Monday, April 08, 2013

Old Man Syndrome (OMS)

Anyone else have this?  I hit the forty mark earlier this year - roughly mid-life give or take, and I feel pretty down and out with Old Man Syndrome (OMS).  Ever heard of it?

Technically speaking, I'm defining OMS as simply the recognition that one's aging body is not as resilient as it used to be, that somehow the years of abuse have left one with a tattered musculoskeletal system that seems so much more prone to injury and chronic ailments.

This post is a call-out to all the other 40+ windsurfers out there for advice!  I used to sail hard, and long!  How do I get back to that!?!?  Sometimes I wonder if my days of ad-nauseum repetition of freestyle trick attempts are over.  Maybe that's OK, maybe I am content with re-focusing on wave-sailing and old-school freestyle.

Clearly the simple answer is conditioning, but what activities do you guys do to keep yourselves in shape and keep yourselves maleable?  Yoga?  Swimming?  Weight training?  Anything windsurfing specific?  What works for you?  What doesn't?

I am currently in recovery mode from an arthroscopic shoulder surgery and hopefully going to get a grip on my 2-year long bout with tendonitis in both shoulders.  It'll be a while, but I am already dreaming ahead to the fall Sandbanks sessions, and not only that, there's my affinity for adventure racing, orienteering and mountain-biking.  Somehow I need to find that life balance that will keep me physically positioned to do my sports the way I want to do them, but still keep up with my 6-year old kiddies.  In other words, family commitments mean I've got minimal time and I need to figure out a good, yet simple cross-training routine that fits in with other priorities.

Any advice?

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I despise gyms.

Canadian-Hole loopage circa 2010.  Photo by Steve Slaby.