Courtesy of WOWSA, Tampa Bay Frogman Swim, Florida.

Extreme sports seems to have more definitions and shades of meaning than simple words like ‘good’ or ‘cool’.

When most people think of extreme sports, they generally think of ultra marathon running, triathlons, rowing across the Atlantic or cycling or cross-country skiing for very long distances. Climbing Mount Everest or running Badwater certainly qualify as extreme sports. But rarely do most people think of swimming as an example of extreme sports, unless the water is near freezing or the distance is very long.

We all can think of swimmers who have trained as many – or more – hours per week than runners or cyclists. And they have done so for decades.

So every different form of exercise is not the same. Running two hours per day for decades would lead to all kinds of joint issues, as starters. But swimming for 2 hours a day is something that many people do for decades without any issues.

So extreme can come with many different definitions and forms with a wide variety of outcomes.

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