Chatterbox #354 – Giving it your all

Hello everyone, how's it going? It's Andrew here and you're listening to chatterbox. The QLIP series, which features real conversations between native speakers about interesting topics. And this series is designed for intermediate, upper, intermediate, even advanced English learners. So if you're looking to improve your English fluency and you're in that intermediate to advanced range, then this is the perfect series for you. In just a moment, I'll be joined by my co-host Anna. And we're going to talk today about pushing yourself to the limit. It all starts with a story that went viral around the world recently, at a high-rocks fitness race in Beijing, China, and Australian athlete pushed herself to the limits and had a bathroom accident in the middle of the race. And instead of stopping to go to the bathroom and clean herself up, she just kept going and as a result, she won the race. But that's not the end of the story. And Anna and I talk about what we would have done in her shoes and then we zoom out to a bigger question. When does pushing yourself stop being a good thing? And guys, for active English practice with us here today, make sure to follow along with this lesson in the QLIP's app. Members can read along with the 100% human-checked transcript, see definitions for any word or expression just by tapping on them, and practice their pronunciation plus more. The link to become a member is in the description for this episode. OK, and without any further ado, let's get right to it and welcome Anna to the conversation. Here we go. Enjoy. [MUSIC PLAYING] Hello, Anna, how's it going today? Hello, Andrew. I'm very well. How about yourself? I'm doing well, Anna, and I'm a little bit nervous for this episode just because we're going to talk about something that we don't really talk about on QLIP's too much. And that is pushing yourself too hard, pushing yourself to the absolute limits. And listeners, you're going to know exactly what we're talking about here in just a moment. Because recently, there was an incident that really became infamous, right? It was like an infamous incident that happened in China in a high-rocks competition. And Anna, I'll let you maybe set the stage for this episode. Could you tell all of our listeners exactly what we're going to talk about today? All right, well, the first question is, have you ever heard of high-rocks? It's basically this fitness race that's become really, really popular all over the world. You run one kilometer, then you do a workout station like pushing a heavy sled, rowing, or burpees. And you repeat that eight times. It's been really popular in all over the news, actually. And lots of people have been talking about it. So you may have heard it through a friend or somebody you know. Well, the thing is, at a high-rocks race recently in Beijing, an Australian athlete had a bathroom accident in the middle of the race. I hope you can maybe understand for the subjects what I'm talking about here. She says she felt completely healthy at the start, but instead of stopping and actually going to the bathroom, she kept going, and she didn't eventually win the race. After that, there were lots of videos online. And a lot of people were really upset mostly about hygiene, because other athletes were using the same equipment that she was using. The high-rocks co-founder apologized for how the officials handled it. And then the athlete herself also apologized too, and said she should have stepped off the track and given up her win. So the question here, and it's generated a lot of debate, is what do you think? Put yourself in her shoes. Would you have stopped the race, or would you have kept going? I think this is a great question to kick us off Andrew. So what do you think? Well, yeah, this infamous incident of this Australian athletes. And just to paint maybe, unfortunately, a clearer picture for you all guys, she was working so hard and going so fast during this high-rocks race that she actually pooped her pants. That's what she did. So she had an accident in the middle of the race, but she didn't stop. She didn't let that keep her from finishing. And amazingly, also the officials and the referees of this style of race, they also didn't stop her. Anna, did you actually see any pictures or videos of this incident? Did you see those online? I did. I think it was quite hard not to a certain point, because they were being shared so widely on social media. So it wasn't just like a small accident. This was quite a large issue that she had. So unfortunately, for her, of course, these types of events, there's lots of photographers and lots of people there on her phone. So there was many people that had pictures of it. So I did see it. And it was quite bad, I think, objectively we could say. So it really surprised me. Like you said, Andrew, there as well. There were lots of people there. And I can understand her motivation and dedication to winning the race and the event. But it also seemed odd that nobody was acknowledging the fact that she maybe needed to go to the bathroom or clean herself up. It was almost as if it hadn't happened and people were just ignoring it. I guess maybe people didn't really know what to do. Maybe it hadn't happened before. But that was kind of the odd part for me is that everyone was ignoring the fact that somebody was completing the event with their legs covered in poo. Yeah. So it was quite graphic, quite nasty. And I understand from the athlete's perspective, like you train really hard for these events. You put everything you have into it. I believe this athlete, she's actually like a world record holder or one of the champions or something, I can't really remember. To be honest, I don't follow this sport. It's a rather new sport, high rocks. It's this hybrid sport. Like you mentioned Anna where you're doing some racing and you're doing some heavy lifting and exercises. And usually you do it inside. It's like in almost like an arena type of thing. So that's another element to it as well, right? Because you're in this indoor arena and you're going around an indoor