Am I...an athlete?

LenGray

Hey all! The reason why I'm posting is that I've began to notice that I'm thinking of my weight loss in terms of 'training'. Right now, my (awesome!) gym group and I are planning to go rock climbing at a fancy gym in mid-October and I'm comparing my food and fitness choices in comparison to that ('will this help me achieve my rock climbing goal or not?'). I'm also wanting to run a 5k in November (virtually or in-person) and have the same mindset/ thought process.

Yesterday, I was talking to a friend of mine who's wanting to lose some inches. I asked her what she's training toward and she sounded a bit confused. So, I asked what makes her excited to get fit, what goal is she going toward, and named off a few of my own long-term goals.

Run a marathon. Participate in a triathlon. Climb a mountain. Learn to scuba dive. Learn a martial art.

And she was quiet for a moment and then said, "Sara, regular people don't have those kinds of goals." I texted my gym group about it and they agreed-- they also have no such goals.

But I do. What's more, thinking of goals like that seems to be the only way to 'motivate' myself to lose weight. So I got thinking about who might have those kinds of goals and I realized that athletes think that way. So...does that mean I'm athletic? Or athlete-minded, at the very least? Or is this just a fairly common way of thinking when losing a large amount of weight because we realize what an amazing gift an active lifestyle is?

SuzySunshine99

I would disagree with your friend who says that "regular people" don't have the kinds of goals that you describe.

I think it depends on a person's personality as far as what kinds of goals those are. Your goals are kind of "event based"...you have particular activities that you want to do, some with specific dates already attached. That's what motivates you, and that's great.

For others, the goals might be less specific and harder to put into words. Maybe just to feel better, look better, have more self-confidence, be stronger. Goals like this are more fluid...they don't necessarily have an "I did it!" moment like you'd feel at the end of a race or at the summit of a mountain.

I don't think it has anything to do with being an athlete or not, I think it's just realizing where you can find you motivation, which is pretty personal.

LenGray

That's a really great point! For me, event-based goals are much more effective, because otherwise I lose focus and let my efforts slide in favor of other (usually event-based) activities. I'll have to keep that in mind next time I talk to my friend, since I'd hate to discourage her.

breefoshee

I don't know if "Athlete" is defined by a mindset... or if it is defined by ability.

Whatever you call it, I am definitely a goal-getter lol. I compete with myself constantly. The only reason I run is because I want to beat my time from last time or at least match it.

I think my problem is that I LOVEEEEE to set goals and make plans, but I don't always carry them out.

LenGray

Haha, in my case it would definitely be a mindset thing! I still have a really long way to go but I'm really excited to see what will happen on my way there though ;p I'm also a 'goal-getter' (love that phrase!) and trying to be much better about carrying out my goals through reflection of whether those things are actually what I want. I think for the most part, I really enjoy challenging myself and maybe that's just being reflected in my weight loss journey as well.

Onedaywriter

I say you are definitely an athlete! See definition below. Sounds like you are trained or training in several activities that qualify!!

I feel like thinking of yourself as an athlete will help get your mind around who you are as a healthy person. Clearly, being an athlete is a subset of the general population, and it seems to be something many people aspire to. You are there!!

From Merriam-Webster
Definition:
1 : a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina

NovusDies

Interesting discussion. What I do, I do in partial support (perhaps training) for outdoor activities like hiking. I am wanting to do more and more single day hikes with the goal of a 2 day hike next Spring and hopefully more days next Fall.

That is not the only activity I am trying to support though and increasing fitness is always a daily goal.

janejellyroll

It sounds like you're an athlete! And lots of regular people are.

The people you see out there running marathons or climbing mountains or paddleboarding or doing century bike rides . . . most of us aren't paid to do it. We don't have sponsorships. We're just doing it because we love it and the rest of the time we're just doing the same regular stuff everyone does.

LenGray

@Onedaywriter, Thanks! By that definition, I definitely would be an athlete! And you made a really great point. Since I've never been at a healthy weight in a healthy way, thinking of myself as an athlete could be an effective way for me to 'visualize' what that lifestyle would look like for me

@NovusDies, That sounds like a really fantastic goal!

@janejellyroll, Thanks so much It really tickled me to think that I might be an athlete, because I love being active and doing things but very few people think of me as 'athletic' because of my excess weight. It sounds like I should just lean into the idea of it and let it propel my progress

Shortgirlrunning

I disagree. I think lots of regular people have those types of goals. I’m training for my second half-marathon right now and definitely don’t consider myself an athlete. Even with the dictionary definition above - what is “trained” or “skilled” because there’s huge variations in what that could mean. I just generally think of athletes being at the top, not just everyone doing it.

NovusDies

LenGray wrote: »

@Onedaywriter, Thanks! By that definition, I definitely would be an athlete! And you made a really great point. Since I've never been at a healthy weight in a healthy way, thinking of myself as an athlete could be an effective way for me to 'visualize' what that lifestyle would look like for me

@NovusDies, That sounds like a really fantastic goal!

@janejellyroll, Thanks so much It really tickled me to think that I might be an athlete, because I love being active and doing things but very few people think of me as 'athletic' because of my excess weight. It sounds like I should just lean into the idea of it and let it propel my progress

You are learning one of your new identities and it is a VERY compelling force. You be until you are. If you choose to be athletic you be an athlete mentally until your physical self is aligned with it. Habits that support this endeavor are formed much easier because they support who you are inside.

