Social Would you rather be 60 and ....

[notsmokeymcpot42088]

You are 60 years old (for this thread) and you either

A. Spent your teens and 20's playing sports hard. College level Hockey, Football etc.
B. Spent your teens and 20's sitting around and using substances. (In this scenario you aren't huffing gas, you are 'BL educated" we will say)

All other variables aside do you think your PHYSICAL HEALTH would be better off with choice A or B.

I honestly do not know because I umm did both --
I know I got a knee with some pretty decent arthritis in it from hockey.
know my teeth would be better if I did not end up on Suboxone. (Which if I had infinite money I wouldn't be - so lets say its still your life in every other variable)

Had amazing experiences and met amazing people doing both.

 

[streaM Freak]

You are 60 years old (for this thread) and you either

A. Spent your teens and 20's playing sports hard. College level Hockey, Football etc.
B. Spent your teens and 20's sitting around and using substances. (In this scenario you aren't huffing gas, you are 'BL educated" we will say)

All other variables aside do you think your PHYSICAL HEALTH would be better off with choice A or B.

I honestly do not know because I umm did both --
I know I got a knee with some pretty decent arthritis in it from hockey.
know my teeth would be better if I did not end up on Suboxone. (Which if I had infinite money I wouldn't be - so lets say its still your life in every other variable)

Had amazing experiences and met amazing people doing both.

Hm

Well I think I'd learn more from going the drug route. Not just about drugs but, about myself, and other things too.

I think sports the big one is teamwork. Mental toughness too. More development of skills.

Regarding health.. I don't know.
But if you're saying the pain last the whole rest of your life time, then that's comparable to mental pain since that can be life long also.

***TL;DL So for character building id go drugs, but for longevity I'd go sports.

 

[Ki3ly]

You get beat up more in Sports. Definitely not both.

 

[Chaurus]

Sports.

But only because I'm curious and did the drugs option already a little bit.

 

[Docta]

 

[notsmokeymcpot42088]

It is a tough decision both leave you pretty torn up --- but are very satisfactory.

Idk if I'd rather be 60 with perfect health and NOT having the experience of sports and drugs?

 

[Foreigner]

You are 60 years old (for this thread) and you either

A. Spent your teens and 20's playing sports hard. College level Hockey, Football etc.
B. Spent your teens and 20's sitting around and using substances. (In this scenario you aren't huffing gas, you are 'BL educated" we will say)

All other variables aside do you think your PHYSICAL HEALTH would be better off with choice A or B.

I honestly do not know because I umm did both --
I know I got a knee with some pretty decent arthritis in it from hockey.
know my teeth would be better if I did not end up on Suboxone. (Which if I had infinite money I wouldn't be - so lets say its still your life in every other variable)

Had amazing experiences and met amazing people doing both.

Choice A sports, 100%

Psychedelics are not shown to increase health span, while vigoroous physical activity is. You will be a healthy 60 year old if you did rigorous sports earlier in life. Bone density will be higher, lung capacity will be enhanced (especially if you did sports before age 25), and your muscles will have more satellite cells predisposing you to faster sports conditioning later in life if you decide to continue being athletic.

In reality I did both in my 20s. I attribute psychs to my psychospiritual well being, expansion of consciousness, and understanding the universe. But now I rely on physical activity to stay balanced. You really feel it harder as you get older if you stop exercising. The stagnation feels terrible.

 

[Chaurus]

What sports? If you chose boxing it's likely worse for your brain than hard drugs every once in a while.

 

[My_Bad_Dude]

B.

Drug use doesn't necessarily strain the body, nor cause it wear and tear like college-level sports. I mean, sure, drug use (primarily abuse) can do that, but not all the time. Also, the brain can heal itself from drug abuse issues without intervention. The same thing cannot be said about most sports-related injuries.

Now, if we were talking simple exercise and not sports? I think I would probably choose exercise over drugs.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

Well, I'm 61 and have spent my life in an hedonistic haze.

Not doing too bad physically though, unlike many 'sportsmen' of my age who suffer with bad knees, bad backs, brain injuries etc. etc.

Fuck sport, its worse for your health than drugs.

 

[Chaurus]

Lance Armstrong, anyone?

