Are You Struggling With Pain And Don’t Know The Cause? Learn How To Fix It Here…
I used to avoid any kind of high-impact activity on concrete.
I’d grown up playing basketball on the asphalt outdoor courts of Philadelphia. I spent time playing pro ball in México in which some gym surfaces were concrete. I survived both with my health and full athletic ability still intact.
But, the Americans I played with and against in Mexico always complained about the concrete courts we played on. They all seemed to believe that the unforgiving surface was shortening our careers. I heard it enough to allow it to indoctrinate me to the same ideas.
So, once I had full-time access to gyms with indoor basketball courts, I swore off any outdoor hooping or running.
At this time, I lived right next to a huge park in Miami that featured a very popular basketball court that was always crowded with players who thought they could play. Remember those “Uncle Drew” Pepsi commercials? One of those was filmed at the park I lived next to.
I’d walk past the court every day imagining how fun it would be to come out there one day and bust the asses of the part-time hoopers out there who took themselves so seriously. But the long-term health of my knees mattered more than serving my ego.
I never played out there.
A year removed from my exit from basketball, I needed some kind of movement exercise in my life. Lifting weights was cool, but I needed something that would get my heartrate up. I thought of running outside, but that old problem of concrete surfaces loomed.
I made a deal with myself: try one short run — 3-4 miles — and if my knees ached after, I would find something else to do for my fitness.
I ran.
There was no pain. So I ran again. And again.
My knees felt fine. They actually felt better, after a few runs, than they’d felt over my last couple years of playing basketball.
What I’ve learned, after 2 marathons, too many half-marathons, more 10Ks than I can count, and 5,279 total miles (according to my Nike Running app): concrete is NOT the enemy of my knees.
Basketball was the enemy.
All the full-speed stopping and starting, running and jumping, bumping and sliding and reacting or basketball was putting a lot more stress on the joints than steady-state straight-line running ever could.
I wasn’t wrong about my knees bothering me when I was playing ball; what I was wrong about was what was causing it.
What I want you to take from this: some (many?) of our beliefs and opinions are based on false assumptions that would easily fall apart if tested. Keep your opinions flexible.
So what this means to you in your life / business is what you believe — or even KNOW — to be true today may not be true when you get new information and new experiences tomorrow.
So here’s your next step as it relates to what I just shared: getting my full MasterClass on this subject here: http://WorkOnMyGame.com/734