Pain-Free Athlete's Podcast
Are you tired of feeling pain? Are you recovering from a surgery? Do you want to learn how to stay active and pain-free? I'll share tips and strategies that can help you stay safe and pain-free while you're working out. I'll also interview experts in the field of fitness, rehabilitation and pain management.
Pain-Free Athlete's Podcast
The Great Olympic (Final) Debate
What truly defines an Olympian? Join me, Dana Jones, as I challenge the conventional wisdom that medals are the ultimate measure of success on the Olympic stage. Through heartfelt discussions and personal anecdotes, we explore the immense pressures athletes face from audiences who often prioritize gold over effort. You'll hear about the controversies surrounding figures like Jordan Childs and be inspired by the relentless dedication of athletes such as Dara Torres and Martinus Evans. We delve into their emotional and mental battles, underscoring the importance of recognizing and celebrating their achievements, regardless of whether they step onto the podium. This episode is a heartfelt celebration of the unwavering efforts and indomitable spirit of athletes across various sports.
2024 DJFE Triathlon Race Series
Podcast Disclaimer:
The Pain-Free Podcast is presented solely for general information, education, and entertainment purposes. Any information presented in this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional diagnosis. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. As always, users should not disregard or delay obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition that they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.
@djsfitnessevolution
Welcome to the Pain-Free Athlete Podcast. I'm your host, dana Jones. I am a certified personal trainer and I'm here to help you achieve your fitness goals without pain. In each episode, I'll share tips and strategies that will help you stay safe and pain-free while you're working out. I'll also interview experts in the field of fitness and pain management. So if you're ready to learn how to stay active and pain-free, then subscribe to the Pain-Free Athlete Podcast today.
Speaker 1:Hi everyone and welcome to the Pain-Free Athlete Podcast. I'm your host, dana Jones, and I know I'm going to bore you, but I wanted to talk about the Olympics one last time because it seems like there was so much controversy that was kind of going on, and I need to insert my opinion and one of the questions that I had, as I was sitting there and I'm listening to all these people who think they know what it's like to be under this kind of pressure. And you know, the Internet allows a lot of people to act like professional athletes who aren't professional athletes, and I think it's pretty interesting. But are you an olympian if you don't podium? That's a legitimate question, right, and why do I say that? Because we, as americans, are jackasses. If you don't podium, then we decide that you're not really an Olympian, and that is, you know, because we want to say, you know, introducing Olympic gold medalist, blah, blah, blah, right, like we even like poo-poo, like getting silver medals or bronze medals, right, which still means that I came in second or third, but they're not quite number one and we want to be number one and so we have a very strong opinion about not being number one. And it's been interesting. And, of course, you know, jordan Childs had her medal taken away and I don't even know what that has to do with her brain, like in her brain, how she has to process that information of being so disappointed and not quite sure what's going on, and it probably has to do with the arrogance of the United States that they feel like they need to do this. Or, you know, legit, I don't know, because I haven't done a deep dive in it, because it's just kind of hard to watch, you know, because I don't know enough, and it's just. It's interesting though because you know, obviously she has a thing, because that's her first medal, and first medal for that particular thing.
Speaker 1:Event, that's the word I was looking for. Event to put something in somebody else's hands, right, just like boxing, right, you never want to put the fight into the judge's hand because you never know what's going to happen. Right, it's so much easier if you just walk in and knock somebody out or pummel them close to death. And yes, I'm thinking about the boxer who was accused of being male and never being male and all the arrogance and the I don't know ignorance. Arrogance and ignorance around that whole thing.
Speaker 1:And you know, there was a time when black track athletes female were given a lot of crap about their muscularity and the fact that they look like men for their strength. I mean, you know, when you're running, you know 100 meters in nine seconds, 10 seconds there's not going to be a whole lot of stuff on your body, right, you're going to just be muscle and speed. And there was a lot of commentary about that. I remember a number of years ago, dara Torres got a lot of crap and she's a swimmer because she was very muscular and people were like, oh, she must be on steroids or she must be doing something to alter her body because she's muscular. And she was doing the exact opposite. Right, she was stretching and her body felt fantastic. And she even came back at 40 years old and won a medal.
