I seem to get hurt all the time doing the stupidest things. I dislocated my shoulder swimming fly, pulled my hamstrings in both legs stretching to far in yoga, broke my wrist when I fell snowboarding...stupid easily preventable things.
My mom says I get hurt because I'm trying to do things out of my scale because I'm not an athlete. Now I'm not in 100% amazing shape, but I consider myself to be an athlete. But how I can I become a better athlete if I keep getting hurt during my training? I don't often go out of the scope of what I feel I can accomplish, so it's discouraging to get hurt doing something that is easy for me.
So the question I pose, is how athletic do you think you are and how often do you get hurt? Do you think you get hurt less because you are an athlete? Do you think you would get hurt less if you were more athletic?
Kyra,
I am SOOOO clumsy! Don't even worry about it. I cannot even tell you how many totally STUPID ways I've hurt myself: getting off the chairlift (knee), waterskiing (falling down), playing in a pool (neck injury when someone fell on me), biking no hands = big owies and water on the knee, getting pushed over a barbed wire fence on a swing and shredding my back, just getting out of the pool tweaked my back once, motorcycle crash (into a hill!) burned leg, cheap shotted by a friend's police dog (bite to the leg), and the list goes on. Some of those things were, as you say, preventable, but I learned a lot of important lessons, too.
The best lesson being, since this is a swimming thread, that when I hurt my knee, I couldn't do breaststroke for awhile. I wore stretchcordz every day to practice and did all free and back. And in 1997, Federal Way, I did two lifetime bests in the 100 and 200 back! You just gotta look for the silver lining... ;)
In all honesty gymnasts tend to be the biggest clutzes I know ... back in the day I used to trip over bar tensions almost daily ... I sprained my ankle walking to beam (tripping over a mat) ... if injuries were related to athleticism you'd never hear of top athletes getting injured ...
have fun, live life with no regrets!
Skip,
I had to find a way to avoid walls. I just hooked up the stretchcordz to the starting block and did the workout with everybody else (I had my own lane, though). For example, I know my stroke counts, so if we were doing 50s I would take 28 strokes and then stop, while everybody else came into the wall. I usually finished first because I didn't have walls to deal with!!! If I were feeling feisty I'd add a few more strokes (extra credit!).
It was great because I could do everything but *** and turns. I did this for about 4 weeks. Worked out great for backstroke!
I remember my dad always yelling at me for getting hurt doing "rinky-dink" things when I should have been concentrating on the sport/season at hand.
May be so, but looking back; I'd rather have the memories and experiences that come from trying new things and stretching the limits than sitting safely at home and aging gracefully.
Unless you are risking a scholarship (meaning your education) or your profession; I say live life every day.
You are an athlete as long as you are athletic!!
Great thread Kyra.
I think it depends on how you define athlete. The OED defines athlete as "a competetor in the physical exercise of...." and "one who by specialtraining and exercise has acquired great physical strength; one whose profession is to exhibit feats of strength & activity..." It also defines Athletic as "pertaining to an athlete" (go figure!).
Personally, I believe those to be flawed, as they speak of physical strength and not of flexability, endurance, or skill. One can be an athlete, IMO, without posessing a great deal of physical strength, but rather, having physical skill, a strong will, and desire to achieve.
Additionally, anyone can suffer injury. Even professional athletes suffer season ending, or career ending injuries, and they are highly skilled, highly trained, and worked out by professional trainers and coaches.
My husband threw out his back this weekend, but he wasn't doing anything stressful. He is not an athlete, but he does workout at the gym regularly. I threw my back out going down a waterslide, and I am (IMO) an athlete.
Are you more likely to get hurt if you jump into training (for any sport) without the proper technique and conditioning, yes, but not absolutely. It's also possible that a triatlete that trains every day could break an ankle in a neighborhood softball game.
Accidents and injuries happen. Steps can be taken to minimze them (stretching, gradulay increasing training, focusing on technique, etc), but I wouldn't say you're a non-athlete just because you happen to get hurt. Maybe you just go at things too hard, too fast.
Kyra,
So, what color collar will you be wearing at Nationals?!? So I can pick you out easier! Any special treats you like- Milk Bones, Beggin' Strips, Pig Earz? :p
Truthfully though. I do remember having a tough time adjusting to my height. I went from about 5'4"-5"6 in 7th grade. My feet also went from 8-9 1/2. My last stop growing was when I was 18- I grew about 1/2 inch. I'm 5'8" now and I guess I'm beginning the process of getting shorter... sigh.
Kyra, you are what we call in the legal world "an egg-shell head." You are just more prone to injury then others. That does NOT mean you are not an athlete, because you ARE. Not only are you an ATHLETE, but you are also a competitor and these are all things you should be very proud of.
I personally suffer from what I call the "Gerald Ford Syndrome." I am known to trip and fall fairly regularly. It's not bad if I have jeans on, but when I've got a suit on outside of the courthouse - yikes!!!! I also fall down the stairs fairly regularly, the last time resulted in a sprained thumb and a big knot on my head. ouch!
I personally suffer from what I call the "Gerald Ford Syndrome." I am known to trip and fall fairly regularly. It's not bad if I have jeans on, but when I've got a suit on outside of the courthouse - yikes!!!! I also fall down the stairs fairly regularly, the last time resulted in a sprained thumb and a big knot on my head. ouch!
I tend to fall a lot too....my mom was getting scared I had a brain tumor I fell so much. :laugh2:
Thanks everyone for the responses. Its nice to know I"m not the only one... :D
Athletes get hurt more than non athletes....alot more, and more severely. Especially contact sports.
As far ass swimming goes, many times, the one who excels is the one who can train without injury, or trains correctly through an injury.
I'm guessing you were tired when you had a shoulder problem in the fly? Sometimes you gotta know when to dump it. Your body usually gives you one warning....an instability, wobble, whatever, you gotta listen to it, especially in practice, know what it is, and adjust accordingly.
