9/8/2006

The trouble with former athletes

Filed under: — Aprille @ 10:56 am

The sun is setting earlier these days, and it’s getting to the point where I can’t fit a run in after work, dinner, and a digestion break before the sun sets on me.  I used the treadmill last night for just that reason.

While I was treading, I turned on the TV.  There was nothing good on.  The best I could find was some sort of singing with the stars kind of thing, where celebrities from non-singing fields sing duets with actual famous singers.  I think my favorite was Lucy Lawless, aka Xena, Warrior Princess.  She looked skinny and blonde, which was weird because she was always brunette and sort of strapping on Xena.

One surprising contestant was Carly Patterson, former Olympic gymnast.  She wasn’t that great at singing, but I bet she’s a lot better at gymnastics than Kenny Loggins is.  One thing that caught my attention was how chunky she’s gotten.  She wasn’t obese or anything, just a very different body type than when she was last in the limelight.

Elite athletes are a weird bunch, gymnasts especially.  These little girls start training so hard at such a young age that I think it must stunt their development and delay puberty.  Then, when they stop working out at the level that an Olympic athlete must, their bodies kind of go crazy.  It happened to Mary Lou Retton, too.   I wonder if Kerry Strug’s voice ever got normal once her hormones had a chance to level out.

I noticed a similar thing at my 10-year high school reunion last year.  A lot of the guys who were super-jocks and had the great bodies in high school have gone very soft.  It’s to be expected, I guess; back then, they were working out at a high intensity just about every day of the week.  Then, when they went to college, they probably kept eating like athletes, but they mixed in beer drinking and a greatly reduced activity level.

On the other hand, a lot of guys who were scrawny little weiners in high school put on 20 pounds and looked all the better for it.  Hello, Winston Huang.  Another good example is my handsome husband, Denny.  I didn’t know him in high school, but I’ve seen pictures, and he’s come a long way.  Maybe when he’s 50 he’ll reach average levels of chubsiness.

But I love his skinny butt just the way it is.  He, in turn, has promised to love me no matter what the ravages of pregnancy, time, and cheesecake.  That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop treadmilling, though.  It gives me a good excuse to watch trashy TV.

2 responses to “The trouble with former athletes”

  1. map says:

    Maybe when he’s 50 he’ll reach average levels of chubsiness.

    Jesus, woman, don’t jinx him!

  2. Flo says:

    Actually, Lucy Lawless’ natural hair color is Blonde, a mousy type of Blonde. I dont think she looks skinny, maybe a little slender than before, but definetely not skinny.

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