in Disney's hit musical Aladdin actors
on Broadway on tour any companies around
the world bring down the house nightly
playing the role of the fast-talking
fun-loving genie but in addition to
being world-class singers dancers to
play this role these actors also have to
be exceptional athletes so to find out
what it takes to pull off this
performance the ESPN sports science team
was granted unprecedented access to a
genie on Broadway major Adam now when
you're performing friend like me talk to
me about how physically demanding it is
well it's probably the best cardio
workout I've ever had it feels like
CrossFit to be honest before a recent
sold-out show we wired up major with a
state-of-the-art sensor called the bio
harness this will help us analyze his
physical exertion by measuring his
respiratory rate heart rate and
movements during the performance now in
his dressing room before the show major
averages about 14 breaths per minute in
his heart rate sits at about 73 beats
per minute but as he makes his way
backstage our sensors show his heart
rate and breathing rate start to climb
as your heart's starting to race
definitely
definitely starting to park it knows
that we're about to do something big
although he's been performing for years
the anticipation of being in front of
1,700 strangers still causes his body to
release adrenaline this chemical
increases oxygen and blood flow to the
muscles and it might be why at this
point his breathing rate spikes by 10
breaths per minute and his heart rate
reaches 155 beats per minute but just
moments before he climbs into the tube
that will lift him up to the stage
he gets his nerves under control using
what's called diaphragmatic breathing
this technique increases blood flow back
to the heart and in under 60 seconds it
helps lower his heart rate by 30 beats
per minute now major and the other
actors who portray genie make it look
effortless but every genie will tell you
that this roll is a workout that's the
broad way we're covered all told during
friend like me our sensors tracked
nearly 900 steps that translates to a
distance about the length of 23 NBA
basketball courts not surprisingly
studies have shown average humans have
trouble talking when they're exercising
at about 90 percent of their max heart
rate but incredibly
expertly trained actor like major can
perform more than half of a friend like
me at over 92 percent of his max and
their average heart rate can still beat
at more than 80 percent of their max
that's a greater physical exertion than
we'd expect to see from a runner during
an actual marathon ESPN Sports Science
backstage at Disney's Aladdin on
Broadway I'm John Brenkus
[Applause]