Sports and INTP

[Shatokan]

I, strangely, love sports(participating in, not watching). One of my favorites is riding my mountain bike down, into and through Palo Duro Canyon near my home town. I find the exertion exhilarating and love the thrill. I find them as fun if not funner than surfing the internet.
The difference is, after riding my bike for a straight hour, i feel accomplished, like I did something worthwhile. Then, I go home to surf the net for an hour and feel I accomplished nothing, craving the thrill and excitement of seeing more of nature.
My question is, is this something most INTP people enjoy or is it mostly me?

For me it's an emotional release, I can lose the tension, think freely about where I'm going to turn next, how fast I'm going to go and when I am going to rest. I create a system where my mind, instead of thinking how I look, what to say next, how to walk, etc. takes a break and lets my body do the work. Sometimes this has even happened to me at social events on days when i feel extremely happy.

One example is, one of the party's a nearby church was holding for college kids last simester, a few aquantinces got me to go and instead of sulking and being alone, I found myself extremely happy, even dancing to some songs. Are these random bursts of extroversion(they happened way more frequently in high-school) part of me or do they happen to most of you too?
Does being extremely happy or excited help you lose your intpness?

I know for a fact that the happier I am easier I interact with people, losing the shyness, but then after so long, the energy falters and i get tired. So I still need time alone to regenerate, but have no problems in a crowded room, even thriving on it sometimes.

 

[Wish]

Oh you are not alone my friend! I too thoroughly enjoy playing sports, or really any physical activity in general. Some of my favorite activities are.. basketball, tennis, hiking, swimming, running, climbing things then jumping off, and others that aren't immediately coming to mind. Physical exertion is definitely something I enjoy - testing your bodies limits, kinesthetic experiences, it's all enjoyable. The quick judgment and muscle memory involved is also a nice break from all of the mental activity we would have otherwise been doing.

As far as enjoying yourself in social situations, it is definitely best to find yourself, or maneuver yourself into the right (or a favorable) state of mind beforehand. When you get a better grasp of where your body is at any point in time and space, it makes it that much easier. I don't know if this necessarily means losing your INTPness, but feeling more comfortable with yourself in this respect can relieve some of the pressure on your mind that would otherwise be spent thinking about where you are and what you're doing and what it will lead to, etc.

 

[ashitaria]

Two words: Tennis and Badminton. Don't really care for much else.

 

[Adymus]

Don't care for sports at all... But I am really into dancing, I figure that might be sort of relevant because very much like you, I consider it a great emotional release for me.

 

[Döden]

I've always been terrible with sports (I was the kid that sat out of soccer games to read my animal encyclopedia), but I love impulsive physical activities that sort of come about, like running.

 

[Ermine]

I don't particularly love sports in an organized or competitive setting, but I otherwise like sports a lot. They're especially great in a social setting, just getting some people together to throw a frisbee, or play tennis, or whatever. That way, there's plenty of interaction, and required conversation is minimal beyond "Hey! I'm open!" or "It's your turn to serve". It's great. I also like sports because it's an easy fun way to stay fit. I'm fine with my body and my weight, but I always want to be fit enough that I am never inhibited.

I also like to do more solitary stuff like walking and skiing. Skiing is especially great because no matter how many times I go on the same run, there's always something different. The conditions are different every day, and I could focus on improving my form, trying tricks, or just picking something so advanced all I focus on is making it down. There are tons of options, and it's never predictable.

 

[Firehazard159]

I enjoy sports, love music :P

Taekwondo, Soccer, Dance Dance Revolution, Hiking/Climbing (It's something more than that, but that's the jist of it...)

Physically activity/exertion is enjoyable.

 

[LAM]

Two words: Tennis and Badminton. Don't really care for much else.

o wow another person that likes badmington... Same as him, except I like soccer and especially skying. I don't like water sports anymore. They are too wet D:

 

[Words]

Absolutely all sports. Im fond of attention..! and considering how I consider myself quite considerably athletic...loving, sports becomesmain focus. The crowds, cheers, pace, freedom, competition and especially attention are the main motivators, and, surprisingly, not the actual physical activity.

 

[White Rabbit]

I used to be on a water polo varsity team in my first year of college, but I quit eventually as I got sick of all the forced "teams stick together" thing. I would consider dancing as a great sport and it's an amazing way to feel the body and develop spontaneity. Any sort of physical activity is always welcome, more oxygen in my brain always makes me feel refreshed and more aware of what's going on.

