What do you do to cross train?

[Tighe]

About 4 years ago I hyper extended my knee on a low kite loop. Luckily I didn't need surgery, but was out for half the season. The injury made me intimately aware of my aging body and the need to do "other things" in the windless days between sessions to ensure I can do this wonderful sport until I am absorbed into the dirt.

Last fall I landed a pretty big jump into a foot of water, without my board and jammed my ankle pretty intensely. It was the size of a grapefruit. And... I was hiking the Olympic forest 2 weeks later. Last weekend I crashed and buckled the other knee in a way that I would have sworn would have caused serious damage...today I am walking, with only stiffness and tolerable pain. I am a fairly conservative rider, and obviously these crashes were not as severe as others.

I am not proclaiming I am in any great condition, I am saying though that I am convinced that without the daily work I do, these injuries would have taken me out, maybe even permanently. I am so grateful that this half century old body can still support however I want to play.

I thought it might be helpful to start a thread on the different things people do to help them get the most out of this sport and/ or prevent injuries. I also know there are quite a few docs, physical therapists, and yogis who ride... please help us all understand what we can be doing.

Here's what I do:
Running 3-4 times a week. ( good quick aerobic)
Quad and hamstring work with a balance ball (thanks Katie for the guidance there)
One foot balancing on a balance board to strengthen and stabilize the knee (easy to do when watching TV)
Yoga (I am just beginning to understand the value of this practice)
Biking

Again, I'm not claiming to be any fitness guru or even that athletic. Personally I want the bare minimum I can do to keep myself healthy and injury free, so I can play as hard as I like.

What do you do? What do you know?

[reutersju]

Tighe,

I am 31. My current workout routine is a combination of strength training, stretching, yoga, and cardio plyometrics. It sounds like you have a nice combination of strength, flexibility, cardio and balance training keeping you healthy.

The above 4 areas are the keys to healthy aging and here is why. Depressing as it may sound our bodies start to decline quickly after about age 25. As men, our testosterone begins to drop at this point and we start to loose strength. Flexibility and balance also fade as we move past age 25, this is why you see a lot of ACL, MCL, and Achilles' tendon tears around age 28-30. Ex: Adrian Peterson.

What's the good news?! You can slow this decline of your body through exercises in the 4 key areas, and Tighe is a good example. I'm convinced that the yoga Tighe is doing is one of his greatest reasons for his durability. Why? It combines strength, balance, endurance and flexibility into one form of exercise.

More good news. Your potential to develop endurance increases through your late thirties because of continued development of your capillary beds, the microscopic blood vessels that carry oxygen to your muscles and carry away the nasty lactic acid and carbon dioxide by products of exercise. This is why you see a lot of the top marathoners, ultra marathoners and iron man elite athletes in their low to mid thirties. So...it's not too late for some of us to win some enduro kite races...check out VAKE!!!

All that being said, if I could do one exercise for the rest of my life it would be yoga!

Have fun and stay healthy.

Anyone riding at wildwood today?!

Cheers,
Good Chad
Nurse Anesthetist

[Tighe]

thanks very interesting info.

I am fairly new to yoga but definitely see the benefits. My mind needs a bit more cardio each week than I have been able to achieve through yoga but otherwise I could see it being the only other thing needed...to support all the other play.

any others have thoughts they want to share?

[seamonkey]

I train & race cyclocross September through December. Just finished a USA Cycling cyclocross National Championship men's masters 45-49 race January 11, 2013. I train & race XC mountain bike, cat 2 spring & summer. I just got my first skate skis this winter and find it challenging and fun. There are many great trails to get out and explore all year long, when the wind isn't there. I should be doing yoga regularly, but the thrill factor is low.

[macattack]

Well since yoga is the theme I will tell you there is a class at CorePower yoga called yoga sculpt. You use free weights 5, 8, 10 and work through tons of moves. Plyos, jumping jacks, push ups, stretching and lots of abs and balance work. You will be smoked the first time you go. The room room is also heated to around 95 with high humidity. You get it all. Good luck.

[shera]

Spartacus workout....15 minutes and you will get a good burn all over.

Google it on Men's Health, download the app on your iPhone, get on it!

Or just buy some skates and play hockey!

Leah

[djmadmike]

Great topic! I could literally go on about this for hours or even days.

My advice is about the most “opposite” of anything you will read.

The key is to listen to YOUR body. If you are doing something and you can show that you are better, go for it. Here are my thoughts on the min to do

---Strength training with free weights, especially lower body.

Good choices are heavy, compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, lunges and loaded carries.

It sounds confusing, but think of it this way
Squat down with load (this can be bodyweight, a kettlebell, sandbad, your neighbors dog, I don’t care)
Pick up something heavy (deadlift)
Step forward, to the side, and behind with some load
Carry something heavy (preferable in barefoot type shoes like Vibrams)

I would add in a bit of grip work too since many many kiteboarders have elbow problems.

One exercise?
If you had to really cut down, do some farmers walks.

Pick up the load (deadlift) and go for a walk. It will hit every muscle in your body, tax the crap out of your grip since you have to hold on to it, strengthens your upper and low back including your core, if done barefoot it helps strengthen the feet/ankles too. Doing repeats of them will get your heart rate going.

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGwmS3_v ... FI5Funzygg

That is my bias. Many ways work and happy to help in any way.

What do others do?
Mike N

[Tighe]

Great info. Very very helpful to keep all of riding injury free...specially us getting up there in age. Thanks

[efjanssen]

Find an activity/sport that you love to do. That way it is never a "work out," it is just fun and something you want to do. For me, I love to kite, bike, mtn bike, play outdoor hockey and a little tennis. Then I throw in a little weight lifting and yoga because I know it helps me do all the things I love to do.

By the way, what a great life and time we live in. We can discuss how we are going to stay in shape for kiting instead of how we are going to eek out a living keeping our family fed and warm. We are really lucky.

Enjoy!

[mjcarter]

I personally think running long distances is the best to keep your legs super strong. Anything around an hour long (doesn't matter the actual distance). I believe it's similar to the pounding your body gets from kiting or downhill skiing. I imagine cross country skiing could be similar, but I find that running prepares your legs for the pounding you might get from kiting . Of course, if you haven't started running while you were [somewhat] young, working up to running an hour (or more) at a time can be detrimental to your legs and health.

Also, doing high rep. squats with low weight would help as well. (3 sets of 50 reps - just do the bar the first time and you'll be hurting at the end).

[JRN]

ON THE THEORY, that the less wear and tear the better, plenty of 8 oz. curls followed by extended naps. I am doing my best to develop the hibernation mutation and be able to sleep through Mn's long winters. Somebody, please give me a wake up call this spring.

[JimPat]

Maybe I have spent to much time around JRN. The answer to your question is - cross dress. I like to dress up as a windsurfer and go kiting and vice versa. It makes you really focus on what your doing because you feel like a windsurfer but you're atually kiting! It's also fun because as you pass fellow windsurfer's and kiter's they get this confused look on their faces then forget what they are doing and often times crash(ha ha ha). Next year the hot trend is going to be a pink speedo over the wetsuit. I'm not sure what that look is but you will definitely get lots of looks. JRN miight have some fashion tips for you. What do you think Jimbo?

[JRN]

THANX FOR ADDING SOME HUMOR TO THE POST! I have long advocated the wearing of thongs beneath the harness, but none of the female contingent would take my suggestion. I thought when Madonna wore her bra on the outside, that opened it up to virtually anything!
Isn't a wetsuit nothing but a giant rubber onesey? What about the drysuits with attached booties? I predict adult infant wear to be the next fashion craze.