Sad as fuck

B

BumpzNtrees

Member
I don't think I've ever posted a thread but today has me feeling down as fuck and I'm hoping someone on here can relate or provide a new perspective.

I don't know how much longer I can keep skiing. I live in a small town called Granby a few blocks from my best friend who I've been riding with since the 4th grade. We moved here as soon as we graduated highschool and I've been skiing and celebrating skiing every day for the last 5 years since then.

Lately, my body has been wanting to give up. I have had no acl tears or things like that. But I have terrible arthritis, bone spurs, new back and knee issues, and my shoulders fall out if you look at me wrong. When I finish writing this crap I may not even post, I'll go get 11 staples out of my dome.

I was discussing this with my friend yesterday after skiing and he told me that his back and neck are pretty much done skiing and that he is looking at school this fall.

I don't know what the fuck to do. I love skiing and ski videos and everything skiing. It seems like its time to move on but I'm not ready to change my lifestyle so drastically. Skiing every day is all I know. Packing up the shit every day even if I'm sick or don't feel like skiing. That's pathetic if it's the structure I'm clinging to but skiing is all I have. I don't know what to do.
 
Have you considered yoga? I know a lot of people consider it lame but it works wonders for a lot of people. I stretch before and after skiing every day and it helps a lot. Also, obvious answer, what about marijuana? I know dudes in my ski town shredding into their 60's. What is your lifestyle like? How do you treat your body?
 
Sometimes you just gotta take a break man. As you get older, youll eventually have to tone down the rowdiness. Take good care of your body, and youll be fine.
 
I feel like this at the end of every season. Just tired and sore. But a break always helps! Right now I'm on a bike at the gym, warming up my knee so I can ride today. I had to take a day off yesterday for physio. AND IVE BEEN RIDING FOR A WEEK. I've had months off in Australia and just got here and my body is already feeling it. Just listen to your body. Take a break if you need. Definitely work out and stretch as much as you can. If you really love it that much, then keep doing it. That's my advice. I've been doing it for 8 years now and I don't want to stop.
 
You have to take care of yourself dude. Skiing at a high level is a high impact sport and accumulating hits its like accumulating lead in your body. Its very important to take days off to let the body cool down and regenerate.

Nutrition is a crucial part for recovering. Good food provides spare energy and more than enough nutriments for the brain. Eating will boost your mood. Give up your poutines and energy drinks and start eating like an adult.

Next is training and injury prevention. Yoga, rock climbing, gymnastics... anything to get you flexible and increase metabolic rate will help you last longer by reinforcing muscles around the joints. Eating a lot of plant matter will help with cartilage and drinking a lot of water will keep everything in check. Remember to warm up, stretch, perform, cool off and warm down at every physical activity. Trust me, its 20 minutes well spent.
 
Thanks for the support, guys. I haven't tried much yoga. I ask some of the girls I slackline with to show me yoga moves sometimes. I try to eat really healthy, though. and sleep a lot. Skateboarding and motocross beat me up a lot as a kid. I also abused a lot of drugs when i was younger. I'm 23 and I'm starting to feel old.

I'm not ready to accept that the rowdy chapter of my life is over. I can't believe it is and there is so much more I wish I could have done. I'm not even that rowdy. I can't explain how sad I am just thinking this
 
At 25 I feel stronger than ever. Try to workout every week day and one weekend day. Sometimes a break is just in order though and you come back stronger after a week off. My body feels so good right now. Get a good workout routine and stick to it. Eventually you will feel like shit if you don't workout and thats a good thing
 
13628279:BumpzNtrees said:
Thanks for the support, guys. I haven't tried much yoga. I ask some of the girls I slackline with to show me yoga moves sometimes. I try to eat really healthy, though. and sleep a lot. Skateboarding and motocross beat me up a lot as a kid. I also abused a lot of drugs when i was younger. I'm 23 and I'm starting to feel old.

I'm not ready to accept that the rowdy chapter of my life is over. I can't believe it is and there is so much more I wish I could have done. I'm not even that rowdy. I can't explain how sad I am just thinking this
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Try to get a solid yoga routine or learn a lot of stretches......I'm 8 months out from a broken neck and I wouldn't be able to ski right now if it wasn't for yoga and PT everyday.
 
Stop being a little bitch. You hurt because you're fucking WEAK. You have no musculature to support your bitchmade little skeleton that probably has shit density from sucking down energy drinks.

Go grab you some heavy iron, and lift that shit! Then go eat some steaks to grow. lastly, but most important. Do some stretching an functional movement.

BTW. Breaking yourself off in the park is not the only component of skiing.
 
