Poll: who is the best trained athelete?

[The Willow Sword]

1. a martial artist(of any style lets say with 10 years experience)

2. A Marine or Navy Seal.

3. a NFL football player.

4. an olympic Gymnist.

5. a triathelete.


which one would you choose and why?

i choose the NFL football player,,,simply because they have, in my opinion the best flexability and stamina for thier weight,,and football players can weigh a bunch and it be all muscle. i trained with a football player before when i was teaching and for the life of me all i was thinking was(this guy will be my friend and ally rather than an atagonist) this guy was big and could move like lightning.

[FatherDog]

Best trained at what?

I'd pick the gymnast for best overall level of fitness. Gymnasts are among the strongest athletes on a pound for pound basis, and their flexibility and sense of balance is unparalleled. The NFL player is probably strongest in terms of absolute strength, and has good anaerobic conditioning. The Marine/Navy Seal probably is the most prepared for the greatest number of adverse situations.

You're not just comparing apples and oranges here, you're rating a bushel of fruit.

[The Willow Sword]

You're not just comparing apples and oranges here, you're rating a bushel of fruit

haha yeah,,,im just trying to get an idea of the level at which we as martial artists see ourselves in comparison with the other atheletes out there. sometimes i think we give ourselves too much credit. true we train hard(someof us,,,,ha not me lately).

i will agree with you that the gymnist is overall the best in flexability. but i have seen nfl guys do backflips on the field in thier gear,,and i was impressed to see that.

[Serpent]

Also, everyone on your list with the exception of the MAist probably trains full-time. Most MAists have day jobs and can only train part-time.

[IronFist]

A better question would probably be, "Which of the following doesn't use steroids?"

The answer is either the average martial artist (unless he competes in NHB type stuff like Pride or UFC), or the Navy Seal, although they might use some type of drugs, I haven't heard about it. Most recreational martial artists don't, however.

Olympic level athletes, NHL football players, and triathletes (world class) do. They have to to be the best. Yes, it's partially about genetics, but it's also about who among everyone with the best genetics has the best chemist. The upper echelons of any pro sport are full of steroids.

I vote for the gymnast, however, in the original poll.

IronFist

[SevenStar]

gymnast

[ZIM]

Barishnikov would choke out Royce. With his calves.

[Ford Prefect]

I picked SEAL just because they can run circles around the gymnasts, but are still quite strong. There is really too much criteria to really narrow it down to just one. All the people mentioned (with the exception of martial artist) would have a pretty good level of fitness in one regard or the other.

[IronFist]

Originally posted by ghthomason


Ah, those whacky NHL Football players....When will they ever learn to quit playing football on ice?

For the record, the NFL tests all players for perfomance enhacing drugs, and if sed player is found to have any quantity of a banned substance in their body, they are suspended from the game. Too many positive tests garner a lifetime expulsion.

Those boys are all natural.

Bull****. They get tested so they must be clean? Yeah, ok.

Look at the average linebacker from 50 years ago and compare him with today. You think the average 50lbs increase is due to better training and nutrition? I don't.

Have you ever heard of masking agents? Pro bodybuilders are "tested," too. You think they're clean? Wrong again.

It's kind of like world records. A human can only run a mile so fast, even with the best genetics. Do you think people would keep watching the olympics if new world records were not being set each year? No. It would be boring. Drugs are a way to overcome natural and genetic limitations. When you take those with the best genetics and give them drugs, they become your olympic athletes.

IronFist

[Serpent]

Originally posted by IronFist


Bull****. They get tested so they must be clean? Yeah, ok.

Look at the average linebacker from 50 years ago and compare him with today. You think the average 50lbs increase is due to better training and nutrition? I don't.

No man, it's all the growth hormones in KFC Colonel Burgers.

[rubthebuddha]

the NBA, however, is a different story. i've said it before and i'll say it again:

Sam Perkins.

[WinterPalm]

I picked martial artist of ten years. If they train in a legit school, they have an advantage of being able to fight, which is real world, a health side like qi gong or other internal practices, which is definately real world and besides, how many champ football players can still do what they do at eighty?

[Ming Yue]

Of that list, the football player, I think.

Determination, competitiveness, speed, agility, strength, focus, endurance, toughness, and in some cases, grace.

[IronFist]

and Lyle Alzado died from Cancer caused by steroid abuse.

I love this. I assume such a statement is the result of your own personal research and not something the media said that you're repeating. Can you please tell me how steroids cause cancer?

Thanks,

IronFist

[The Willow Sword]

I had the opportunity to train(for a very short time) with a retired alternate wingback for the philadelphia eagles. he retired because of knee problems(but this did not take away from his strength or agility).
his overall power and flexability amazed me for a guy as big as he was. true the gymnist has power and flexability but certainly not for combat. the marine or navy seal is a close second in my book for they ARE trained for combat but still have to maintain a certain amount of light weight to do the things that they do,,but i do not discredit or belittle what these guys are capable of.
as far as the martial artist with 10 years experience. this is a touchy subject for even though the martial artist is learning how to fight and discipline himself/herself,,the fact of the matter is that most of the maists that i have seen including myself do not train as much or as hard as say an nfl football player or a gymnist and certainly not as much as a marine or navy seal. when it comes to the street and being in say a militia for hit and run tactics i think that we as martial artists would do very well in.
the triathelete i just threw in there because i needed filler for the
poll,,,although after thinking about the triathelete,,these guys/gals crosstrain alot and probably have as much endurance if not more so than the gymnist or the nfl football player.

but hands down i would have to choose the football player,,putting all steroid use aside,,think about it,,,a 245 lb 6'0 nfl veteran with full gear on running like they do with the agility speed and power that they HAVE to generate,,,i would dsay that in the world of athletics and martial arts they are the best trained.
and alot of these football guys DO train in a martial art.