Speaker 1:But Are you an Olympian if you don't medal? My opinion is yes, you are, because you did all the same work, you did everything and you're there. Right, and that's what people can't fight is the fact that you're on the team. You get to get the little Olympic rings tattooed on your body, you get to do all the things because you showed up. We have this misconception about if you know, if you're not first, you're last. Right, the whole. I can't remember the name of the movie now right, this whole idea and sometimes you're not first and it's okay not to be first, as somebody who's been last a lot of times, it can be very disheartening and there's a lot of emotional stuff.
Speaker 1:And I don't know if you remember when I was reading Martinez Evans' book the Slow AF Run Club and he I don't know if I shared the story where he was talking about the sag wagon and for those of you don't know, basically it's a car or vehicle that comes and gets stragglers that are unable to complete the race and he had this weird. You know he was fighting himself, which happens right, because generally when you're running really slow, you burn a lot of fuel and then your brain gets involved, right, once you run out of burning all the calories and everything else, then your brain takes over and then nothing ever comes from the brain. That's a positive thing. And so he was struggling, so he was trying to, you know, talk himself into it and, you know, had to keep the gremlins quiet. And you know, because they were telling him, you know, just, you know, quit, there's no point in, you know, continuing. But he had decided he was going to do this.
Speaker 1:And so this man came up next to him and he was like hey, you know, why don't you just stop running and get on the bus? And he, you know, and they're like hey, big man, you know, do you want to ride back to the finish line? Right, you know. And he's all hell no. And, um, you know, they kind of laughed. And then, you know, of course he wanted to get on it, but he also had set this goal for himself. Um, and he goes well, I'll be back, or I'll come back around and I'll pick you up next time. He was like, what the fuck? Right, why, what does that mean? Like, you're so sure I'm going to fail. But you know, you're just, you know, because you've done this or whatever. And you know he said I was exhausted and I just wanted to run faster. But you know you can't right, when you have no gas left you're just dragging tail and doing whatever. And you know he just wanted to keep going.
Speaker 1:And this guy comes around again and he's like big man, I see you're still out here. He's like are you ready to get a ride to the finish line? And you know he's at mile 24, which is mean right. You know he's running a marathon. He's two miles from his finish. Why would you even say that, you know? So he looked at him and he just said you know what, I'm not even going to deal with you, I'm going to keep going. And so he kept going. And then he gets to mile 25 and the guy comes up to him again and you know he's saying like hey, you could do this. You know I'll give you a ride. And at that point he was like I'm done. And he goes I'm almost there. He's like why would I get in now? Like what point does it make? He's like leave me the fuck alone and let me just finish, you know. And then he's like hey, I'm just doing my job. You know I can't help it that you're fat and slow, right, which leads to a whole other thing about body shaming and you know all that other stuff. And of course he was like you know, are you fucking kidding me? And then you know that was enough fuel to get him across the finish line and that's what also fueled him to start the slow AF run club.
Speaker 1:Because of the fact that there is a lot of this mentality that if you're not running, you know doing a marathon and running a five minute mile then you shouldn't be running. And that's not the point, right? We're all out to exercise, right? All these Olympians are out there to compete. The reason why they choose to put themselves up against this scrutiny is because of the fact that they have a belief. Right, it may be a little girl, little boy. Belief, right, you know, I want to be the best in the world. And so they're competing about against the best athletes in the on the planet.
Speaker 1:And so if you don't come in top three and finish, why not? Like, I'm an Olympian, shit, I would enjoy that, right, like, why wouldn't? I want to celebrate that Because I'm losing against, I don't know, whatever it could be. Top five people in the world, top 10 people in the world, it doesn't matter. There's a top whatever in the world and I'm competing against them and if I come in fourth or if I come in 10th or whatever it may be, I'm still showing up and I'm showing, you know, proving to myself that I did the work and I'm there. So for those people who really, you know, don't want to give people acknowledgement for I don't know, showing up and being the best in the world, screw you right. These people are still Olympians and if they don't win and get a medal, it's okay, because the thousands and thousands of hours that they put in to try to be perfect at what they were doing or try to get a good score or whatever it may be, is all the work that or all the things that they need to justify their place on the team. And we can't argue that right, they showed up and they're trying to compare themselves against the top people in the world.
