Kitesurfing Kites: Time to soak up the sun, maybe? Wellness Health Fitness

Kitesurfing Kites: Time to soak up the sun, maybe?

Posted by Hayden Solomon 24 Nov, 2010

Introduction

There’s this one song that I watch on Youtube repeatedly, and it keeps playing in my head when I wake up every morning. It’s Sheryl Crow’s “Soak up the Sun” that reminds me how life can be if the focus is taken off the things that are taken out of your control. Like money…

Sometimes if you do have a shitty job, then you have a shitty job… and in trying for a better one, it never works… and perhaps, one should focus on the simple things in life.

Heck, what else can you do… right? But that’s not all about this track that makes me enjoy it so much. It’s ‘sunny California’ with plenty of shots on the beach with people surfing and all that jazz or so I’d like to think…

Apart from all the water activities that one can find at a beach these days like parasailing, surfboarding, jet skiing and so on and so forth… another new water sport is getting more and more popular these days.

Kiteboarding (also known as Kitesurfing)

They call it kiteboarding or kitesurfing… and well, just like all extreme sports, one can get injured in several ways that you can’t imagine.

But among these so-called extreme sports, this one is getting more and more popular due to it being safer than most other water sports, and it’s easier to learn as well.

While most experts consider this to be a hybrid of kiting (yes, because it’s a kiteboarding kite and has nothing to do with the kites that you see people flying on land for recreational purposes) and surfing (really now?) which uses the winds and the ocean to give one that adrenalin rush that makes life sometimes worth living. The kite that is used in this scenario is very much like a mini-sail for your board.

And since this sport is akin to surfing, in learning the maneuvers from a certified instructor, one can also improve their surfing skills as well. Not only will you learn how to jibe, loop and jumping (which gives you that “over the top feeling”) but there are several other moves that one can make and that requires basic to advanced skills.

Benefits of a Kitesurfing workout

As with all extreme sports, there is always an element of risk and but there are some benefits too. If one should be able to perform several tricky maneuvers and moves that professionals of this sport have immortalized in various kitesurfing challenges held around the world or even as beginners, tense muscles are not a good idea to have while kitesurfing.

And so there are loosening up exercises that one has to perform that loosens all the muscle groups in one’s body, as a kitesurfing workout will need one to use all muscle groups when staying upright while it tests your glutes, quads and hamstrings when you’re in a half-squat position.

(Although it takes a lot from you, this port gives you that great feeling of riding the waves and wind that only folks who indulge in this sport will feel.)

In Closing

Always always remember to stretch before you hit the water with your kiteboard (here is a great Kitesurfing Kites Stretching Guide), and much like any sport, it is imperative to master the basics. And according to experts, one will be able to fly along at 20 knots within a week. And how cool is that?

Well, what do you know… it’s never too late to soak the sun… now is it?

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