13628279:BumpzNtrees said:
Thanks for the support, guys. I haven't tried much yoga. I ask some of the girls I slackline with to show me yoga moves sometimes. I try to eat really healthy, though. and sleep a lot. Skateboarding and motocross beat me up a lot as a kid. I also abused a lot of drugs when i was younger. I'm 23 and I'm starting to feel old.

I'm not ready to accept that the rowdy chapter of my life is over. I can't believe it is and there is so much more I wish I could have done. I'm not even that rowdy. I can't explain how sad I am just thinking this
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what is your build like?

A little muscle mass goes a long way. You need supportive musculature around the major joints.
 
13628332:BenWhit said:
what is your build like?

A little muscle mass goes a long way. You need supportive musculature around the major joints.
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That's what I said.
 
What I would do, personally, would be to go back to school. Get a 4 year education. The entire time, make sure you are working out, and stretching very often. Ask a personal trainer how you can get to be feeling better. If all goes according to plan, when you graduate, you will have a bachelor's degree, you body will be much healthier, and you will be in the peak of your prime and ready to ski again. Your rowdie years aren't over.... you just need a break.
 
13628331:Session said:
Stop being a little bitch. You hurt because you're fucking WEAK. You have no musculature to support your bitchmade little skeleton that probably has shit density from sucking down energy drinks.

Go grab you some heavy iron, and lift that shit! Then go eat some steaks to grow. lastly, but most important. Do some stretching an functional movement.

BTW. Breaking yourself off in the park is not the only component of skiing.
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Agreed. Get some muscle mass, do yoga, and get out of the park.

You're 23 and you sound like my friends in their 40's. You are not 40. You abused drugs when you were young? You're still young so I'm confused. You are acting like your physical acticvity and party days are over, but that's not true at all, stop being a defeatist.

Besides getting strong, flexible, and healthy, I highly recommend you move. Get out of town - hell, get out of Colorado. Find a new place, meet new people, explore new mountains. Skiing wasn't ment to be done on the same run day after day, year after year. Skiing is one of the best excuses in the world to travel, explore, and experience life.
 
I can't stress yoga enough. Clears the head, is good for your body, and is a nice way to put off some inner steam about your frustration with skiing. Take an epsom salt bath- ir use them as a body scrub to relieve your aching muscles.
 
13628331:Session said:
Stop being a little bitch. You hurt because you're fucking WEAK. You have no musculature to support your bitchmade little skeleton that probably has shit density from sucking down energy drinks.

Go grab you some heavy iron, and lift that shit! Then go eat some steaks to grow. lastly, but most important. Do some stretching an functional movement.

BTW. Breaking yourself off in the park is not the only component of skiing.
Click to expand...

13628332:BenWhit said:
what is your build like?

A little muscle mass goes a long way. You need supportive musculature around the major joints.
Click to expand...

I'm a little unsure why everyone thinks I'm a scrawny little kid who drinks energy drinks. Maybe everyone is still upset about the xgames thing? Either way, to give you a little more background, I'm a plenty strong. I build concrete forms during the summer. Btw, my bones are dense as fuck from drinking a gallon of milk a day. I also love to cook so I eat good food. I can't even remember the last time I had fast food. My little town doesn't have that shit.

Also, I'm not in the park that often. When I am, I ski pretty conservatively. For example: in december, I was zipping down some bumps and suddenly something in my back went out so I sat down and couldn't move to even take my skis off; stiff as a board. now my back pinches and gets pretty fucky. This is more the type of thing I am complaining about as well as having to grow up and get a non resort job. I'm sick of shitty resort jobs but I don't know what else to do with my bitchmade little skeleton as you so kindly put it
 
13628498:BumpzNtrees said:
I'm a little unsure why everyone thinks I'm a scrawny little kid who drinks energy drinks. Maybe everyone is still upset about the xgames thing? Either way, to give you a little more background, I'm a plenty strong. I build concrete forms during the summer. Btw, my bones are dense as fuck from drinking a gallon of milk a day. I also love to cook so I eat good food. I can't even remember the last time I had fast food. My little town doesn't have that shit.

Also, I'm not in the park that often. When I am, I ski pretty conservatively. For example: in december, I was zipping down some bumps and suddenly something in my back went out so I sat down and couldn't move to even take my skis off; stiff as a board. now my back pinches and gets pretty fucky. This is more the type of thing I am complaining about as well as having to grow up and get a non resort job. I'm sick of shitty resort jobs but I don't know what else to do with my bitchmade little skeleton as you so kindly put it
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I'm not assuming anything, just asking a question. I am on the larger side at 6'2", 2015. I compete in olympic weightlifting and crossfit, so my build is not the norm of the average skier. While I feel it is detrimental at times, I know for a fact that my legs will hold up longer and I am fairly well protected from impact all around. My back will likely never give out and my knees very rarely get sore because I have legs strong enough to squat 2x my body-weight. I know that I'll the time I've spent under heavy weight or moving my own body weight has lent to longevity on my skis. Also, eating a diet meant for an athlete and spending time stretching, rolling, mashing, etc. will help you better recover. Consider this.. if you slept for 6 hours every night for two weeks, your performance would suffer the same as if you had stayed awake for 48 straight hours. Imagine what that does to your body.

