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I'm almost 40 and I've been snowboarding and skateboarding off and on for most of my life. Recently it's been all snowboarding which I love and will never stop

I'm almost 40 and I've been snowboarding and skateboarding off and on for most of my life. Recently it's been all snowboarding which I love and will never stop doing. A few years ago I started skateboarding again to keep in shape for snowboarding in the summer. I'm writing this from bed as I'm recovering from an ACL replacement due to a fall I took skateboarding at that time. I agree with the "do what you want to" sentiment but sports like skateboarding are a matter of when you'll get injured, not if. And those injuries have an impact on other things you might want to do. So be careful.

modernerd 8y ago
Noted, thanks, and I'll take care. (My sister took up skateboarding and broke her arm the next week, so I'm aware of the risks. The fun is still worth it for me at the moment.) Not using your body into old age also carries risks, of course, but I accept there are safer ways of staying active than skateboarding. (Am also a skier and snowboarder, so doing it for much the same reasons as you. Hope you heal up ok!)
- williamstein 8y ago
  I've been skateboarding vert ramps most of my life (our ramp is pictured at the top of my site https://vertramp.org/ https://vertramp.org/). To avoid getting seriously hurt, (1) religiously wear pads (even wrists guards) and a helmet if you skate bowls or ramps, and (2) don't push yourself too hard beyond your current level. Pushing hard can result in learning more quickly, but it's also a good way to end up hurt, which has serious consequences at our age (I'm 44). I skate all the time with other vert skaters around my age; there's a ton of us (since vert was huge in the 1980s), and it is a very welcoming community. It seems like each year I do deal with one nontrivial injury - for 2017 it was that my knees just started to ache a LOT from my knee pads getting yanked when knee sliding on birch, which was the surface of our ramp before we put skatelite on it. In any case, you have to watch out both for traumatic injuries (where pads help) and more subtle injuries from longterm stress to your body. Skateboarding in your 40s is definitely very doable, especially if you optimize for having fun and getting exercise more than trying to be Bucky Lasek, who is older than both of us and a top pro. Skateboarding is dangerous, but at least on a ramp or bowl, there aren't cars that can kill you in an instant, and (unlike surfing or snowboarding) where you are riding is mostly predictable and under control.
  - modernerd 8y ago
    Thanks for the advice! I'm not skating vert yet (mostly street and cruising) but I'm very much tempted by it as there are a couple of good parks nearby. I'll be sure to pad up and stay within my limits. And, yes, no illusions about becoming Bucky Lasek (45) or Tony Hawk (49); I started way too late to go pro and have other things I'm good at. It's about fun, fitness, friends, and cutting down journey times on foot for me.
kolleykibber 8y ago
This is why us 40 somethings all take up road cycling. Less stress on the body but the gear and exhilaration is still there. MTB is still very tempting but the falls are more frequent.
- modernerd 8y ago
  I see the appeal of road cycling and I investigated it (I'm in a bike-friendly city that hosts road cycling events) but feel put off by: - Sharing roads with fast heavy vehicles at speed. - Lycra. - The expense. A good road bike seems to cost ~10× more than a great skateboard or longboard (but about the same as an electric longboard). - Friends who've had big crashes on the road; intuitively it feels like it should be safer than mountain biking, but I'm not so sure.
  - Haydos585x2 8y ago
    You don't need to become a MAMIL or even buy expensive gear to road ride. I cycle on a $250 mountain bike in running shorts and a singlet. I'll wear jeans and a jumper if it's cold. Crashes are a reality, the same as driving a car. I've never had a crash with another road user, sometimes people don't see me but they don't see me in my car or motorbike either. You can ride with lights and hi-vis gear if you feel the need to.
    - shortoncash 8y ago
      Pothole crashes happen; it's easy to get mental hypnosis out there on the long rides. Route selection and choosing a low traffic time of day is your best defense against cars, but some drivers are just bad drivers. There's no dodging that risk, but it helps if you're willing to drive out of your way to find empty, nice routes.
  - gerad 8y ago
    Mountain biking is wayyy safer. You're way more likely to get bruises and bumps, but much less likely to get put in the hospital for a month (or worse).
  - 8y ago
kinleyd 8y ago
Yes, exactly that and the reason I turned to the guitar after turning 50. I'm hoping it will help to keep my heart young, without the added physical risks!
leejo 8y ago
I'm in the same situation - skateboarded from my mid-teens to my early thirties, twenty years give or take, then moved to the Swiss Alps so took up snowboarding. I don't skate anymore, so spend the summer doing short bike rides to keep fit for the winter season. And I agree, know many skateboarders my age who have had knee ops. So far I've been OK, but I know it's only a matter of time.
- geebee 8y ago
  Were your friends wearing knee protectors? And if not, were the knee injuries the sort that would have been prevented (or lessened) by knee protectors?
mlevental 8y ago
>And those injuries have an impact on other things you might want to do. what are those other things? i hope i don't get injured so i can keep playing sports - not dancing or walking around paris or etc. seems circular
curlcntr 8y ago
Yes. And, When I was younger, I would over-train, recover quickly, repeat (I run, weight train, cycle). Now, I don't heal so fast. Instead, I try to maximize my strength and fitness while simultaneously minimizing injuries. At this age, I look at it as a fun constrained optimization problem. So, the added intellectual challenge, required to be physically active while aging, I quite enjoy. Best wishes to heal soon and be back on the board!

