Many of us strive to achieve physical health but struggle with reaching impossible goals we set for ourselves.
Some are more determined than others but aren't happy with the results.
We are our own worst critics, so without a friend or a professional keeping our sanity in check, many of us tend to overexert ourselves. This can lead to regretful decisions.
Curious to hear from those who've pushed themselves too far, a Redditor asked:
"What is the craziest thing you have put your body through?"
When you're young, you think you're invincible. That's mistake number one.
Going Nowhere Fast
"I ran a marathon in 2009 with no training out of spite. I couldn't walk for three days."
"[Edit - I gather from multiple comments that something like this happened in an episode of popular American sitcom, How I Met Your Mother. I have not seen this episode, but I guess this sort of inadvisable strategy is more common than I thought.]" – solo1y
"So back around 2012 I was in a fantasy football league that had a punishment for coming in last. At that time, the punishment was you had to register for and attempt to run our city's annual marathon, but the kicker was you were not allowed to train for it. Every year except for one, the poor soul bowed out after only a couple miles."
"The one exception was one guy who finished it. No idea how he did it, but he did. He damaged his kidneys and started pissing blood later that evening."
"When we took him to the ER, one of the nurses scolded us for putting him through that. She, a runner herself, informed us that a huge part of marathon training is conditioning your internal organs to the point that they can handle it when you run that much at once."
"Unless you run on a very regular basis, kidney damage can absolutely happen if you do what this guy managed to do somehow. He ended up being fine, but he also couldn't walk for days afterwards and he was pissed at himself and us for a little while."
– BrilliantWeight
How Dare He
"I was 22 yo and hanging out in a bar one night, as 22 yos do. An acquaintance told me he would give me $2000 if I could complete a century bike ride the next day. I didn’t have a bike or any of the gear. Hadn’t ridden an actual bike in god knows how long. Spin classes don’t count."
"He let me borrow his bike and gear. And I competed it!! I have never been in so much pain in my life but $2000 to a 22 year old seemed like a million. About a decade later the same guy offered me 5k to chug a fifth of Jack while we were golfing. Told him to f'k off on that one."
– Green_Rest_4823
What The Ruck?
"I used to do ruck challenges, worst one was a 'short' ruck, 20 hours to complete 50 miles, minimum ruck weight was 40 pounds. Worst blisters you could imagine, and also had some nice stress fractures in my feet by the end of it."
– BigMV255
Workin That Upper Body
"I just completed a pushup challenge. 100k pushups in less than one year. Including every day I took off to rest, I did it in 363 days. Really f'king glad that's over."
– SaucyFlix
Waterlogged
"Swimming in a full SWAT get up in an Olympic pool. That lasted for 8 hours. Water survival training was NOT fun."
– AltFragment
"I don't know if I wasn't following instructions or just was exhausted, but I fell off the diving board with a blindfold on, and my weapon hit me in the face when I hit the water. Trying to pull off my body armor determine which way was up retain my weapon was almost too much. I never felt like I came closer to drowning than that day."
– coryhill66
Unforeseen Circumstances
"Running 72km (my récord) was aiming for 100. But later got hit by a car Who wasnt paying attention. Hit and run. And since then never could run again."
– kageyayuu
Our bodies put up with a lot when foreign agents enter our bodies.
In Treatment
"Chemo." – Bravowhiskey85
"I wanna say to all of you cancer fighters, yall are f**king badasses! I’m proud of each and every one of you. ❤️" – SatansWife13
"I'm doing an immunotherapy clinical trial at the moment that has almost no side effects. It was bizzare going home after having my port de-accessed and not crawling sickly into bed, but instead going and watching my son's soccer practice. Nice change of pace." – Pats_Bunny
Bottoms Up
"Alcoholism. By the end of my drinking days(I'm 7 years sober), I was puking green bile, pooping liquid black, and had DTs. My heart would be racing at 120bpm constantly."
– Darthgusss
Addiction
"Heroin and cocaine addiction. I shouldn’t be alive, man. 5 years clean."
– problyurdad_
"I feel this!! I've got 6 years from oxycodone and 6 weeks from alcohol!"
– Indialopez96
Tiny Bubbles
"I got the bends about 10 years ago. It was a bunch of odd sensations: tingling migrating all over the body, spontaneous vertigo, just an 'off' feeling combined with nausea that was just a little unlike any nausea I had ever felt."
"Turned out, I had tiny bubbles forming in my spine and brain. The doctors put me in a hyperbaric chamber twice for a total of about 9 hours. At this point, a decade out, I’m left with ringing in one ear, balance that’s not what it should be, and a lifetime diving prohibition."
– 1tacoshort
Bringing Life At A Cost
"Being pregnant and childbirth. This has destroyed me in more ways than I expected. My teeth are completely pitted on the sides, my insides feel like they are still very jiggly and loose, I cannot use the bathroom without aid, even after physical therapy and 7 1/2 years of recovery; my hair, my eyesight, my belly button, my mind, and so much more! It’s not just a change, I have been negatively impacted by pregnancy and childbirth."
"I did everything 'right': eat nutritious meals, exercise, make sure I was taking vitamins, and try to prepare myself mentally and emotionally, including hiring a Doula and taking classes, and researching for many, many hours. But I still required years of therapy, and I’m going to need several (major) surgeries to repair my insides."
"Reflecting back, nothing really could’ve helped this outcome be any different. The reality of it is, childbirth and growing the baby can destroy parts of you permanently. I would say, that is definitely the craziest thing I ever put my body through."
– reallyyhannahh
There are limits to being still, and you can't also be stationary long enough.
The Sedentary Life
"sit at my desk and not move for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week."
– 2mathematical
"I Work Same hours, desk Job, but I've switched my printer from direct to Client to the one furthest Back in the Office building. Everytime i Print something~every 20 min i have to Take a 2 min Walk there and back. Standing desk helps too."
– damnimnoreddituser
Excessive Job Commitment
"Untill February of this year, I held a management position where I was desk bound for 10 plus hours a day 6 days a week has taken a toll. Gained so much weight. I already have back issues now that are magnified even more."
"Try to move around and walk on breaks and lunch. I should have listened to my own advise."
– reloader1977
Importance Of Counting Sheep
"in retrospect i think it was the years of on and off sleep deprivation from high school through college. the more i learn about the importance of sleep the more i wonder what years of 3-4 hours did to me."
– PersonalChipmunk3605
Prepping for a colonoscopy was the most unpleasant necessity my body had to endure.
It's never about the procedure, which takes place without you being aware it's happening, but it's the cleansing part and neverending trips to the bathroom that make it the worst.
Nevertheless, it's a small sacrifice to pay for a detecting a potential health threat. Do it. You'll be glad you did.
