Any Athletic Aspies Out There?
I am now in my 50's and now only take an occasional walk, but I stay active in my job in retail sales, and look fit. I actually am too thin, but I look like a marathon type runner. My new doctor was surprised when he learned that I am not a runner.
I used to do a lot of bicycle riding and commuting. I also used to do a lot of hiking. I used to play golf. I was also very much into Flying Disc ("Frisbee") sports, including Disc Golf, Freestyle, and Ultimate. I also used to Hang Glide and some sport parachuting. Rollerblading and skateboarding was fun. I even went to the skate parks, but although I got up on the walls, I only rode on my seat to keep my center of gravity low. I also used to juggle, which is not athletic, but great for hand eye coordination.
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I was never a fan of or exceedingly good at team sports, but in karate I was a star! I received my 1st degree black belt and was the first performer in the Mile High Karate "Black Belt Extravaganza" out of my whole team, male and female, old and young. I was only 18 then.
The only thing I couldn't do were the arial kicks. Even a simple jump side kick made me feel like I was going to blow away. As long as I was partially grounded, I did great
wow, there's some amazing stories here. I was driven to exercise ever since I saw conan the destroyer, I think I was 9? I had a pile of logs in backyard, would throw them logs from one side of the yard to the other for hours. I trained like a madman, age 12, Penni Price (hall of famer prof bodybuilder) asked me to train with her, I didn't show up/ didn't think I was worth it. In HS I wrestled for 4 calaneder yrs (hs, freestyle, and greco roman) did well, placed top 3 most tournaments. Trained in thai kickboxing for a couple yrs, joined the military, stayed in for 7 yrs as a paratrooper till my body gave out. I miss long distance running (around 20miles), esp trail running.
Blindspot149
Veteran
Joined: 7 Oct 2009
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,516
Location: Aspergers Quadrant, INTJ, AQ 45/50
I am.
Competition swimmer up to about 15. Middle and long distance runner (and weight lifter) from about 14, took up cycling in my 30s after too many years of pounding the roads..........
I rowed for a while in my late teens, but as I rowed at 'Stroke' (the rower who sits in the front seat) and everyone else just followed my timing, I don't really count that as team work
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Now then, tell me. What did Miggs say to you? Multiple Miggs in the next cell. He hissed at you. What did he say?
I've played baseball for six or so years, early on (starting with t-ball!). I also did some golf around that time. Eventually when that stopped, I played basketball for two years, and soon after I joined the football team for a total of five years.
I grew up in a family that's into sports, even into the extended family.
Unfortunately, I never really went any farther than average, I never really stood out, and sometimes was pretty horrible. It's because due to the physical coordination, like from AS, and I never really had many supportive coaches that showed me how to do things. I pretty much never, until the last two years of football, had a good running style. It was always pretty awkward, at one point being nicknamed "airplane". Yay? Besides that, the only other area where AS seemed affect me, is where I'm now figuring out how it played out in football. American football - the contact sport. I had no problems getting tackled (after a while haha), but I myself couldn't tackle others. I think it's because of the issues with physical contact issue I read with AS - in blocking drills, and tackling drills, it was really awkward - I couldn't initiate the hit first. Often I couldn't hit back, either.
It ticked me off for ages why I couldn't seem to do so, ticking off the coaches, even when I intended to hit correctly! But now it makes sense. Either way, I have nothing on my plate right now, and I'm so glad - so happy that this summer, I'm not waking up at 6AM every morning to kill myself on the rough practice field for 7 hours straight. Every day, except for Sunday. Then there's the drama and crap to worry about, and fighting to get play time, stuff only adding to the madness.
I'm signed up to take flag football in the Autumn Quarter in my first year of college, which I imagine shouldn't be near as stressful, since I don't need to hit somebody, so no problem there. ;D
I don't like any team sports. I tried basketball when I was 8 and I hated it. But I've been doing martial arts since I was 9. I used to compete in TaeKwonDo fighting competitions but I don't train so hard for that anymore. Now I mainly focus on practicing things that look cool for demonstrations and routine competitions, like tricks and acrobatic stuff. And for that reason I also take gymnastics and tumbleing classes which I also love.
Just turned 60. Never liked team sports. Can't throw a ball.
Started running in my late 20's. Shortly thereafter started studying Isshinryu karate.
Plugged away, wound up with 2nd degree black (nidan).
Loved the trails, was running about 50 miles a week, loved sparring and training.
Until my 50's when cartilage damage finally stopped me.
Started tai chi at 50. Began teaching it at 52.
Cartilage went from bad to cripplingly worse.
Finally at 58 the pain beat fear and I had both hips replaced.
Running, karate, gone. Weight way up.
I teach tai chi now, ride a bicycle.
Maybe I was clumsy as a kid, my father liked to point that out.
Certainly I was one of the last chosen in schoolyard games.
As an adult no one has ever mentioned it.
I've gotten comments from my tai chi class about how gracefully I move.
I think coordination can be learned. Bruce Lee started me on martial arts,
I trained one day at a time, just wanted to be a decent brown belt,
a level that conveys privilege on the mat without much responsibility.
One day at a time can take you pretty far if you just stick with it.
I suck at any sport with a ball - I did play soccer when I was younger. Now, I run/walk a weekly 5K with a local run club. I also snowboard quite a bit in the winter - I just started to enter the terrain park this past season and I almost blew my hip out on a jump I should have NEVER done. I'm trying to restrain myself from buying a new snowboard - a 2011 Never Summer SL series.
I've tried my hand at surfing and yoga - and I want to practice the latter once a week. Eventually, I want to get a road bike and get scuba certified.
I exercise religiously, because I obsess over my health and because I have a lot of energy (I suspect ADHD, although I've only been diagnosed with Aspergers.) It is said that many people with Aspergers have poor muscle tone, but oddly enough, I can do 180 lbs on a shoulder machine, and 310 on the leg press...and I'm a woman. However, I have had issues with body image. Although I'm NOT overweight, I still sometimes obsess over my body shape.
I wonder if long distance runners more commonly have Aspergers. Long and alone endeavor.
mrfoggy
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: 15 Feb 2016
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 65
Location: Singapore
I am athletic too, most anything that requires minimum team coordination.
Attending fitness classes is the group activity with no interaction with participants.
Other than that cycling , weight training , running keeps me in good shape and healthy.
I don't think I have a coordination problem but maybe a bit clumsy.
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Aspie/Austism score 33 (34 & up) ADHD score 40 (34 & up)
High alexithymic / dysthymia / Possible Borderline PD
Star children - Indigo Child Myer Brig - INTJ The Architect
enneagram most like 5w4 - The Investigator / The Individualist
IQ 120 -130 High in Visual Intellgence
I would consider myself athletic but not in the traditional way. I've always disliked team sports, largely due to poor coordination, clumsiness, and social awkwardness as a child persisting into adulthood. I enjoy other activities though like swimming, rock climbing, yoga, walking/playing with my dogs, and weight lifting. I stay fit and active, but I still don't like baseball.
I love to challenge myself by doing extreme hikes -- on and off trail. I'm getting into backpacking heavily, also, which I am really enjoying! There's nothing sitting in front of a nice fire after a 15-20 mile trek in he mountains to bring you a sense of peace.
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