Over time you may or may not feel like this adjective has enough emotional connection for you. If it does not then refine it further. You can choose to make this identity an actual person, a fictional person, or a mixture of people. The idea is that when you start exercising/training you become that person. Like you, I am currently using adjectives because they seem to be working for me so I haven't felt the need to change anything yet.

4legsRbetterthan2

SuzySunshine99 wrote: »

I would disagree with your friend who says that "regular people" don't have the kinds of goals that you describe.

My first thought too!

Alot of my weight loss journey has been linked to the desire to run a half marathon, or then to get better times.

Maybe I am less normal that I think though, who knows? *shurg*

And I really think having an exercise based goal makes exercise more fun and easy. I find without some sort of structure or plan or sense of achievement along the way its kinda of just blah.

AliNouveau

To me an athlete is someone who trains and keeps a generally high level of physical fitness. Someone who can basically just walk into a sporty setting and participate.

I grew up an athlete. I trained at least 4 hours a day and competed at a high level in my sport. I find it easy to fall into that athletic minded thinking and find I'm happiest when challenging my body.

I would say you are.becoming fitness minded. To be an athlete means to me that it's basically your job. You can be athletic but to be an athlete to me means you are training and competing at a specific level. But I come at this from a very different perspective having been and done all this. To be an athlete is hard work

LenGray

@Shortgirlrunning, I definitely get where you're coming from. I think, for me, thinking of my efforts as 'training towards ___' just seems really helpful to me and that was the only descriptor that I felt matched my approach and how I view my current journey. Also, I thought it was interesting because even though plenty of regular people may feel that way, my current support network doesn't seem to

@NovusDies, Thank you! That's the perfect way of putting it ^_^ Considering myself an 'athlete' or athletic person really seems to bring out the best in me. I push myself harder in workouts, get better nutrition, care for myself better, and just generally seem to have a better mindset and vision of who I want to be. Rather than being something I have to push myself to do, these habits seem to flow a lot easier when I have that mindset!

@4legsRbetterthan2, It absolutely does! I seem to get distracted easily if I don't have a concrete goal to focus on... hopefully, that just means that I'll do increasingly interesting and fun things

deputy_randolph

I'm a "regular" person and competed in 4 powerlifting meets.

Ok so maybe, you won't climb Mt. Everest (that's probably "elite" level), but that doesn't mean you can't go to a "regular" mountain and climb that. You may not run in the Olympics, but that doesn't mean that you can't participate in a 5k, then 10k, etc.

I've found that nay-sayers are short-term thinkers that don't plan long-term, so they don't understand the incremental steps that it takes to accomplish long-term goals. Accomplishing a long-term goal doesn't happen overnight (many nay-sayers seek immediate gratification)...they say, "you can't do that!" b/c they see the end results only...not the process.

AnnPT77

Anyone who is working sincerely on improving exercise-ish physical skills and abilities is "an athlete".

"Athlete" and "regular person" are not mutually exclusive things. Most athletes are regular people, and some regular people are athletes. (I actually know some current and former Olympic athletes. Trust me, they're regular people. 😉 They would be taken aback if we said they weren't.)

I was given two great gifts by my first coach, a woman who formed a breast cancer survivors rowing team that I joined as an initial member, obese and a complete novice, at age 46, after being pretty inactive most of my adult life.

One was that when she referred to us, a bunch of mostly-overweight middle-aged women who were not very competent but were trying to improve, she called us "my athletes" or just "athletes", from the very beginning.

When she saw that we were skeptical, she asked us to write down 3 things that would need to happen in order for each of us to think of herself as "an athlete" - not necessarily a total champion, but just deserving of that term. I won't go into everything I wrote down, but it included things like "finish a race 'in the pack'". Eventually, all of the things on my list happened, and I didn't even realize it until I ran across that piece of paper later . . . but by that time, I actually did think of myself as "an athlete" . . . maybe a tiny baby aspirational one, but an athlete nonetheless.

There are too many people, here and elsewhere, saying "I'm not an athlete, but . . . . ". They're athletes. So are you.

Onedaywriter

Something to think about regarding “regular people.”

According to the US dept of Health and Human services:
“Less than 5% of adults participate in 30 minutes of physical activity each day; only one in three adults receive the recommended amount of physical activity each week.” Please note that their “recommended amount” is 150 minutes/week.

Really interesting other info here as well:
https://www.hhs.gov/fitness/resource-center/facts-and-statistics/index.html

RockingWithLJ

Your friend's normal is what she knows. Your normal is what you know.
You have adapted to an active lifestyle. If youre questioning whether or not youre an athlete then id say no.

littlegreenparrot1

I'd say you are what you choose to be. Self talk is important and helps us to achieve our goals.

I'm a runner, my weight, my pace, whether I race or not are irrelevant. If I choose to do it regularly and have targets that relate to it, then I am. Other people's opinion of that is irrelevant to me.
It makes me sad when others who do the same don't have the confidence to identify themselves as such, to me it seems they are putting themselves down and not owning the work they put in.

I'd lean in, embrace this new part of your identity. Enjoy the process, the progress, and the achievement 😃

Womona

I’d consider you and athlete! If you’re doing anything to improve your speed, flexibility, stamina, strength, points off your golf score, points on your bowling score etc. you’re an athlete! Dancers are athletes too- and enough credit is not given to them.

Some people can work out without any end goal in mind. I’m like you, I can’t just work out to work out. I need to train for my next 5K or to improve the results of my next tennis match. I lose motivation if I don’t have an upcoming event I want to get better for. You don’t need to be particularly good at your event to be considered an athlete!