5 Post-Career Athlete Exercise Fails

Although retirement is a very sad day in an elite athlete’s life, there is also an overwhelming amount of happiness that comes from knowing you can go to bed and wake up at any d*mn well time you please.  But after that period of overindulgence, sleep and laziness runs its course (typically lasts anywhere from one month to two years), your active nature begins to claw its way out.  Here are some activities you probably tried and how they made you feel:

1) Triathlons:  We have the hardest leg in the bag, right? Wrong.  Sure, swimming might be the hardest portion for 96% of the triathletes but can I get a courtesy ‘excuse me’ when they blow by me in the bike and run?  PS.  Are road bike tires even thick enough to be safe?

bike-triathlon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Running: Quickest way to get your sweat on real fast and be done with it. But wait, you want me to run multiple times a week? Sorry. Turns out these shins aren’t built to last on land.

Shins

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) Crossfit: Crossfit, it’s so IN right now.  But there’s something about overhead cleans that make my swimmer shoulders cringe.

Crossfit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) Co-ed Softball: “Weekly activity, this will be fun!”  However, did I even break a sweat?

co-ed softball

 

 

 

 

 

 

5) … And Swimming: You are finally ready to tackle the water. But then you realize, that strength, technique and powerful feel you’ve spent your whole life perfecting is gone!  You now have to log at least a 2,000 for it to even count as a “workout” and even still you feel like you should be doing more.

Solution: Accept your age, the time it takes for you to recover and the fact that your metabolism will never be as fast as it was when you were 16.  Can you get that swimmer physique back?  Absolutely.  Just know you’ll have to take a very different path to get there.  Put a goal on the calendar, any goal – 30 days of clean eating, body fat loss, local masters swim meet.  Athletes typically need something to work towards.  A little goal motivation will help you stay on track to a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle.  And it also helps to justify eating donuts.

Don’t get discouraged, stay active!

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saeedemad
9 years ago

🙂 Sweet images and speech

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