modernerd 8y ago

Noted, thanks, and I'll take care. (My sister took up skateboarding and broke her arm the next week, so I'm aware of the risks. The fun is still worth it for me at the moment.) Not using your body into old age also carries risks, of course, but I accept there are safer ways of staying active than skateboarding. (Am also a skier and snowboarder, so doing it for much the same reasons as you. Hope you heal up ok!)

williamstein 8y ago
I've been skateboarding vert ramps most of my life (our ramp is pictured at the top of my site https://vertramp.org/ https://vertramp.org/). To avoid getting seriously hurt, (1) religiously wear pads (even wrists guards) and a helmet if you skate bowls or ramps, and (2) don't push yourself too hard beyond your current level. Pushing hard can result in learning more quickly, but it's also a good way to end up hurt, which has serious consequences at our age (I'm 44). I skate all the time with other vert skaters around my age; there's a ton of us (since vert was huge in the 1980s), and it is a very welcoming community. It seems like each year I do deal with one nontrivial injury - for 2017 it was that my knees just started to ache a LOT from my knee pads getting yanked when knee sliding on birch, which was the surface of our ramp before we put skatelite on it. In any case, you have to watch out both for traumatic injuries (where pads help) and more subtle injuries from longterm stress to your body. Skateboarding in your 40s is definitely very doable, especially if you optimize for having fun and getting exercise more than trying to be Bucky Lasek, who is older than both of us and a top pro. Skateboarding is dangerous, but at least on a ramp or bowl, there aren't cars that can kill you in an instant, and (unlike surfing or snowboarding) where you are riding is mostly predictable and under control.
- modernerd 8y ago
  Thanks for the advice! I'm not skating vert yet (mostly street and cruising) but I'm very much tempted by it as there are a couple of good parks nearby. I'll be sure to pad up and stay within my limits. And, yes, no illusions about becoming Bucky Lasek (45) or Tony Hawk (49); I started way too late to go pro and have other things I'm good at. It's about fun, fitness, friends, and cutting down journey times on foot for me.

kolleykibber 8y ago

This is why us 40 somethings all take up road cycling. Less stress on the body but the gear and exhilaration is still there. MTB is still very tempting but the falls are more frequent.

modernerd 8y ago
I see the appeal of road cycling and I investigated it (I'm in a bike-friendly city that hosts road cycling events) but feel put off by: - Sharing roads with fast heavy vehicles at speed. - Lycra. - The expense. A good road bike seems to cost ~10× more than a great skateboard or longboard (but about the same as an electric longboard). - Friends who've had big crashes on the road; intuitively it feels like it should be safer than mountain biking, but I'm not so sure.
- Haydos585x2 8y ago
  You don't need to become a MAMIL or even buy expensive gear to road ride. I cycle on a $250 mountain bike in running shorts and a singlet. I'll wear jeans and a jumper if it's cold. Crashes are a reality, the same as driving a car. I've never had a crash with another road user, sometimes people don't see me but they don't see me in my car or motorbike either. You can ride with lights and hi-vis gear if you feel the need to.
  - shortoncash 8y ago
    Pothole crashes happen; it's easy to get mental hypnosis out there on the long rides. Route selection and choosing a low traffic time of day is your best defense against cars, but some drivers are just bad drivers. There's no dodging that risk, but it helps if you're willing to drive out of your way to find empty, nice routes.
- gerad 8y ago
  Mountain biking is wayyy safer. You're way more likely to get bruises and bumps, but much less likely to get put in the hospital for a month (or worse).
- 8y ago

kinleyd 8y ago

Yes, exactly that and the reason I turned to the guitar after turning 50. I'm hoping it will help to keep my heart young, without the added physical risks!

leejo 8y ago

I'm in the same situation - skateboarded from my mid-teens to my early thirties, twenty years give or take, then moved to the Swiss Alps so took up snowboarding. I don't skate anymore, so spend the summer doing short bike rides to keep fit for the winter season. And I agree, know many skateboarders my age who have had knee ops. So far I've been OK, but I know it's only a matter of time.

geebee 8y ago
Were your friends wearing knee protectors? And if not, were the knee injuries the sort that would have been prevented (or lessened) by knee protectors?

mlevental 8y ago

>And those injuries have an impact on other things you might want to do. what are those other things? i hope i don't get injured so i can keep playing sports - not dancing or walking around paris or etc. seems circular

curlcntr 8y ago

Yes. And, When I was younger, I would over-train, recover quickly, repeat (I run, weight train, cycle). Now, I don't heal so fast. Instead, I try to maximize my strength and fitness while simultaneously minimizing injuries. At this age, I look at it as a fun constrained optimization problem. So, the added intellectual challenge, required to be physically active while aging, I quite enjoy. Best wishes to heal soon and be back on the board!