{"id":41394,"date":"2015-07-13T11:15:41","date_gmt":"2015-07-13T15:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=41394"},"modified":"2021-11-18T06:56:06","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T11:56:06","slug":"definition-of-athlete-motivational-quotes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/definition-of-athlete-motivational-quotes\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Call Yourself an Athlete? Here\u2019s Why We Think You Should"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After Donna Pontoriero dropped 140 pounds seven years ago, she was deeply proud of her fitness progress: She had built up to walking or running<\/a> 35 miles a week. Yet in 2012, a brain tumor forced her to slow down. And she\u2019s still struggling to regain her endurance<\/a>, she says. \u201cI think back to when I used to run six miles without thinking about it. Now I struggle to do two or three,\u201d explains Pontoriero, 44, a chiropractor from Bloomfield, NJ. In June, it took her an hour and a half to complete a hilly 10K. \u201cI didn\u2019t care if I was second to last. Just being there was a big deal,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

But when asked if she considers herself an athlete, Pontoriero laughed. \u201cThe term never crossed my mind,\u201d she says. \u201cI look around at other people at races who have the right gear<\/a> and are faster than me. They <\/em>are athletes.\u201d So what does Pontoriero call herself? \u201cI\u2019m a back-of-the-packer,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"Do
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Definition of Athlete<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The term \u201cathlete\u201d is both confusing and loaded with stereotypes. Merriam-Webster defines<\/a> it as \u201ca person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.\u201d Meanwhile, the top entry<\/a> on Urban Dictionary is more inclusive and democratic: \u201cAn individual who participates in sports. Characterized by dedication, focus, intelligence and work ethic.\u201d According to University of Oregon track and field coach and Nike<\/a> co-founder Bill Bowerman, \u201cIf you have a body, you are an athlete.\u201d In other words, an athlete can be a top competitor<\/a> \u2014\u00a0or an average finisher<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Hate Running? 25 Ways to Learn to Love It<\/a><\/p>\n

Calling yourself an \u201cathlete\u201d can play an important role in how you see yourself and how you ultimately perform<\/a>, explains Kristen Dieffenbach<\/a>, associate professor of athletic coaching education at West Virginia University and sports psychology consultant. \u201cEveryone should think of themselves as athletes. It\u2019s not reserved for people who get a paycheck from it,\u201d she says, noting that she\u2019s surprised how many clients are reluctant to embrace the identity. \u201cIt\u2019s like they\u2019re devaluing what they\u2019re doing, even if they love physical activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

That \u201cWho, me?\u201d reflex is a hard habit to break, especially when the root of the word athlete runs deep in American culture. Ever since high school, people who played team sports were christened \u201cathletes,\u201d while the rest were regular PE students<\/a>. The grown-up equivalent: People who \u201cwork out.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 19 Reasons to Work Out (Beyond the Perfect Body)<\/a><\/p>\n

Dieffenbach is on a mission to help her clients take back<\/a> the word. \u201cThere\u2019s an intrinsic value you get in terms of a sense of pride<\/a> and feeling good about your commitment. That\u2019s the the core of being an athlete, whether it\u2019s for a medal or just to say, \u2018Yep, I did that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

A better definition of athlete? Someone who enjoys physical movement, she says. \u201cMaybe you\u2019re training. You have goals<\/a> you\u2019re trying to achieve. You\u2019re putting the effort in,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Redefining \u201cAthlete\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For those who still trip over the term, Dieffenbach suggests trying to acknowledge that you\u2019re living an \u201cathletic lifestyle<\/a>.\u201d That\u2019s a concept Pontoriero can get her head around because it acknowledges her daily commitment<\/a> \u2014 not her performance. \u201cWhen I went to my first 5K, I thought, \u2018What am I doing here? These people have been doing this for years.\u2019 But I\u2019m proud of getting up every morning, putting on my shoes and trying to get better and better,\u201d she says. \u201cNow I realize I do belong there. We\u2019re all running our own race.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 4 Science-Backed Ways to Motivate Yourself to Work Out<\/a><\/p>\n

Daphne Mattingly is also hesitant to call herself an \u201cathlete.\u201d But after completing her\u00a0first half-[marathon]<\/a> in 2013, she felt comfortable saying, “I\u2019m a runner.”\u00a0\u201cI never did think of myself as an athlete, so that\u2019s why I took up\u00a0running<\/a>. It\u2019s a way for people who didn\u2019t do team sports or weren\u2019t coordinated to still be successful by competing against themselves,\u201d\u00a0Mattingly, 36, a safety manager from Louisville, Kentucky says. She finally felt like part of the club when she put a 13.1 sticker on her car to signify how many miles she\u2019d run. \u201cBut now that I think about it, if you got the guts to show up and got the guts to finish something, then you are<\/em> an athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether you’re a power walker, a casual gym-goer or a marathoner, here’s why you shouldn’t be afraid to call yourself an athlete. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":41409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,6],"tags":[266,104,103,341,357],"class_list":["post-41394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exercise","category-fitness","tag-beginner","tag-goals","tag-motivation","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2running"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}