Scientists Debate Whether Dragon Ball Z's Gravity Training Would Work IRL

By Evan Valentine

Training has always been a big part of the lives of the Z Fighters throughout the franchise of Dragon Ball, but during the days of Dragon Ball Z, Goku and Vegeta would sometimes find themselves working out in environments wherein their respective gravity was increased by hundreds of times over. In an unbelievable turn of events, the official Dragon Ball Site has spoken to real scientists to see whether the gravity training from the Shonen series would work in real life for humans who don't have the ability to become Super Saiyans themselves.

The Official Twitter Account for Dragon Ball's Website shared the interview with scientist and teacher Masayuki Kato and Professor Yutaka Hirata about the idea of the gravity training of Goku and Vegeta being applied to the real world and whether humans could actually endure the intense sessions:

 Professor Hirata noted that not only would lower levels of training might actually work, but also the fact that he himself has experienced gravity that is twice that of our normal experiences, stating that it is no walk in the park:

"Maybe so, but I'm telling you 2G is no walk in the park. Your bodyweight suddenly doubles, so the strain is immense. Just lifting your arm to scratch your nose is a challenge, and if you don't sit with the right posture, your hips and back start to crumble. And worse, if you aren't careful, the blood flow to your brain slows and you can lose consciousness. We initially started the experiments with 3G, but if all the participants—including me—kept fainting, it would've been pretty hard to make any progress! So, we ended up dropping it to 2G."

When the scientists further discussed gravity training, they made note of the fact that if a human being were placed into a gravity training scenario wherein the environment was increased by hundreds of times, which became the norm for Goku and Vegeta, then a human's bones might begin breaking and death might be a serious consequence. 

Hirata also went into detail about the idea that living on a planet with higher gravity would make one stronger, with the interview on the site diving far further into the idea of gravity training:

"I think it's safe to say they would become different over time. If the place you live has stronger gravity, then you need more muscle mass to withstand it. I think beings raised in a high-gravity environment would naturally evolve to become stronger than those raised in a low-gravity one."

Would you try to training in higher gravity akin to the Z Fighters? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Dragon Ball. 

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