Mens sana in coropre sano

 

[Luminates]

I played baseball for 11 years, Soccer for 4 years and one of my favorite classes in HS is Lifetime fitness, which is a mixture of lifting and physical events like tennis, running, volleyball, etc. So I guess you could say I love sports, but I have slowed down on playing anything really. Not to sure as to why, I just got interested in more various things, but I would always love to play sports, but never watch. I get bored (usually pretty fast) when watching any sport really, especially Nascar!! That's almost calling for an intermediate sleep on the couch.

 

[Words]

Watching sports = 0
Participating in it = 10

My definition of sports only includes within the activity and not outside of it.

 

[Malt]

I am happy I found this thread because I was wondering if INTP's were sport orientated. From what I had read and conversations on IRC I thought most stuck to the nerd stereotype and never had much activity.

For me I enjoy swimming and running (I run 3k's every night) because they give me alone time. I don't like swimming when it's packed, I prefer to have a 50m lane to myself. My body goes on automatic and my mind has time to wander free from the constant input coming from surfing the internet. I also get a itch to do physical things if I sit at the computer for hours on end.

I play floorball (played field hockey until this last year) which is a very intense sport. You sprint constantly for 2-5 mins and then take a break and then go back on. I enjoy team sports because I am an extremely competitive person (I think it's to do with INTP need to prove that I am competant) and I can't stand to lose. Team sports provide others to test myself against.

When I miss a shot or don't follow up a pass to the level I expect of myself I become angry and have short (1-5 second) outbursts of anger directed at myself for failing to meet my own exacting standards. I guess you could call what I do growling and I push my body to the absolute limit to make up for it as well as becoming aggressive. I believe from what I have read that this is my shadow function coming forward or something along those lines. Unfortunately for my size (6 foot, 3inches) I can become very intimidating to others even though if you meet me on the street I am a very calm and happy person.

 

[BigApplePi]

You won't believe this. I always run alone listening to my body with a pre-planned goal. I keep track of my runs inserting them into a spreadsheet depending on the distance. I use that to calculate the percentile rank and that tells me how well or poorly I'm doing. One year I decided to train for the Corporate Challenge which is about 3.6 miles in the park. I trained for it, diet and carbo loading the day before, etc. I even took unnecessary keys off my chain to lighten the load.

The day of the race I wanted to get near the start line as it was crowded. I walked my way up to about the front 5th of the crowd. So in taking off I found I needed to go my best pace and get past these slower guys. I found myself in the middle of a crowd something I wasn't used to. They were all breathing in an out in unison! Loud huffs and puffs. I couldn't believe it. These guys were all (Exxx's (extroverts) or something close to it. I got the hell outta there.

Ran a personal best. That was over ten years ago. Still running but much more slowly.

 

[Agent Intellect]

Best sport ever (to do, not watch) is fishing.

Second is ping-pong.

 

[Malt]

Best sport ever (to do, not watch) is fishing.

Second is ping-pong.

I used to fish when I was young, I didn't mind the act but the smell of bait sometimes made it unbearable. I always prefered to trawl than use bait.

Ping-pong is AWESOME, I haven't played in years though.

 

[le roi]

neurochemistry and you: a primer

 

[echoplex]

I like sports to a degree. I'm not that big on the pure athleticism but I love watching it for the strategy and competition. I probably liked sports alot more when I was younger but it's still an enjoyable activity today. And I know there's practically no way I'll engage in physical exercise unless I can turn it into a game. Pushups and running are boring, but I like basketball because there's strategy involved.

 

[LorenzE2]

Tennis is enjoyable for me, and I was once a regional champion of it. However, all sports with time become repetitive, lacking any extrodinary depth to continuously stimulate me.

 

[BigApplePi]

Pushups and running are boring

I do both and am never bored. It's a competition against oneself and is never the same each time. I am anxious before starting though.

 

[citrusbreath95]

I like participating in certain sports, hate watching them- I find it boring, but I enjoy track/running, swimming, a little bit of tennis, I'm pretty good at any sport I do, but I'll never be a Michael Jordan or anything, or want to, I like sports as it helps to release tension, clear my mind a bit, and hey exercising gives you endorphines as well

 

[The Frood]

I play Ultimate, Soccer(indoor and outdoor), fence, and hike.