Speaker 1:So you know, there was that right and I had this, you know, concept of it or thought of it because of the fact that I'd been last and I dealt with, when I did my 70.3 half Ironman, of having the police car behind me with the air conditioning turning on and off and it's like 90 something degrees and I'm dying and I just want to be done and I hate running anyway. And then I was trying to, you know, muster up whatever I could and I had nothing left and you know, but I did it and that's something, you know. There's something to be said, like celebrated in that right, in that idea of finishing. Now, if I was, you know, going too far, where I was like putting myself a physiological stress and possibly death, obviously that's stupid right, because a lot of times we do that right. We want to be done, you know, we want to finish and it doesn't matter if I, you know, haven't had a drink in five hours, it's fine, you know, which is not as fine. So there's a balance right, there's a balance right. There's always a balance, and you know, if there isn't one, then the earth will find a way to make one. And I just think that for those participants who finish and are proud of what they did and proud of what they accomplished, like good for you for being an Olympian.
Speaker 1:On the other end, there's this one situation, and I don't know how I feel about it, and you could be judgy, um is the whole break dancing thing. I thought it was kind of entertaining that it was going to be a sport and being included, because you know doing those kinds of things. It's kind of like gymnastics, like you know. Do you notice if somebody's toes in the wrong location? Oh, that's a tenth of a point or three tenths of a point or whatever it may be, and I wasn't quite sure how the break dancing thing was going to go. And then there's the australian break dancer. Who's the professor? Um, her name is ray gun and she is all over the internet right now and god bless her.
Speaker 1:I hope she has a sense of humor, because she is getting raked over the coals and it's insane. And I don't know, like I don't know how I feel about it, because part of me is like, hey, good for you, you got out there, or whatever. Again she could say screw you all, I'm an Olympian, right, like you can make fun of me, you can do whatever. But I still hear, you know, um, her family like recently complained that she got like a zero and they're like, what the hell, why did you give her zero? She showed up, it's not. It's like I don't know. You know, because you're competing against other people who actually have skill and but she has skill right. She won the oceanic championships. That's how she got the Olympics. It wasn't like somebody said, hey, raise your hand if you want to be an Olympian, and she said, sure. So it's weird, but again, I can make fun of her. I could do all the things, but she's an Olympian and I'm not. So you have to kind of think about it and go. You know, let her I guess, let them have her fun. She got a chance to go to France, she got a chance to compete against the best in the world. For all we know, she may go damn. I need to step up my game. You know, like breakdancing in Australia is not, as you know, hardcore as it is in Europe and the United States. So I need to take care of this. So who knows? But again, she's an Olympian and anyway, that's kind of what I wanted to talk about. You know, I don't want to rip on her too much because, again, I'm not an Olympian and she can get those little rings tattooed on her body and I can't because I'm not an Olympian. So I don't know how you feel about it. I'd love to hear comments and debate about this because I think it would be entertaining.
Speaker 1:I love sports and I love being a fan of sports. It has always been my fun place as a kid. I always loved to be in there and wonder what athletes are thinking and love watching performances of people who really try hard and do the things that they're so proud of doing and working hard toward achieving their goals. And there's, for me, there's nothing like athletics that really pull that out of somebody and I'm just really. You know, the Olympics are kind of like, you know, the Tour de France for me.
Speaker 1:You know I was a little lost on Monday because I was like what do I do now? I don't have Olympics to watch Tour de France? The same thing. I get so much into the cycling and then all of a sudden it's gone. Three weeks long, boom and we're done. But there's always something else, right, there's football, baseball's still going, there's all things. But I do enjoy sports and I love watching athletes struggle and I love watching them overcome their struggle and being brave and doing the things that they need to do to show up every night, because it can't be easy and you know we need to celebrate their effort, and I think that's probably it. So, anyway, that's all I got for now. Thank you so much for listening. Don't forget to rate and review, and I will catch you next time.
