Over the weekend I got the opportunity to say goodbye to my high school boys Bible study group that I have been leading since six grade. Their idea of a “goodbye party” was to go out and play a little paintball. I grew up playing paintball with my friends so it was a little nostalgic to think about playing again and if I’m being honest I was pretty excited about it. I know that likely makes me a 15-year-old but I’m absolutely okay with that.
We played for four hours and had a blast. While I would like to say I came out on the better end of the deal I just don’t think the amount of bruises on my body would confirm that. However, the point of this blog post is not to talk about how fun paintball is or how much fun I had shooting a bunch of tenth-grade boys. The point of this blog post is to talk about the still lingering aftereffects of a four hour game of paintball.
Monday I woke up sore in my hamstrings and hips. I honestly couldn’t figure out why but as the day progressed and my soreness progressed it dawned on me. I had not played a sport that required multiple planes of movement and different dimensions of athleticism in a really long time. Weightlifting had become my sole source for athletic activity and I had only been working in the anatomical planes required for Olympic weightlifting. Running, jumping, diving, ducking, and all involved in pretend, childish, combat maneuvers were all movements I had not done in a long time.
As the day progressed, even today, different muscle groups of my body got more sore than they had in a long time. Different parts of my hamstrings were sensitive to the touch, and not the parts of my hamstrings that get sore when I do clean pulls. My hip flexors hurt. My ankles were tight. Crazy soreness that I had no idea would come from a simple game of paintball. This weekend brings me to a really important point. Good athletes play things! If you go back and look at the old Polish weightlifting videos you will see them playing volleyball and basketball and sports OTHER than weightlifting. How often do you do that? It’s clear I need to do that more!
Play things! The development of multiple anatomical planes and basic general physical preparedness not only keeps us in shape but makes us better weightlifters and Crossfitters. It’s important for your full development as an athlete to not be so narrow-focused and pigeon-holed. Take one of your rest days and pick a sport and go play it. Change sports every week and go play. If for nothing else to prevent the soreness that will ensue should you have to run from a paintball one day.