I was watching TV this morning and heard a fitness guy say ... "I believe there is an athlete in all of us."

Really? I'm having a brain struggle with this one.

My immediate reaction was ... well, I've never been sporty, not even as a kid. And even while I was thinking that, I knew that kind of thinking was probably wrong.

I'm almost 50 years old ... but I can figure out why that's not necessarily an exclusion either.

But I have been fat ... and well, that wouldn't necessarily prevent it either. And that got me to thinking about goals. As in when a loser says "I hit my goal weight, what the heck do I do now?"

This is really pressing my "I wonder" button. Talk to me would ya?

I was never sporty... I hate sports. I don't watch them. Hated exercise. Been obese my entire adult life.

You truly never know though... (i.e. look at my sig)

I'm not exactly a kid either (36)

I don't think everyone is destined to be athletic, but I think most of us could be if we found the interest. I'm doing things I never even registered in my head as a possibility.

I'd say: Don't read too much into what he said. If you want to work out, run a race, swim a race, whatever... Then train and do it. Anyone can. An athlete isn't necessarily someone who wins gold medals at the Olympics - it's just someone who competes in some kind of physical activity. Someone who's just active for their own health or enjoyment isn't an athlete, really, but that doesn't make them any less healthy/fit than an athlete.

"Someone who's just active for their own health or enjoyment isn't an athlete, really, but that doesn't make them any less healthy/fit than an athlete"

Why not? What defines an Athlete really?

An Athlete is a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina

So yeah I agree with Liz basically...you don't have to compete or win things to do the above. Even the person who is great at doing at-home exercise videos is an athlete.

Although I imagine most of us have a hard time as identifying as one when we have lived life being basically the opposite.

I assumed he meant fit enough to do athletic things. The woman he was training was a weight loss success, not a competitor.

Maybe an athlete is someone who spends time practicing athletic pursuits.

So ... everyone? Barring some health reasons and/or handicaps?

I'm sure that anyone can lose weight. I really do believe that. But then it's a leap for me to believe ... I'm struggling to express what I mean.
I've learned to eat and move, so I'm getting smaller. Is it then a natural progression to become fit, shapely, cut, buff?
Do I believe that smaller is all that I can do? Why would I believe that? Is there any good reason for me to believe that?

I think it can be a fairly natural progression, but not perhaps because we're dramatically different people from fat to thin, and some hitherto suppressed personality trait springs forth wholesale from the forehead of Zeus.

For me, it's a natural progression because I want to keep weight off and also not be utterly bored. Solution? Explore new athletic territory.

I very much believe that not all athletes are competitive or even especially interested in sports, but from the perspective of enlightened self-interest that athlete could exist in all of us.

I failed the 12 minute run in highschool - couldnt run or even run walk for 12 minutes
I hated gym class with a passion and did everything to avoid it.
I have no coordination and even as an elementary school kid would have rather read than played anything remotely active
Sports eluded me, hated everything athletic with a passion.
I eventually started exercising but as a means to an end....weight control.

I now run at a level that is far beyond weight control. In fact it would probably be easier for me to control my weight if I ran less. You could even say that now instead of running to lose weight, I desire weight loss to improve my running. I qualified for Boston. I am a runner. It would come into the first 3 adjectives I would use to describe myself.

I think I agree. anyone can be an athlete.

It can be a natural progression, but for lots of people it's not the direction they head in. However, there are lots of formerly overweight people who are very active. I think maybe we have a special appreciation for what it's like to take back control of our body... and what it feels like to not be able to make use of it properly. In the end it's just a choice. Test the waters... I think you do have to give it time though because most people don't love it right off the bat.

I've lost weight before w/o exercise and with doing both and I can tell you I feel so much healthier at the same weights being fit.

I like to believe anyone can be an athlete so long as they find something they enjoy. I know I personally like lifting weights, something I didn't know I enjoyed when I was younger. I hated running in high school but now I actually like it despite the fact I'm even worse at it then I was back then. I want to improve in both of these areas and hope to one day actually be good at both.

I think anyone can be an athlete. It's just a matter of finding what he/she is naturally good/competant at or likes enough to work at it and get good/competant.

dictionary.com defines athlete as: "a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport,exercise, or game requiring physical skill."

If participation is the criteria, and not some arbitrary level of skill, then yes, I think anyone can become an "athlete", barring some kind of overwhelming physical barrier. There are LOTS of opportunities to participate in physical endeavors, including just "regular" people and people with all sorts of disabilities. You don't have to be super special at something, just go out and work at it at your level, whatever that is.

Personally, I was never "sporty" as a kid, never participated in any kind of organized sports activity until I was over 40 and discovered running. Through losing weight and regular training, I've far exceeded my wildest expectations for performance. I run half marathons regularly; heck, I just ran one yesterday in 2:04, my 4th half in the last 4 months. And I am 50 years old. 10 years ago, I couldn't run one block.

I think most of us have some kind of untapped potential. Being lighter makes it so much more fun to BE active, and the activity becomes a reward in itself.

I couldn't agree with you more!

Well, there was in me and I would never have guessed that. You wouldn't have guessed it either if you had seen me 4 years ago