic forms of being. In focusing on possible elements of unconscious motivation, the concept of evolutionary biology, namely Dawkins's theory of the selfish gene, provides a unique platform. It is primarily (a human) effort to spread genes. Here, in connection with HIIT, we build on the concepts of replicator and vehicle and deal with the basic selection unit of evolution and its form. Conclusions: HIIT presents an exciting training method that is examined in the context of effectivity of sports training, social benefits, or health aspects. Here we would like to offer the HIIT concept as the reflection of philosophical (mainly ontological, partly ethical) discourse.