The whole notion of pushing your physical limits—popularized by early Nike ads, Navy SEAL mythos, and Lance Armstrong’s cult of personality—has attained a religiosity that’s as passionate as it is pervasive. The “extreme” version of anything is now widely assumed to be an improvement on the original, rather than a perverse amplification of it. And as with most of sports culture, there is no gray area. You win or you lose. You leave it all on the floor—or you shamefully skulk off the floor with extra gas in your tank.
