For sure it's making me stronger. The first 4 or 5 days after a couple months off can be a bit painful, but once I am riding everyday I can keep it going for a few months.

My one weak area is tendonitis in my right eblow from computing and other sports. So I really have to use kites with very low bar pressure. Other than that my old body is rocking and rolling...



I don't do it to condition myself for KBing, but my other main sport is mountain biking. SUPing, surfing and sea kayaking are tied for a distant 3rd place.

I try to do a little bit of different things. Kiting, surfing SUPing, a bit of running (not enough) and a little yoga. I keep on saying I'll hit the gym, but I don't..but I think it would be a great addition. I also want to get back into Karate now that my sensei has his new dojo all ready...but it will not happen anytime soon.

For me the only part of kiting that is a good workout is raceboarding. Anything else is just play time. I think if we had more wind it would be easier to use it as exercise.

You live in hawaii right Tautologie? Not enough wind.......is that true?

Huge difference in wind from Island to Island and even spot to spot. on the same island one spot dead...another nuking. I mean this year overall has been very good, but yeah Oahu is not the best island for wind overall. When Oahu is great, Maui has too much.

That said, we do have some fantastic days tho...kind of like every day actually. Just go surfing, SUPing...diving etc

My wife and I are both 52, didn't learn to kite until our mid 40's. We still do multiple 2 hour sessions with a lot of boosting and spinning. No unhooked stuff or kiteloops but still have fun. My wife is 120 lbs and a marathoner and she has not pain complaints. I am 235 (was over 300 and kiting) and have been pretty hard on my body so I do have some low back pain and pain in my ankles (arthritus I think).

My wife runs, we road bike together, and I lift weights in the gym. I really think yoga would be a help for me but have not go into it yet.

Cheers men.

I'm 41 myself and kitesurf, kitelandboard, mountainbike and longboard skateboard.

I think its a good spread. but all my sports really work my knees.

my knees and hip give me abit of shit. but not worn out according to the doctor.

I'm 55 and fitter than I've ever been. Kitesurfing has certainly fixed up a few niggling back and knee injuries.

I'm fit enough to ride longer and harder than guys half my age, and old enough to not care about it.

I think the key to enjoying old age is just stay active doing stuff you enjoy. Don't worry about rigorous exercise exclusively for the sake of staying in shape. As soon as you start saying "I'm too old for that sh*t" You will be. Stay active with things that are fun and worth the time - the exercise part is always in there & you don't have to beat yourself up mentally to get going.

54 btw

Wow I just turned 34 and I have knee pain, elbow pain, ankle pain, and just had surgery on both shoulders which I'm painfully recovering from. Guess I'm screwed when I get as old as some of you guys.

By the way spent all of my 20's lifting heavy with moderate to high reps for hours. I have the back of a 60yr old. Compressed my lower verts enough to shrink an inch and that was before I hit 30 . Wish I would have found kiting 10 years ago I'd probably be a little better off.

I'm 61 and more fit than ever. All I do for exercise is kite and yardwork. It's a big yard that needs lots of work, so the yardwork part is pretty regular and significant. I kite year-round. My only real "off season" starts about now, when the air temps drop below freezing, daylight is scarce after work, and the ice on the inland lakes hasn't formed up enough to ride on ice/snow. No snow on the land yet. Right now I feel lucky if I can get out once a week. After the inland lakes freeze solid, that'll go back up to twice a week or more.

It seems like there's no real down time in the Spring. By the time the ice on the inland lakes starts to get weak, Lake Michigan is ready to ride and the air temps make it safe to get back out on the water.

One of my shoulders complains to me the first few minutes of a session, but after a bit I loosen up and no more pain. I used to have chronic low back pain before I started kiting, but not any more. I ride with a seat harness. Other than that, no real aches and pains. I never stretch, and haven't been to a gym in 5 years. I think the regular kiting year-round is key. I've got way more upper body strength than I've ever had, and my quads are rock hard. Both will be nice to have when I actually get "old" in another 20 years or so.

And yes, TheJoe, moderation in life pays off in the long run.

Don