track and you're touching equipment, right? You have to like lift things and pull things and you're doing burpees where you're getting up and down off the ground. So to me, it's pretty dirty and unhygienic for her to continue. And it's a little bit, I think, unfortunate that she did continue and not consider the hygienic conditions of the event for the other athletes. But I still do understand wanting to put everything, absolutely everything into your race because it's your livelihood. Like that's what she does. She's an athlete. She's at the highest level. She wants to give it her all. And nothing's going to stop her. So on the one hand, I think it's pretty nasty. And it's unfortunate that it had to happen. But on the other hand, I totally get wanting to give it your all. And to an extent, I really sort of do respect her that she didn't quit, that she kept going. So I don't really know how I feel. I'm just glad I wasn't participating in that race. I'll put it that way. You're glad you weren't directly after her, right? Yeah. You know, the person that has to go after? Yeah. Learning English is easier when you're not doing it alone. Several times a week, Q-Lips members join live speaking classes on Zoom with a fantastic Q-Lips teacher and other learners from all over the world. The classes are friendly and supportive, and they're a great way to be active with your English and grow your skills. And in our upcoming classes, we'll be talking about this episode. So if you have an opinion about that high-rocks race, come on over and share it. Become a Q-Lips member using the link in the description. And join us in class. OK, and now back to our conversation. Yeah, it's a tricky one, isn't it? And I mean, it blew up on social media massively. And I can understand, because as you said, it's a really graphic picture. And everybody is like, oh, I want to go and have a look at the picture and whatnot. These things do happen, though, when people do these types of really intense activities and events. It's not the first time I've seen something similar. There was a long distance runner called Paula Redcliffe that had a similar incident where she had to go to the bathroom at the side of the road. She was doing a marathon. And she just crouched down and did her business there and then continued running. So it wasn't such a mess, as we saw in this case. But it does happen to athletes when they're doing this type of sports. Sometimes they can get upset tummies. if they haven't eaten the right things before or for whatever reason they're body is playing up on that day, I do think though in this case it was a little bit much. I was kind of quite shocked actually that your first thought wouldn't be to go to the bathroom. I mean, certainly in my case, I think I can say quite confidently that I would not have continued if that had been my case. But then again, maybe the adrenaline took over. Maybe she was just absolutely had her blinkers on. She was like, "I am going to win that no matter what." But she has actually given up her win after all of this sort of scandal and everything going viral. So she's actually given up her title position. So yeah, I mean, I think there's responsibility on all parts. She had a responsibility perhaps to make sure it was clean, et cetera. But also the officials there had a responsibility to guide her and also say, "I think maybe it's time to take a break maybe and just visit the bathroom perhaps." So there's responsibility on all sides, but it was just kind of a perfect storm, right? Things like this are going to blow up on social media. And is it really that important? Probably not. You know, does it really need to be front page news? I don't think so. But, you know, it's just one of those stories that people love talking about, right? Yeah, it is just a little bit funny. And actually, I feel pretty bad for the athlete. Like, I can't imagine what it's like to be her because here you go from one moment. She just won the race, right? Like, that's another important detail. She actually won this event. She was the champion. And then like you said, Anna, after the scandal broke out and everybody was criticizing her for not quitting and continuing to the end, then yeah, there's this huge controversy. And then everybody knows you as the athlete who pooped your pants, which is probably pretty embarrassing. And then you have to give up your wins. So you're no longer the champion. I think her two big sponsors because athletes, this kind of sport, which is not like a really, really, really popular sport like basketball or baseball or something, often the athletes are sponsored, right? And they depend, I think, mostly on those sponsorships for their livelihood for making a living. Of course, if they win a race, they get some money for that. But many of them rely mostly on the sponsorships for their main income as far as I'm aware. And her two big sponsors, this is really unfortunate. Anna, did you hear about this side of the story? I wonder. I didn't. I didn't. So her one big sponsorship is actually a nutrition company that makes like car beverages and maybe gels, energy gels, this kind of thing. So you can imagine that's not a very good look for them, right? Like she's, she's representing energy gel and energy drink and this kind of thing. But then, you know, like, is anybody going to want to buy that product anymore? You're like, oh, if I take these gels before the race, I'm going to poop my pants during the middle of the race. So I think that's not a very good look for her to represent that company. And then the main athletic like shoe and sportswear brand that sponsoring her is actually Puma. And Puma is a brand that I really like actually for running. One of my favorite runners, a Canadian runner is sponsored by Puma. And I like their products. I have some of their shoes. I think they're great. But there were so many jokes about her wearing Puma shorts and people making jokes like Puma pants, which is pretty funny. You know, like, Oh, it's here. That's quite good. Yeah. That's going to be a lot of blowback on the brand. And, you know, her job as a sponsor for