Are thrilling sports like high speed bike racing, rock climbing and others worth the risk?
I did a ton of rock climbing, flag football (occasional full speed collisions), etc. Then while rollerblading found I was not invulnerable… And that injuries, while they can heal, many times can be permanently debilitating. In my opinion, no thrill is worth sacrificing a life of enjoyment and health. How many friends do you know who have some sort of permanent nagging injury? I bet one third of my friends do at my age or older. I’m not saying don’t enjoy life and do fun stuff… But I choose lower risk activities like hiking, or leisure outdoor cycling, or shed building… and even reduce my driving time to cut down accident risk. Zwift gives me the competitive high intensity effort workouts I enjoy well enough.
One good friend loved to squat really heavy and eventually injured his back in such a way that he has spent the last four years mostly laying in bed in agony. No doctors have been able to help him. I used to do heavy lifting like that too and am just lucky that isn’t me. We both used correct form.
My knee and hip injury gave me hip OA which is a lifetime debilitation.