Thread: A Piece Of Advice For Me

Its getting readily apparent that the finger has no intentions of healing right,and I cant afford surgery
Heres the thing,Ive trained for one form or another of violent combant since I was 8 years old
Other then train other people,what do I do now?
This is a deadly serious question,Ive lived with hitting people my whole life,and now I dont know how to motivate myself aside from training,and look at the shape of Buddy MGirts a$$,thats clearly not enough motivation

I met a trainer on the weekend who found a similar thing.

He said he needs the outlet of training to stay sane which i can understand because i go insane when I can't train - and he's no longer competing as a boxer.

He's taken up triathlons. He tried soccer but found it too frustrating and needed an individual sport. With triathlons you can still train in a club with other people to make new friends and be taught the technique behind everything.

My mum also took up triathlons just a couple of years ago - it's not only for the elite but can be a beginner friendly sport and you can still be competitive against others in your age group.

Only down side is that bikes etc for competition can be expensive.

Other options could be swimming or something. You need a challenge though.

I don't think you can go from being a competitive boxer to not having something to get your heart racing just like that. Maybe aim to swim a channel or something.

Compete in the world masters games - very competitive and many a competitive masters swimmer pensioner can out swim me and 98 % of the population - they're not your average pensioners. Plus with age groups you'll be competing with others within about 10 years or so of your age so it's not easy.

Actually just google world Masters games and find a sport which appeals that you feel you could do. You don't have to give up being competitive and fitter than most people half your age - just modify what you do to be that fit.

I hated the transition to the pool when I injured my knee. I also loved being able to come back but there was a time for a while when i swam twice a day (summer) and loved it.

I had a coach keeping my mind on my technique, i had PBs to break, I had other swimmers to race in training and structure. It also kept my upper body strong which is nice for someone used to having that physique.

I didn't look in the mirror and wonder where my arms went even though i didn't do a lot of weight training.

having said all that I was really surprised with how long it took for my knee to get better. Over a year! Since you've only had it clicked back into place a few months ago maybe it still will get better and you just need something to keep you sane and in shape temporarily.

I tend to think - judging by what has happened to me and other friends with sports injuries is that the physios will tell you the average or quickest recovery time you can expect so you stay feeling positive but it often takes longer. The fact that it takes longer to heal doesn't mean it won't.

Who knows maybe it's like loosing weight - if it doesn't heal overnight it might heal to be more stable than it would if you just woke up the next day without any pain - maybe healing too fast doesn't allow everything to be as stable as it would by giving you a chance to correct imbalances etc that might have predisposed you to the injury in the first place? That's my theory with my knee anyway! Originally I wasn't sure if i would be able to continue boxing or ever run again but now I'm planning my next marathon!

I'm looking at the long winded post I put up and I'm not sure that I really explained anything very well.

I guess what I'm saying is that just because you have an injury at the moment that prevents you from doing the sport which would be your first choice it doesn't mean you can't still be extremely good at another one.

You don't have to loose your competitive drive and it's not too late to learn to be very, very good at something new.

I know you've written in posts before that you have always been better at things which require tactical skills rather than pure athletic ability - I think a lot of 'athletic ability' is just about being confident enough to put some emphasis on it long enough to reap the rewards.

A lot of sports which seem pure athletic ability have a lot more technique and careful planning involved than people think too.

The reason you have for trying something new might be a pain in the a** but ultimately there's still the chance they you'll enjoy it and gain/learn something from it which helps you to be a better trainer and perhaps a better fighter if that finger decides it loves you again when it hasn't been bashed against anything for a while longer!

Just for the record Masters swimming youngest age group starts at only 21 years old so me recommending you look into Masters sports is not me saying you're old!