Comment by mrexroad
10 years ago
My first thought was, "oh, reminds me of the SEAL's 40% rule... so if they're trained to ignore that limit, why don't they get hurt?" Then, in first google result [1], I read this:
“I first met “SEAL” at a 100-mile run in San Diego and I was running this race as part of a six-person relay team with friends and he was running the entire race by himself,” Itzler said.
“Who is this guy? I’ve never seen anything like it. And during the race, I kept an eye on him and around mile 70 — he weighed probably 260 pounds, which is quite large for an ultra runner — he had broken all the small bones in both of his feet and had kidney damage and he finished the race.”
So... yeah, this makes Me think maybe I'll try harder at listening to my body (fwiw, I've screwed up arms/hands twice in past decade by pushing through fatigue).
[1] http://thehustle.co/40-percent-rule-navy-seal-secret-mental-...
Where does this come from in the larger culture? I can see why people who are soldiers or ... athletes at the varsity or pro level might be interested in it but why would anyone want to basically injure themselves as a ... hobby?
I've worked with runners who had serious injury, soccer players who came in with bruises that you'd associate with a severe beating... I'm thinking "geez, it's gonna suck when you're 62." Because when you lose some amount of basic mobility, you lose a lot of the ability to stay healthy when you're older.
Is this because of Mountain Dew commercials and 1980s GI Joe body image stuff?
> soccer players who came in with bruises that you'd associate with a severe beating
I was a lacrosse goalie in high school and didn't have the sense to wear shin pads. If you run your fingers along my shin, you'll feel divots where the bone never regenerated. I too used to walk around with bruises on my legs that you'd associate with a severe beating.
> Is this because of Mountain Dew commercials and 1980s GI Joe body image stuff?
It's considerably more primal than that. Sports are the modern equivalent to tribal rites of passage. We're not allowed to kill our rivals anymore, so we settle for beating them in a physical sport in order to establish our physical dominance. It's empowering in a way that few things are, especially as a teenager and extra especially if you were bullied throughout elementary school.
I was 120 lbs soaking wet when I was 17. The school gently guided me away from sports. Good thing, too. Best coach I ever had.
I graduated high school close to 1980. Sure, there were guys finishing the big game on a broken bone but it seems like there's a lot more emphasis on this now, and it seems more dangerous and higher risk. I have nephews and kids of friends who are electing out of organized sports.
FWIW, I feel lucky - we had basically one bully and he didn't last. Expelled.
I remember in "Brian's Song" where Alex Karrass' character sold cars in the pro football off season.
I dunno; I saw "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" and it gave me pause.
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From a personal perspective I can say it's just routine. I get used to training every day and I like training with intensity (more sprint than endurance) but alas after years of repetitive strain injuries I have toned down the training load. It was unhelpful in the long run anyway as I would train for 9 months then need to sit out for 3-6 months and be back at square one (usually shin splints). My body (knees especially) aren't thanking me for it but it's nothing that can't be fixed without a good chiropractor and lots of cross training (mainly cycling and weights but yoga/pilates, running and swimming too).
I learnt a lot from how a buddy who is/was a world class 24 hour mountain bike racer trains. His view is long term, building up fitness slowly over years. I do admit I find it much harder to maintain routine now that I have pulled back the training load.
As someone who has injured himself for a "hobby" a number of times:
My "hobby" is a means for me to challenge myself, to push myself to my limits, to see what I am capable of and take my measure as a human being. It is a means for me to learn how to overcome fear, pain and doubt. It provides an objective haven when the subjective world is upside down.
Thank you for the explanation. That makes a lot of sense.
I use things other than athletic performance for that, but I've come to realize that I was nudged that way a lot by adults when I was younger.
Forgive the lack of depth in explanation, and I know it may not make sense, but for me: my children.
>but why would anyone want to basically injure themselves as a ... hobby?
Some people enjoy testing personal limits, physical and mental.
Yes I had to think of that article as well. It was on HN a while ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10711731
The 40% rule is useful if you're in combat and your life is on the line. But then again, in such a situation the adrenaline would make you ignore any pain or fatigue anyway. In normal life this 40% rule seems just stupid.
Interesting. I've trained with many Seals - they have ungodly cardio. I've never seen any that big, as the extra muscle kills their cardio.
Something seems fishy about that story. Not only are special forces people usually smaller, but getting hurt is a big no no. It will stop your training and severely jeopardize any mission you're on. Most special forces teaches the opposite of "if it's not hard we don't do it" i.e. to use your tactical advantage. That said, getting in to US special forces probably isn't that selective these days with having had to fill a lot of "seats" for various wars.
Anyone in any branch would be subject to charges for negligently incurring injury. I've heard a story about some guys in the Air Force who were written up for getting terrible sunburn while boating.
Digging in with Google, the writer is much less than a billionaire (though perhaps with more arrogance than one) and the seal was much less than 260 pounds. I have my suspicions about breaking every small bone in his feet and kidney failure too.
And even if that story is true - how much glory is running until one gets kidney failure?
The story wasn't told well in that post, but it is legit. I've heard him speak in person before. The way he tells it, he had three years of non-deployable time so it was the quickest way for him to accomplish his goal of getting into the Badwater ultramarathon to raise money for charity. Not ideal, but he knew that he would have time to fully recover from it.
Especially as the Vietnam War made drafts unpalatable.
Never realized that I code like a navy seal. Algorthims, Devops, Emacs, every fix is hot.