I wanted to elaborate on my blog written last night as to not sound as pompous and elite as it may have come across. I firmly believe that everyone can have the aspirations and desires of being an athlete. What I think many of you disliked about my post yesterday was a disagreement on terms and definition of athlete.
I define an athlete, regardless of what Websters or Oxford or whoever says, as a person competing either professionally or at the highest level of their chosen sport OR training in a similar manner as those at the highest level.
That means Lebron James, Rich Froning, Michael Phelps, Colin Burns, Lionel Messi, and Tiger Woods are folks I would define as elite level athletes. They may not be getting paid to do what they do BUT they are the most elite at the sport they have chosen. They arrange their lives around their training. They sacrifice much of their social lives, family desires and plans, and a lot of their dreams for the cause of their athletic career. These are what I would define as elite level athletes. Elite because they have achieved the highest level of their sport.
Those of you training with the same time commitment, sacrifice, and perspective are athletes. Your athletic goals trump your professional goals, your health goals, and for the time being your family goals.
All of that is not to dog on those of you who are not training with that level of commitment and sacrifice. Not all of us have that luxury and a day will come in EVERY athlete’s life that they no longer have the ability to train like that and with that level of commitment. At that point, fitness and general health will become the primary goal. And what better way to do that than stay healthy and fit by engaging in competition? What better way to keep a person healthy, who once was an athlete or has the mindset of an athlete, than by helping them do something active that they enjoy and can be passionate about?
A great example of this is Charles Barkley. No doubt back in the day this man was an athlete. His NBA accolades speak for themselves. I mean he was in Space Jam for crying out loud. He was an elite level athlete. NOW, things are a bit different.
Charles Barkley, for those who are unaware, does Crossfit at Crossfit North Atlanta. Don’t believe me. Check it out here. He does it because it gets him in shape, he enjoys the competition aspect of it, and what’s more is he trains hard. However, he does not train like an athlete would and would not consider himself an athlete any longer I bet. That’s the difference.
An athlete arranges their lives around training and competition. A exerciser does it to stay in shape and just happens to have a blast doing it.