Hi Carol,
Just trying to give you a hard time here, heh heh. :) (Also
speaking up for a lot of my friends and loved ones that would be a
little insulted by your not-extremely-supportive-of-their-lifestyle
comments).
>> I wouldn't call the people I'm talking about ath-
>> letes at all.
Okay, so don't call them athletes. Call them "gym"thletes. But why
say anything mean? (as in "sweat monsters") You've got to admit,
that's not the MOST flattering name you could have called them.
>> In my mind, athletes are at a higher level altogether
>> than the legions of lycra.
Hey! C'mon now! Lycra is an okay textile! We don't ALL have to wear
organic natural cotton to be okay when we excercise, now do we?
>> An athlete is someone who is dedicated
>> and educated about their sport and what it takes to do well in it,
>> including nutrition.
So in other words, most all of the pro ball players who eat
cheeseburgers aren't athletes? And how in the world am I supposed
tbe able to tell who's "dedicated and educated" enough to merit
being called an athlete? This is sounding a little rigid here, I'm a
thinkin'.
Does this definition you've got here mean folks in the gym aren't
athletes? Geez - our gym happens to have a very large number of
competitive bodybuilders and powerlifters (male and female),
semi-pro ball players, competitive tennis players (we have two giant
bubbles), various local high-school sports teams training en masse
several nights of the week, wrestlers, runners, cyclists, kayakers,
quite a few ex-pro basketball and baseball players, competitive
raquetball players, several basketball leagues that compete on the
county level, on and on. I'm pretty certain most of these people
would consider themselves athletes, if asked!! I'm not sure where
you got YOUR personal definition of the word, but it's evidently
uniquely your own. ;^ Or I'm thinking maybe you might not actually
know too many of the people in your gym, or something.
>> I don't consider "weekend warriors" athletes
>> by any means.
On what basis? Who are the "weekend warriors" that YOU know? The
folks that _I_ know who run, play ball, kayak, bike, or whatever, on
the weekends, do it that way because that's the best they can do to
get in the activities that they love, around their work and other
life commitments. I don't think it's respectful or understanding to
criticize these people, or call them a deroggatory name ("weekend
warrior?").
If you have ever tried to include excercise and physical activity in
YOUR life, then you must surely know, that the HARDEST BY FAR part
of accomplishing this, is MAKING THE TIME FOR IT.
It doesn't make any sense to criticize people for squeezing it in
however they can.
>> I go to a gym myself, and I think I'm pretty well educated
>> about it, but that doesn't qualify me to be called an athlete. I and
>> most of the folks I meet at the gym are exercisers, but not athletes.
Maybe you're going to an "excercisers' " gym.
Or maybe you should start thinking of yourself as an athlete, try
that identity on for a while. :)
Love Liza
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[log in to unmask] (Liza May)
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