I bashed athleticism a bit in my last post (mostly to show what I won’t be focusing on with this site), but I want to set the record straight and say that sports and physical competitions are an important part of society and may still be something you want to look into.
Me, Marathoner
I used to be a marathon runner until I sustained a knee injury during training which put and abrupt end to my glory days. I still can’t run much further than a 5K without getting some serious pain, and I know my knee will never be the same again. (As I said, becoming an athlete is a great way to get sick and/or injured.) But do you think I would have never started running if I knew this was going to happen?
Hell no.
Running those marathons are among the things I am most proud of accomplishing. I would never give back the sense of achievement, the comraderie, even the long hours pounding the pavement in order to have my knee back to 100%.
Although being an athlete gives you no more health benefits than being fit (and probably gives you less), the benefits of becoming an athlete sometimes outweigh the risks of attempting it.
Why You SHOULD Become an Athlete
My buddy Dave over at Not Your Average Fitness Tips made a great comment on my post on “The Core Four” reasons you need to get in shape. He noted that I didn’t mention the importance of accomplishment. And ya know what? He’s right! (BTW, Dave is a fellow working-out-at-home-and-in-great-shape dude, check out his post on how to do a prison workout routine.)
I believe that the reason that people started on the road towards “athleticism” rather than “fitness” is for the sense of self-accomplishment it gives them. I know how proud I am of the marathons I ran and the times I finished in. If you have a natural physical gift, or you just LOVE doing something, then by all means make it your goal to keep improving on that!
Definite Major Purpose
In Napoleon Hill’s classic book “Think and Grow Rich,” he outlined a specific plan to getting what you want out of life: simply make it your single, unwavering goal to do so and everything else will fall into place. If you start now and don’t deviate, you can make whatever you want a reality.
I believe that every man needs to have a Definite Major Purpose in life. It’s the thing that gets you excited when you get out of bed in the morning. It’s what keeps you going when life’s got you down. It’s what you want everyone to remember you for long after you have passed on.
Whether your purpose is physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual (or a mixture of all four), it’s gotta be there. And if you decide that athletic achievement is YOUR purpose, then by all means have at it! Especially if you are naturally gifted in athletics.
However, since self-accomplishment, as thrilling as it is, is more closely related to athleticism than fitness, I will be downplaying it on this site. But that doesn’t mean you have to!
Athletics For the Rest of Us
So what about you and me and everyone else we know? The 9-to-5ers, the happy-hour goers, the people whose Definite Major Purpose lies, not in athletics, but somewhere else? Should we abandon sports forever?
Absolutely not.
Even if your main goals in life lie elsewhere, I think it is important to at least have a physical “hobby.” Maybe you get together with friends and play Ultimate every weekend, or perhaps you like to go on SCUBA diving expeditions. When I was living in the frozen wilderness of Minnesota I used to ski quite a bit. Now that I’m out in SoCal, I’m saving my pennies for the equipment and lessons to learn how to surf.
While you may not want to look up to athletes as health role models and imitate their training and diets, having something physical you do in your spare time that you can push yourself to get better and better can have enormous benefits on your well-being. Just be smart, don’t risk doing any long-term damage.
And trust me, the sense of self-accomplishment is beyond anything you can imagine.
Now’s Your Turn…
What are your favorite non-gym related, “just for fun” athletic pursuits? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
I'm a science geek, food lover, and wannabe surfer.
{ 7 comments }
Darrin,
Good to see the other side of athleticism highlighting. You were right, that would have been one long post all together. Excellent points. Thanks for the shout out too!
Dave
Darrin,
Great follow up post to the last one. I play soccer and the teamwork and sense of accomplishment are two of the things that make it really enjoyable. Individual sports are great also. I’ve never run a marathon, but running a 15k the entire way is one of the achievements I’m most proud of to this day.
Alykhan
@Dave:
It’s your fault! Your stuff’s too good not to link to! 🙂
@Alykhan:
Glad to show you the other side of the coin here. Just because I’m not going to be focusing on something here doesn’t mean it’s unimportant.
Hey Darrin, I was never an athlete so I can truly relate to this post in a way that I still found ways to stay active and have a physical hobby. First on my list is salsa dancing which is a lot of fun. Then, I always find ways to enjoy my workouts and just have fun. The key thing is to not think about it as “work.” I’m not very coordinated in terms of playing sports so working out and doing kettlebell work is as close to being an athlete as I would get 🙂
Anna
@Anna:
I agree, kettlebells are WAY too much fun compared to what most people think of when they try to “exercise!”
This is a great post! Your websites looking good mate! I agree with you on the fact that, if you put your mind to something, its possible to make it happen and make it become a reality, the more you think of an idea, the more it grows, and the more willing you are to do it, this is like mental programming, you programme your mind to work to what you really want in life :)…keep up the good work Darrin!
@Hazman:
Thanks buddy! This is a really powerful tool that you can apply to almost ANYTHING in your life.
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