these brands is to promote them and to make more people want to buy the products. But I'm sure Puma is just like, oh, that's the worst thing that could have happened is for people to be making Puma pants jokes about their shorts and their athletic pants. So not a good situation in that regard either. Indeed, not ideal, especially with the gels. It's like, oh, take one of these gels and you're going to have explosive diarrhea when you go on your next workout. Maybe not going to increase the sales dramatically. I mean, I think it's part of us also as well. This never give up culture, right? Which I think is something that is part of this idea with high rocks. And I think attracts people that sort of buy into this, let's say philosophy of, you know, work really hard, work out really hard, never give up, keep going. It reminds me actually a little bit of there's a motivational speaker called David Groggins, who's a runner. You might have heard of him. Andrew, and he sort of does these ultra, ultra marathons where he's running for like hundreds and hundreds of miles. And I would be interested to get his perspective on it because I bet he would say, well, you know, she just kept going. She no matter what, even though there's something really awkward socially, and it's kind of disgusting, and probably people were like going, oh, it's staying. So that's gross. She just kept going because she's like, I want to win. So yeah, I mean, you've got to admire her because she must have realized at the time that this was going to be plastered all over social media. I mean, there's photographers at the event. There's lots of people there. So I also think she, if she didn't want to blow up on social media, I do think there's part of it where it's like, well, maybe you shouldn't have continued then. But I do think that maybe they just get in a zone where they just want to win so bad that it overrides any feeling of embarrassment about this. So who knows? I hope she's doing okay. It's kind of like that other Australian girl, the ray gun, the Olympic break dancer who then became a viral sensation. You sort of do think goodness, it must be hard to suddenly become known across the world overnight. But then again, you did have diarrhea running down your legs and continue to an event. So I don't know, you know, swings around about, I guess. But I hope she's okay. I agree. It's not like she killed anyone. Is it? You know, I think sometimes these reactions get a little bit blown out proportion. Yes, it was unhygienic. Yes, it's a little bit disgusting. But they should have stepped in and tried to guide her and being a little bit more on top of it. So yeah, I think she's just unlucky that it got picked up at this time. There was obviously nothing that important going on in the news and it just spread like wildfire, unfortunately for her. Yeah, we sometimes call this 15 minutes of fame. Like, you're famous for just a moment and this is obviously going to be one of those things that disappears just as quickly as it appeared. And because high rocks is not a really, really popular sport and to be honest, I don't really think that it will ever gain mainstream appeal. Like, it's probably pretty exciting to participate in it. But as a spectator sport, I think people are going to stick to baseball and basketball and football. These sports and I don't think high rocks is ever going to make it to that really high level where spectators enjoy watching it. So I think probably if this athlete, if she just lays low for a little bit and maybe takes a break, then comes back in six months. Most people are going to forgive and forget about it. So I think it's not going to be the end of the world for her. But I got to say, as a runner, there is, like you said, the Paula Radcliffe, I believe that was the marathoner. She's got another famous video where she stopped in the middle of a marathon to take a little bathroom break on the side of the road and then keep running and runners really respected that. And there's a runner that I follow on Instagram. And he actually had an accident when he was doing his first Boston marathon right at the end. And there wasn't any video of it or anything, but there's he's pretty famous online for going on Instagram live just after he finished the Boston marathon and saying, I had to poop, but I didn't stop. I kept going. And everybody was really supportive of him. So I think it's weird like in the running community and probably in other sports too. It's almost like we do respect it. I think this one was just different because it was inside. If it were outside like a marathon course and you weren't around other people, it's weird. It is gross, but it is something that athletes seem to respect. And you know, I'm not an elite athlete or anything like that. But even with my running friends before a big race, we will joke around and we have this phrase that we sometimes use to joke around, which is PR or ER PR or ER. And that means personal record or emergency room. Meaning like I'm going to give it my absolute all during this race. And even if that means I have to go to the emergency room, I'm not going to quit. I'm not going to stop for anything. It's like PR or ER. So even me who's not an elite athlete by any means, Like, I think I do have this competitive nature in me and I do respect pushing yourself as far as you can to try and achieve your goals now. Of course, if somebody actually were to go to the ER, if I were to have a heart attack in the middle of a marathon or something, probably I would regret saying that phrase. Like, it's more of a joke than being serious, but I do think it shines a light on a lot of the attitudes that athletes have, like just push yourself, keep going and never stop until you get the job done. So it doesn't really, yeah, surprise me that she didn't stop. - Yeah, and I think even when we're thinking about why didn't the referees stop her? And maybe this is a little bit of a, I don't know, a cynical perspective, but it's true that High Rocks has now had amazing promotion from this story. So this story has gone around the world and lots of people have