Skateboarding. I was into punk in middle/high-school, some of my friends were skateboarders, but I never bought a board. I’m pushing 40 now and it’s way too late to start, even as a midlife crisis.
I was an old school skater all through the hey-day of Tony Hawk, and I also fought Muay Thai for decades. By the time I hit thirty, I was like a case study for orthopedic doctors.
I bit the bullet and accepted I’d boarded until the wheels fell off and I couldn’t keep getting hurt. Picked up a longboard and it’s like my #1 hobby now. Just did 25 miles in sub-freezing temperatures right before we got slammed with the blizzard.
So no more half pipes. Just throw on a death metal album and pack a bunc of joints and cruise.
Oh, no, I agree that I’m primed for a midlife crisis, but it’s way too late to start skateboarding. I’m in pretty good shape, eat fairly healthy, exercise regularly, etc., but I can’t shake off an a injury like I did in my teens or twenties. I’m not risking permanently messing up my knees learning how to ollie.
My husband used to skateboard 8 hours a day as a kid growing up. When our son started showing interest he got back on it… For one day.
His ankles and knees are a bit fucked from all those years boarding, and he won’t get back on it out of these same fears. There are other sports probably just as fun lol
And your husband knows what he’s doing on a skateboard. Learning at my age will destroy my knees and make me look like an idiot. Part of me will always want to know the thrill of zooming down a half-pipe, but it’s just not worth it. Someone suggested longboarding, that might be fun, or maybe surfing.
That has been one of the most eye opening things for me in my mid forty’s now. Small injuries I used to shake off same day/over night take weeks/months to fully heal up anymore. I’m significantly more careful and purposeful when using ladders or even just regular chores around the house to keep from straining a joint or ligament. I tweaked my MCL stepping on the edge of my stairs wrong shortly after having to use a cane for a couple months due to a hip injury. That was like two months ago and the ligament is mostly feeling fine now and I can do strength exercises with that leg again but holy shit, this whole thing from when I originally overworked/inflamed my hip cutting down/removing a tree would have never even impacted me five+ years ago and it’s like five months to recover. So yeah, I’m more careful and make sure I take breaks now. It’s just not worth it, slow, careful, and purposeful for me going forward.
Oof, that is my nightmare. I’m a runner, and so far I’ve never torn a ligament or anything, but as I get older I get more worried about it. I always stretch before and after each run, but I know any damage I do will take 10 times as long to heal as it did in my 20s, if it even does heal.
Skateboarding. I was into punk in middle/high-school, some of my friends were skateboarders, but I never bought a board. I’m pushing 40 now and it’s way too late to start, even as a midlife crisis.
LONGBOARDING MAH DUDE.
Oo yes, this is a good option. You can do tricks on a longboard but that’s not “the point.”
I was an old school skater all through the hey-day of Tony Hawk, and I also fought Muay Thai for decades. By the time I hit thirty, I was like a case study for orthopedic doctors.
I bit the bullet and accepted I’d boarded until the wheels fell off and I couldn’t keep getting hurt. Picked up a longboard and it’s like my #1 hobby now. Just did 25 miles in sub-freezing temperatures right before we got slammed with the blizzard.
So no more half pipes. Just throw on a death metal album and pack a bunc of joints and cruise.
What? “Pushing 40” is very literally PRIME mid-life crisis timing. Go buy a fuckin’ board, just take it easy on your joints.
Oh, no, I agree that I’m primed for a midlife crisis, but it’s way too late to start skateboarding. I’m in pretty good shape, eat fairly healthy, exercise regularly, etc., but I can’t shake off an a injury like I did in my teens or twenties. I’m not risking permanently messing up my knees learning how to ollie.
My husband used to skateboard 8 hours a day as a kid growing up. When our son started showing interest he got back on it… For one day.
His ankles and knees are a bit fucked from all those years boarding, and he won’t get back on it out of these same fears. There are other sports probably just as fun lol
And your husband knows what he’s doing on a skateboard. Learning at my age will destroy my knees and make me look like an idiot. Part of me will always want to know the thrill of zooming down a half-pipe, but it’s just not worth it. Someone suggested longboarding, that might be fun, or maybe surfing.
That has been one of the most eye opening things for me in my mid forty’s now. Small injuries I used to shake off same day/over night take weeks/months to fully heal up anymore. I’m significantly more careful and purposeful when using ladders or even just regular chores around the house to keep from straining a joint or ligament. I tweaked my MCL stepping on the edge of my stairs wrong shortly after having to use a cane for a couple months due to a hip injury. That was like two months ago and the ligament is mostly feeling fine now and I can do strength exercises with that leg again but holy shit, this whole thing from when I originally overworked/inflamed my hip cutting down/removing a tree would have never even impacted me five+ years ago and it’s like five months to recover. So yeah, I’m more careful and make sure I take breaks now. It’s just not worth it, slow, careful, and purposeful for me going forward.
Oof, that is my nightmare. I’m a runner, and so far I’ve never torn a ligament or anything, but as I get older I get more worried about it. I always stretch before and after each run, but I know any damage I do will take 10 times as long to heal as it did in my 20s, if it even does heal.