r/Kinesiology

4K archived posts · Dec 2012 – Sep 2026

Information Hub for Aspiring/Current Kinesiologists

r/Kinesiology

Kinesiology is the scientific study that encompasses bio-mechanical, physiological and psychological mechanisms in human or non-human movement.

Created Oct 14, 2012

12KMembers (last snapshot)

4KArchived posts

What is Kinesiology? Quite simply, it's the study of human (or even animal) movement. Depending on who you ask, this movement has to be goal-directed, or it can simply be all types of movement.

What sort of fields are included in Kinesiology? Kinesiology contains subdisciplines such as biomechanics, exercise physiology, motor development and learning and sports history, psychology and philosophy. Kinesiology is also a popular degree to have for people interested in going into athletic development fields such as coaching, personal training, and future education.

So Kinesiology seems pretty sports-oriented. Isn't it just the same as Phys. Ed.? Yes and no. Physical Education and Kinesiology are quite similar, but they're also different. Physical Education involves educating people about sports and exercise -- kinesiologists can do that. Whereas Physical Education focuses solely on the practical aspects of movement with respect to exercise, Kinesiology looks at the practical and theoretical aspects of all types of movement, not just exercise. Somebody with a degree in Physical Education may have spent much of their coursework in University or College learning how best to play a sport and being marked for their form; however, a Kinesiologist is often required to learn about the subdisciplines of kinesiology (listed above) and may not necessarily take courses in sports as part of the required curriculum. Many Kinesiologists do not even have to be involved with any sports but rather other aspects of movement, such as motor control.

So what's the point of this subreddit? Spreading information, mostly. Many people don't even know what Kinesiology is, and much of the current and future literature in Kinesiology is relevant to our everyday lives. This subreddit hopes to allow people to ask questions about kinesiology and to allow kinesiologists to discuss and share current research in which they and/or others are involved.

How is this subreddit different than r/weightroom, r/fitness, or r/advancedfitness? r/kinesiology aims at more of the meta side of the fitness world. While some of our content will overlap, you won't see posts/links for "How do I increase my 1RM?" or "I want to get in shape." These questions can already be answered by those other subreddits (and read their FAQ's before you post!). Questions and discussion here will pertain to the exercise field as a student or professional and will be expected to maintain an appropriate academic level.

Other communities

Reddit Rebuilt is an independent, non-commercial archive and is not affiliated with Reddit, Inc. Content belongs to its original authors.