An Unpleasant Reminder – The Human Body Has Its Limits

Shohei Ohtani.

Absolutely incredibly talented.

Won’t get too deep into the stats, but if you’ve watched him play, the fact alone that he’s both a pitcher and a hitter (and both good ones at that) combined in a single player is astounding.

Definitely a once in a lifetime chance to see a player of this caliber.

That being said, despite his natural talent, he’s had to undergo some surgery from being injured.

At a high level, we believe that him being injured boils down to overuse and limits in the human capabilities.

We’ve all likely thrown baseballs in our lives and recollecting about our childhoods will probably remind us of a time of how hard we tried to throw the ball or “how far” could we throw the ball. Imagine giving it all your might but relative to a professional athlete, the ball goes nowhere.

We can all agree that throwing 100 mph must be strenuous on the body.

The Cuban Missle, Aroldis Chapman, a pitcher of similar caliber, throwing 100 mph bombs, is a star! But all he is is just a pitcher. And a closing one at that. Despite his insane athletic abilities, can you see him being a starting pitcher throwing 6+ innings as well as Ohtani can? No!

Ohtani provides the reliability of a starting pitcher…and more!

Seriously rivaling Babe Ruth!

But going back to the point, it’s possible that even with such talent, we’re only human.

Chapman even tested positive for COVID!

If that doesn’t show you that you’re immune to getting COVID, I don’t know what will!

The damage of COVID is too real.

Let’s all take a step back and keep in mind that we’re all human. It’s okay to be fatigued from your workout. It’s okay to be fatigued from every day life.

The human body is like a battery, and think of each day as one battery charge. You wake up, get ready, start working – this will expend some energy whether it feels like it or not. Mondays – you might feel recharged from the weekend and by Wednesday, the same tasks you were doing Monday now feel like you need to put in extra effort by the time Wednesday rolls around. This is exactly what I’m feeling now!

Professional athletes aren’t made out of steel or rubber. Even though they may exhibit enormous amounts of strength, balance, or flexibility, they can get injured!

Don’t place your bets on being invincible – anything is possible.

No one could’ve even predicted a “global pandemic”, am I right?

It’s important to understand the capabilities of your body. We can’t do it all. But knowing how our bodies work will enable us for success. Understanding our bodies will ensure that we won’t push it too hard, or give us confidence that we can push it hard on those days we need to, and take time for recovery.

As we get older, we find ourselves needing more time off to recover, needing more rest, needing more sleep compared to when we were younger. Gone are the days where we have limitless amounts of energy. Where we can roam around all day and not be tired.

Professional athletes will even see this too as we start seeing a decline from athletes’ peaks when they’re around 33~34. Look at Kobe Bryant’s PPG stats throughout his career and you’ll get a feel of his prime and decline. If you don’t believe Kobe Bryant isn’t a prime example of the human capabilities, you can go back to your textbooks and continue digesting that theoretical data.

All in all, the human body has its limits. We have our ups and downs. We have a finite energy source.