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Not so with the joints. That's why you see so many great athletes end their careers prematurely due to knee and back injuries.

by geoka9 11y ago

matwood 11y ago
I think we need to be careful comparing regular people with 'great athletes'. The stresses a top athlete puts on their body are extreme because they are top athletes. With that said, many (most?) top athletes go their entire careers without a joint problem at all.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
npsimons 11y ago
Which is exactly why ChrisLTD said "careful exertion". Also, extrapolating a tiny percentage (permanently injured professional athletes) of a tiny percentage (professional athletes) to the general populace is facetious. Your average person is nowhere near "too much physical exertion", albeit they may have bad form, but that can be cleared up by competent coaching (even self-coaching).
- geoka9 11y ago
  What I'm trying to say is that while it's possible to cure almost any muscle-related injury with exercise and regimen (and the athletes do this all the time), it's not possible to do with a busted joint (and the athletes have to retire prematurely when they realize that having another surgery is not an option).
gozur88 11y ago
Sure, but you're talking about people who exercise five or six hours a day. People with jobs and families couldn't do that if they wanted to.
- brianwawok 11y ago
  I know a few ironmen that would be great to differ :)
  - PhasmaFelis 11y ago
    If you're literally working out six hours a day every day, then almost certainly that is your job.
  - gozur88 11y ago
    People with children?
    - djhn 11y ago
      Well at least cycling and treadmill running are very well suited to multitasking. With enough motivation it is possible to squeeze in 4+ hours per day of cycling that you would be spending stationary while on your job or at home doing emails, at least some calls, reading, research, TV-shows/documentaries/online courses/hacker news. Throw in the "normal" 2 hours of exercise before or after work and voilá! It does take one 4-5 years to build up to that even from non-sedentary active lifestyles, otherwise maintaining energy for everything else will be impossible. And my (completely speculatory) hypothesis is that amateur sports (or some pro-sports) or serious goal-oriented strength/physique training will offer benefits down the line, as long as you quit "heavy" exercise after a reasonable amount of time and maintain a moderate amount of exercise for the rest of your life. After all, Tour de France riders of the past century outlive us by many years, despite most allegedly having been on quite a comprehensive cocktail of anabolic steroids, erythropoietin stimulating drugs, amphetamines, etc..

Not so with the joints. That's why you see so many great athletes end their careers prematurely due to knee and back injuries.

by geoka9 11y ago

Not so with the joints. That's why you see so many great athletes end their careers prematurely due to knee and back injuries.

matwood 11y ago

I think we need to be careful comparing regular people with 'great athletes'. The stresses a top athlete puts on their body are extreme because they are top athletes. With that said, many (most?) top athletes go their entire careers without a joint problem at all.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

npsimons 11y ago

Which is exactly why ChrisLTD said "careful exertion". Also, extrapolating a tiny percentage (permanently injured professional athletes) of a tiny percentage (professional athletes) to the general populace is facetious. Your average person is nowhere near "too much physical exertion", albeit they may have bad form, but that can be cleared up by competent coaching (even self-coaching).

geoka9 11y ago
What I'm trying to say is that while it's possible to cure almost any muscle-related injury with exercise and regimen (and the athletes do this all the time), it's not possible to do with a busted joint (and the athletes have to retire prematurely when they realize that having another surgery is not an option).

gozur88 11y ago

Sure, but you're talking about people who exercise five or six hours a day. People with jobs and families couldn't do that if they wanted to.

brianwawok 11y ago
I know a few ironmen that would be great to differ :)
- PhasmaFelis 11y ago
  If you're literally working out six hours a day every day, then almost certainly that is your job.
- gozur88 11y ago
  People with children?
  - djhn 11y ago
    Well at least cycling and treadmill running are very well suited to multitasking. With enough motivation it is possible to squeeze in 4+ hours per day of cycling that you would be spending stationary while on your job or at home doing emails, at least some calls, reading, research, TV-shows/documentaries/online courses/hacker news. Throw in the "normal" 2 hours of exercise before or after work and voilá! It does take one 4-5 years to build up to that even from non-sedentary active lifestyles, otherwise maintaining energy for everything else will be impossible. And my (completely speculatory) hypothesis is that amateur sports (or some pro-sports) or serious goal-oriented strength/physique training will offer benefits down the line, as long as you quit "heavy" exercise after a reasonable amount of time and maintain a moderate amount of exercise for the rest of your life. After all, Tour de France riders of the past century outlive us by many years, despite most allegedly having been on quite a comprehensive cocktail of anabolic steroids, erythropoietin stimulating drugs, amphetamines, etc..