What does an athlete look like?

[Finisterre]

What does an athlete look like?  I don't know...I used to think of the traditional high level athlete look (think Olympic competitors) but that just doesn't cover it.  Plus I've spent so much time around circus people now that I know "fit" comes in a huge range of shapes and sizes.

 

I also don't subscribe to the idea that to be an athlete you have to compete.  The vast majority of circus people will never compete (because that's just not the way it works) but I wouldn't say that they are anything other than athletes.  Likewise, I would define ballet dancers as athletes.  I guess for me an athlete is somebody who actively trains in a physical pursuit with goals in mind - be that running, weightlifting, martial arts, circus, dance, parkour......  The goals don't have to be anything spectacular, but the drive to continually improve is.

[SjardisDead]

What do you get for being called an athlete? What does it take away from you if people say you aren't one?
In the end Athlet is a worthless word, an Athlet isn't even a job description, you make money being a professional soccer/ Rugby player, ballet dancer, stripper, Fitnesswhore model etc.

 

An "Athlet" can look like whatever he wants to look like, because everyone can call himself an Athlet starting by the curlbro over the obese person who tries to lose weight to the dude who delivers pizza with his bicycle but as well as Peyton Manning, Katie Ledecky and Cristiano Ronaldo.

 

How much someone respects their "accomplishments" is up to themselves.

[TheOtherScott]

On 2016-09-12 at 11:28 AM, Mark D said:

What at athlete looks like depends on the demands of the sport they participate in

 

I don't think we can even be that specific.  To use my own sport as an example, Galen Rupp weighs 130 pounds and runs a 26:44 10k.  Chris Solinsky weighs 165 pounds and runs a 26:59 10k.

[TheOtherScott]

23 hours ago, Mike_d85 said:

 

Bassfishing?  No.  Deep sea sport fishing?  Yep.

 

I have two qualifiers: competition and sweating from exertion (if you were to do the activity at 60* farenheit, would you sweat).  Sitting on a boat and fighting a 50 lb fish after an hour of waiting?  Nope.  

 

And NASCAR sure is a sport, though.  Try holding a car on the road with no power steering going full throttle and making severe turns for a couple of hours.  It gets exhausting FAST.

 

As long as we agree that the only athlete involved in Equestrian is the horse.

[Machete]

Words evolve over time, I guess, and I just hope nobody trademarks the word in the near future. If it means anything though, a simple Google search revealed that it was derived from the Greek word athlon meaning "prize," athlein meaning "compete for a prize." So as far as I'm concerned, "mathlete" really technically isn't a misnomer.

 

 

 

 

*It's only athletic if you have to run to the ball.

 

You could also be a "sexual athlete."

 

[Adeptus Shrimponicus]

I'll throw in tight end 6'6" LaQuan McGowan who weighs 405lbs and ran the 40 yards in 5.41 and catches touch down passes.  To look at him you never think he was athletic I guess but you certainly wouldn't want to meet on the football field.  Like most people here are saying, it's horses for courses.

[Raincloak]

 

It was triggered by someone who's a bodybuilder body shaming actual athletes.

 

A person whose hobby is beauty contests making fun of how nonhobbyists look.  hmmmm... can't decide if that's hilariously ironic or just very in character.  Either way, I don't see why athletes who prioritize performance over looks would give a shit about the opinion of a person whose priorities are quite different.

 

(I mean really, if your best insult is "I'm prettier than you and I spend 30 hours a week on it so I can win contests," my response will be somewhere between "That's nice, have fun" and "Get a life, you vain asshat."  I'm sure they think the same thing about my hobbies, but I don't go around mocking people who aren't interested in them.)

[Evicious]

On 9/14/2016 at 7:09 AM, TheOtherScott said:

As long as we agree that the only athlete involved in Equestrian is the horse.

 

Erm.... my experiences lead me to disagree with this statement 100%. Riders aren't just passengers holding on until the ride is over. Even dressage requires total body control, strength and endurance; not to mention events such as show jumping and eventing, which require full participation every step of the course. New riders are often surprised at how sore they are after their first ride, when all they did was "sit there" while the horse walked along. It takes effort, even at an easy pace; and the effort requires to stay in balance with your horse increases exponentially with speed and direction.

[TheOtherScott]

56 minutes ago, Evicious said:

 

Erm.... my experiences lead me to disagree with this statement 100%. Riders aren't just passengers holding on until the ride is over. Even dressage requires total body control, strength and endurance; not to mention events such as show jumping and eventing, which require full participation every step of the course. New riders are often surprised at how sore they are after their first ride, when all they did was "sit there" while the horse walked along. It takes effort, even at an easy pace; and the effort requires to stay in balance with your horse increases exponentially with speed and direction.

 

Fair enough, but I still want them to give the medals to the horses, too.

[AmyUncharted]

So I think of an athlete like I think of art. Some may disagree but I believe if you create it and to you it's art, then it's art. If you feel like an athlete you are an athlete. So an athlete looks like whatever you think an athlete looks like. I think I just spun myself in a circle there...but it made sense in my head  

[TheOtherScott]

1 hour ago, RandMart said:

 

At polo matches I've been to, the MOP [Most Outstanding Pony] gets a wreath and a basket of apples & carrots

 

That just made my day.