been talking about it. So of course, lots of people knew what High Rocks was already, but I'm sure that it's introduced it to lots of other people as well. So I'm not saying that they didn't intervene because they wanted a viral moment and that it would blow up on social media. But obviously for High Rocks themselves, it's great. They get a bit of this free promotion. And as we say in English, all publicity is good publicity or that's one way of looking at it. So despite the fact that it is kind of a disgusting story and it's blown up everywhere, I think High Rocks will be enjoying the free promotion, as I said before. But I wonder, Andrew, and this brings us back to kind of the bigger question here, which is how does all of this that never give up culture? How does it feed into the wider question about hustle culture and working overtime and always doing things and how do you think that fits into the bigger conversation? Yeah, well, it's just like a pretty good example of maybe why pushing ourselves too much and too hard is not good in the end, right? Like I think in a lot of aspects of our lives in corporate culture for sure, people are working themselves as hard as they can, right? Like working overtime all the time, working on the weekends, working at home, there's grind and hustle culture with people working several jobs just to make ends meet and really pushing themselves to their limits and even students at school, right? Are like, you know, pushing themselves as hard as they can to get high grades. And so it's not just in sports that we see this, we see this kind of attitude and behavior all over the place in many different aspects of society. And yeah, I guess it's all about finding that balance, right? Like I do respect pushing yourself to the limits. Like I think that at some points can be a healthy thing. Like not all the time, but most of the time I think it could be healthy, but you can't push yourself too hard, right? If you push yourself too hard, you're gonna burn out or you're gonna get sick or you're gonna get injured depending on which field you're talking about, but there always has to be a limit, there has to be a boundary and you need to know how hard you can push yourself and when you need to take a step back and when you need to relax or when you need to take a break. So I think in the case of this athlete, and I really wish we could talk to her, maybe we'll have to invite her onto Q-lips and see if she'll talk with us, but I'm kind of thinking that she was like, yeah, I probably should have toned it down just a little, maybe instead of turning it all the way up to 11, turn it up to like a 9.5 or something, but yeah, I think we need to know where our limit is and then try to not go in excess of that limit. What's your thoughts about that Anna? - Yeah, I totally agree. I think it's very much I would also say, the mindset in more so in the United States, for example, I would say that's really leads the culture in terms of this hustle culture, doing everything you can, working like crazy, waking up super early, going to bed super late, just working, working, working, working, working. Again, it's all about limits, but then the other side of the equation is, well, if you really want to do something, sometimes there is no balance. I remember hearing that actually by a business guy who owns like a huge empire and his perspective is, well, you can't really have balance. If you want to do something amazing, if you want to do something incredible, there is no balance because you have to absolutely focus on that one thing. So in this case with her, you know, she absolutely had her eyes set on the prize. And so in order to do that, she just had to forget about everything else. So you could argue that in order to have extraordinary achievements, there is no balance, balance doesn't come into the equation. So I think it just comes down to each person. I hope that the athlete herself is, has pleased with her performance. And she did ultimately win. The only reason she had to give up her title is because of this reaction afterwards. If there hadn't been this reaction, she wouldn't have got to give up her title, right? So that's also another thing to think about as well. She wasn't just qualified from the race. She hadn't technically done anything wrong at the time. They gave her the award. So the only reason she gave it up is because of this reaction online. I think it was just like I said before, a bad wrong place wrong time. You know, there obviously wasn't anything else in the news that was blowing up at that moment. And it just became this kind of frenzy of people wanting to go and have a look at this disgusting picture and whatever. So yeah, I think it just comes down to each person. Yeah, it can be healthy or not. But each person has to decide that for themselves. Okay, well, maybe that is a good place to leave things here for today, Anna. We don't want to push ourselves to our limits with this conversation. But I would love to hear what our listeners have to say about this and guys, you can share your comments about this topic with us over on our Discord server. It's free for everyone to join. And that's a place where our QLIPs community gathers and we hang out and we improve our English together. We have around 10,000 people who are members of our Discord. And it's a really great place to practice and to be active with your English. So I do encourage you to do that. We know that listening like what you did here today is a very important skill. And it is very important to practice. And you did a great job at that here today. But you also have to be active with our English. And so we have you covered. We have this place where you can go and practice. And definitely we encourage you to do that. And we'll be looking forward to hearing what you have to say about this topic over on the Discord. The link to join will be in the description for this episode. But I think for now, we'll leave it here. And thanks so much for your help today. - You're welcome. - And guys, we'll catch you in the next episode. Until then, bye-bye. - Catch you soon, guys, bye.