As has been said, sports are my emotional safety valve. I become a different person, (talking mostly about soccer here, and ultimate to a lesser extent) very aggressive (despite my below average stature lol) and not afraid to give or take a hit.

I am a very competitive person, and tend to take games (of all sorts) much more seriously than others.

For single exercise like running and such, I find it very hard to find the motivation to get out and do it. When I do, it is generally sort of a half effort.

I hate watching sports, it is so boring! Especially American football.

 

[SweetLeaf1189]

One of my passions is horseback riding. I own a horse and I'm competitive in dressage and eventing. The element of another living being (that isn't a human) being your partner makes the whole sport extremely complex - though it may not seem so - the goal is to make it look easy.
I did ballet for 7 years and was naturally talented at it, but was completely indifferent towards it so there was no point to pursue it any further.

I also like bike riding, working out in general (obviously not a sport, but a physical activity), hiking, tried skiing and loved it but don't live around any mountains (VERY unfortunate as I can see myself getting into MOST mountain sports/activities, especially climbing). I've always wanted to get into tennis as well. I just thoroughly enjoy being outdoors.

 

[EditorOne]

Used to enjoy baseball, but was also quite self-conscious at the time. Doesn't help your focus. :-) However I got good enough at it to have enough self confidence to perform fairly well.

Also did bicycle racing very briefly. Tore up my knee first time out. Phooey.

The team sport I liked best was volunteer firefighting. Now there's a sport with a real-world purpose. ​

 

[NeverAmI]

I was mediocre at best when I was younger for sports, too inhibited by my mind. I never developed a liking of sports, although I was big into baseball an basketball cards when I was young.

Within the past few years I started watching MMA and I really enjoy that. Probably because of its practical uses in everyday life. Not to say that it necessarily should be used at all. :P

I don't mind playing sports if I am not in a particularly strong self-conscious state.

 

[Vatroslav]

About sports, only thing I was ever into is martial arts, and not much because here in Dubrovnik you don't have martial arts, but sport, that sucks. Till this year when there finally came to be ninjutsu trainings. Awesome.

About dancing... I don't dance. And that is not a rule. It is a cosmic law, the unchangeable constant, like speed of light in vacuum. Never liked it, never did, and probably never will... not that I'm not musical, I love music, I play instruments, I sing... but dancing? Thanks but no thanks.

 

[Ska]

It's probably because of my parents, but I've played sports ever since I was little. Tried baseball and basketball, but stuck with ice hockey, which I played over ten years. I enjoy playing almost any sport (hockey is awesome but PING PONG might be my favorite) and watching football and hockey.

Sports always helped me overcome some of my INTP-ness probably. Not as much in the locker room (was always the quiet kid unless I knew everyone on the team), but on the ice I would transform into a different person. Kind of like when I gain social skills when I'm determined to accomplish something else. I was an assistant captain starting my sophomore year in high school and the captain my senior year. It was sometimes hard to lead, but when I really wanted something I could talk to anyone however I wanted. It was like a different part of me took over.

I don't know about you guys, but I feel that's how it is for a lot of things. If I can get my mind thinking a certain way then I feel I can do lots of things I would normally be afraid of. The problem is getting in that comfortable mindset where you're concentrated on a task that takes your mind off of everything else. Anyone else feel this way?

 

[Jah]

I used to be really in for Snowboarding and suchlike.
But now I've been through a period of heavy involvement with Yoga (which kinda tires out after a while as I seem to be getting better results with less workout now. Though I'm still a quite apt yogi, and probably more flexible than most.)

Actually, I've always viewed Sex as a better way of spending energy than sports.


Spectator sports is a big no, though it kinda seems like a better alternative than war, if you should find yourself valuing human lives and safety etc.

Never been one for Team-sports, since it seems to leave way too much of the result in the hands of potentially useless team-mates.


I understand Running, and respect it, as a challenge to push yourself beyond your own limits and find out how able you are to really tax yourself beyond your comfort zones. (My brother does this, much due to reading Murakami, I think.) I, however, don't enjoy it particularly myself. It takes too much time, but I'll do it on occasion.

I'm a fan of High Intensity Resistance-training, and do this once a week.
Probably spending up to 15 minutes of focused intentional work-out each week.