Windsurfing

sfprop wrote:
Hi, Jeremymayf.
Yes... it has been over for a while. I sailed about 20 yrs. but about 5 yrs ago realized that I kept getting sorer and stiffer and it took my arms a while to get straighter after the day was over. So I decided that the work and recovery were more than the fun (darn...!) and wanted a good body for the rest of my life (bike, hike, scuba, pick up my new grandkid, etc.). So I finally gave it up, sold the gear before it became worthless, have rented a few times in HI and P.Rico where it is warm.

I noticed even here most of my contemporaries have quit, some went to kites, and not too many new folks are filling the spots on the water. MANY fewer boards and kites on the SF Bay every time I go to the best spots. Why? Don't have a theory.

Don't roll over and die!

Take some advice from the whitewater kayakers....you don't stop kayaking when you get old...you get old when you stop kayaking!

As we age we don't heal as well as we did when young. So don't get too crazy with extreme sports. But extreme sports offer lots of balance training that we also need when getting old - so seek balance.

These are areas I 'try' to train in. Although time, $$ and energy constraints don't always allow me to get em all in. But having the right formula is half the battle and I have them on my mind to not neglect.

Weight / strength training
Aerobics / HIIT / Fartlek
Balanced Nutrition / Natural Foods / Vitamin Supplements.
Balance / equilibrium training
Yoga / flexibility training
Speed training applied by body
Speed training applied by mechanical means
Height / altitude training
Pressure / depth training
Centrifugal training
Jump / Height / Plyometrics training
Breath Holding training
Lung expansion training
Ambidextrous training
Inversion training
Timing and Coordination training
Agility training
Stability training
Cold training
Mind training
Mind relaxation / meditation (zazen)
Proper Sleep

We can be working to expand our abilities and skills or we can let them dwindle as we age. And when you can't expand abilities any longer...you can at least work to slow the decomposition as much as you can.

But it involves hard work. It is pretty much like a full time job. Or a part time job at the very least, depending on how much effort you put into it.