I think we non-sporting drug users are allowed a little slack, don't you.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

It's strange how 'performance enhancing drugs' are all class C, when they have the potential to fuck you over more than most class A's.

I can cope with a bit of receptor down regulation, but anything that makes me grow tits or atrophy my bollocks can fuck right off...

 

[Mycophile]

What sports? If you chose boxing it's likely worse for your brain than hard drugs every once in a while.

That depends on your level in boxing and whether you really compete a lot in amateur or even worse for your brain would be pro cause you don't wear headgear.

If you are an amateur boxer who spars somewhat regularly and maybe has a fight or two a year I don't think you'd get that much head trauma but if you are pro and fighting without headgear like 3 times a year then you're most likely ending up with CTE.

It also entirely depends on what drugs you do. Some drugs will mess your body up but not your brain, while some will mess up your brain. There's a lot of factors.

 

[foodcrisis]

i got hit by a car which is kind of like messing up your body playing sports, and i have to say i could've seen myself drinking and using stimulants till my body went out. i'm thinking i would've been the type of person that if had complications would've taken warning from a doctor and stopped, but i was kind of going till i had health problems with the schedule i was on.... now that i've had some time injured and can't really handle specific drugs, i tend to care less about using them even though my body has healed a bit and might be able to go back to them.

idk, i would think having some sports related injuries could put some people in a place like myself where they don't like withdrawing from drugs or drinking, so they don't really do it, or they could have the opposite where they just want to cure the pain and end up getting fucked up all the time.. not really the point of the thread but something to think about... being injured creates more pain with drug use ime.

 

[Mycophile]

B.

Drug use doesn't necessarily strain the body, nor cause it wear and tear like college-level sports. I mean, sure, drug use (primarily abuse) can do that, but not all the time. Also, the brain can heal itself from drug abuse issues without intervention. The same thing cannot be said about most sports-related injuries.

Now, if we were talking simple exercise and not sports? I think I would probably choose exercise over drugs.

I really can't understand how you came to this answer, and I think the MORE COMMON answer is so obvious that it's ridiculous to even ask.

I mean FOR ME I'm really into martial arts and those have taken a toll on my body and that's a bit of a different scenario but he's talking about playing hockey and football. I mean sure you CAN get brain damage from football, but overall most people who just play for fun aren't going to. He didn't say he would be playing pro in this scenario.

For the most part, playing sports is going to put you in BETTER shape rather than worse, and if the drugs you are using aren't psychedelics or weed but harder drugs like heroin, meth, crack, lots of booze, etc then that shit is obviously going to completely fuck you up.

But there are ways in which martial arts can mess you up. I do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and it has resulted in 3 torn ACLs, a torn wrist ligament and worst of call, cervical disk disease which causes problems in my neck that will be life long. That being said, I lift weights for physical therapy five days a week and my legs and neck are now extremely strong because of all that work, and overall I am just in good physical shape because I'm exercising so frequently. I also don't think I will regret doing martial arts cause I just love it so much and it's such a part of my personality.

So yeah, I'll have arthritis in my knees and pain in my neck, but if you were to pretend I never did any drugs (I obviously have, though I don't think I've significantly shortened my life with them and I never really did most hard drugs) and then compare me to a serious heroin, meth or crack user, then there's no fucking question that I'm OVERALL going to be better off PHYSICALLY as an athlete.

Like, you do that shit and you're fucking up your heart, your liver, sometimes your brain, etc and you'll almost certainly be dying younger. On the other hand, I can and probably will be in pretty good shape at 60 I'll just have to deal with pain from my injuries.

So I mean, it's apples and oranges, but OVERALL just as a blanket question: one guy did a lot of sports in his 20s and no drugs and the other did a lot of drugs in his 20s and no sports......I mean COME ON how is that even a question?? Most people who play sports are in great shape and take care of their bodies in order to perform well so they eat well etc and drug users ruin their bodies. Are we REALLY in that much denial here?

 

[lost weekend]

People who play team sports especially or played them when they were young seem to be more outgoing, mentally stable and relaxed in social situations
I spent my youth taken drugs so I'm pretty much the opposite
Physical wise I'd rather have had a torn ligimant than a fatty liver from beer

 

[lost weekend]

On a flip side there seems to be more and more evidence linking head knocks and dementia later on in years especially in professional sports
In fact just a quick Google search suggests there 3.5 more likely to develop some sort of brain trauma in later life than the general population just by heading a football.
Not sure I totally agree with that.

 

[emkee_reinvented]

To young to react. Like being asked your age when getting Weed. Or called sir getting Twister Fries. Some clarification about team sport in order. Did a test once outcome, made for solo sport s. Like Athletic s excluding estafette of course.

Lots of Alcohol/ smoking use starts at the sportclubs it seems Part of sport culture in club canteens. Not atm anymore. But a risk for sure back then. But what i hated most. Getting up early. Saturday or Sunday morning. Even before i started taking drugs. .

Taking drug s with peer s is team work, and qualifies as sport imo.

Ending live fit is a gift. No clue what the secret is but. Bring yourself to activity ? My neighbor s use the car to get groceries. Shop is less then a 10 minute walk, crazy. So no wonder they get fat and have to go to a gym to compensate.

Viagra Boy s worded it nice in the track 'Sports'.

 

[M!$TER-ED]

Can you be older than 60, or do you have to be 60?

 

[HeadphonesandLSD]

Having done both I'd say doing sports messed me up more than the drugs. My knees were shot by age 25, suffered multiple concussions, torn shoulder, and misc. broken bones (the fingers bother me the most). The drugs in themselves didn't hurt me anywhere near as badly. But the life long addiction(s) I have now as a result of going too hard into daily use really do suck. Honestly, without the sports I wouldn't have gotten introduced to the worst two drugs I'm personally addicted to (benzos and opioids).

My little brother played basketball and his knees are shot to the point where he couldn't play anymore by the time he made it to 20. He's always been anti-drug (won't drink alcohol anymore) but he's got his problems and suffers from pain. He's hasn't reached 40 yet and I'm sure it'll get worse for him as life goes on.

"Sports" is a wide array of things. If I'd been a speed walker instead of a hockey, football, and motorcross guy I'd probably be better off now. Of the three sports I participated in motorcross fucked me up the worse for sure. Hockey was rough but it more of a cumulative type of injury with it. They don't play the game the same way as they did back then. I couldn't make a hockey team in today's world because they don't have any need for goons anymore.

Football was plain stupid. The coaches were encouraging us to hurt ourselves. Concussions were laughed off and we got them all of the time in practice. Sprained ankles were treated by lacing your cleats up tighter and running on it. You were expected to walk everything off and the culture encouraged being a tough guy and playing through the pain. The QB from my team suffered a major concussion in one game early. He got up and walked to the other team's bench after a sack. Had no idea where he was. They put him back in the game after a short rest. He played the rest of the game and we won. He doesn't remember anything that happened after the sack.

Motorcross was hard on my back and knees. Got multiple concussions riding even during casual rides. Almost killed myself more than once. It's scary when your illusion of control is shattered and you're flying through the air wondering if the bike is going to follow you.

I participated in multiple motorsports in my late teens and early-mid 20s. There was no real safety like there is today. We were not required to wear neck restraints for example. Everyone wore loose belts because they feared being burned alive more than hitting the wall. Took a bunch of hard licks into concrete walls doing that over the years. Flipped over more than once. But out of all the sports I participated in that was probably the tamest.

I think someone growing up today has less of a chance to get seriously injured playing most sports. If they do get hurt people treat it seriously instead of telling them to man up and walk it off. So you'd get proper medical care at least.

With drugs my only real regrets are developing addictions which fucked up other aspects of my life. The actual drug use wasn't that bad. There were a couple of close calls where I nearly ODed or I was tripping too hard from taking too much. But I always knew that if I rode out the effects things would eventually return to normal. I gave myself HPPD for a couple of years from heavy use. Mainly messing with powder that was active in the milligram range but not bothering to weigh it. I'd dip my pinky in the bag and casually eat the stuff. Kept that up for several months until I gave the rest of the bag away to someone. I saw tracers and various things for many months after that. I thought I'd permanently screwed up my vision. It was really bad right after I woke up. But eventually it went away because I abstained from taking anything for about a year or two.

I wouldn't go back and change anything. The injuries happened doing things I loved. So I guess they were worth it.

I also don't plan on living to 60. So worrying about what's going to happen at that age is moot. I'm sure I'll have kicked the bucket by then.