It may be the case that you are scrawny and frail, but it also may be the case that you have muscular imbalances that leave certain areas weaker and unstable (knees, lower back). As with anything athletic, work from the core out. A strong trunk means strong legs, a strong back, and strong arms. If you have a strong core and posterior chain, perhaps your pains are structural and no muscular.
 
yep yoga crossfit and healthy eating will do it as stated above.

im normally pretty good, but my back was in agony yesterday after a couple weeks worth of hard shredding. went and got a massage yesterday and have been doing a ton of stretches since. feeling significantly better now.

also doing a warm up at the start of everyday of skiing is huge. ski a lap really fast to get the blood flowin, click out of your skis, run around a bit, and do some dynamic stretches.
 
Get some turmeric pills of a high quality. I take about two grams a day. If I do too much it causes some skin issues.

It will do you wonders for inflammation in every part of your body. Inflammation is the killer. It's really good for your joints.

It's not going to happen overnight, but give it some time. You have nothing to loose. It has helped me tremendously.

Good luck to you man and all the nutrition stuff as said above is super important too.
 
13628416:Kennyf said:
What I would do, personally, would be to go back to school. Get a 4 year education. The entire time, make sure you are working out, and stretching very often. Ask a personal trainer how you can get to be feeling better. If all goes according to plan, when you graduate, you will have a bachelor's degree, you body will be much healthier, and you will be in the peak of your prime and ready to ski again. Your rowdie years aren't over.... you just need a break.
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go back to school, get a "big boy's" job and then you'll realize how fucking amazing you have it out there on the slopes every day.

If i were you id get a better routine. as everyone else says with the yoga and stretching. there's nothing wrong with trying something different. but in reality, nothing beats the top of a mountain. my 2 cents
 
I had to make a similar decision a couple years ago. At only 21 I decided to quit skiing due to back pain. At the time I was like you and everyone on this site, all I ever thought about all winter long was skiing - watching skiing videos all day every day, falling asleep thinking about what tricks I want to try the next day. But at the same time I had another passion and that is powerlifting and olympic weightlifting and I just couldn't do both successfully. I like to put 100% effort into whatever I do so I decided to give up skiing as lifting will be something I can do my whole life. This is not to say I don't ever ski - I just don't ski park anymore. Still very down to shred some pow or go downhill skiing with my girlfriend. You're obviously in a different boat than I was given the fact you live and work at a resort and it doesnt sound like you have another passion that requires you to have a healthy body. I would say take the advice in this thread and treat your body and don't give up skiing quite yet. I miss this shit quite a lot at times.
 
Don't take it all so seriously. Skiing is meant to be enjoyable so if it's not enjoyable any more don't do it, simple as that. Explore some other stuff that you've never done before. Maybe one day you'll come back to it but you don't have to force something if it doesn't fit..
 
13628611:KevinC said:
But at the same time I had another passion and that is powerlifting and olympic weightlifting and I just couldn't do both successfully.
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Yeah, man! I compete in weightlifting. I was 4th in Massachusetts in my weight class this year.
 
13628589:HP123 said:
go back to school, get a "big boy's" job and then you'll realize how fucking amazing you have it out there on the slopes every day.

If i were you id get a better routine. as everyone else says with the yoga and stretching. there's nothing wrong with trying something different. but in reality, nothing beats the top of a mountain. my 2 cents
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Yea and make a low hourly wage the rest of your life? Never be able to own a house/condo, etc, no retirement....body gives out. No thanks.

I'll be a weekend warrior in my ski house and fine with that
 
People always used to give pros shit for going to the gym. But it certainly helps if you go to the gym and make yourself stronger so you can avoid injuries and aches so therefore increase your longevity in the sport.
 
13628418:Drail said:
Agreed. Get some muscle mass, do yoga, and get out of the park.

You're 23 and you sound like my friends in their 40's. You are not 40. You abused drugs when you were young? You're still young so I'm confused. You are acting like your physical acticvity and party days are over, but that's not true at all, stop being a defeatist.

Besides getting strong, flexible, and healthy, I highly recommend you move. Get out of town - hell, get out of Colorado. Find a new place, meet new people, explore new mountains. Skiing wasn't ment to be done on the same run day after day, year after year. Skiing is one of the best excuses in the world to travel, explore, and experience life.
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Thanks again. There's definitely some good advice here. I meant younger. The point being that I don't really abuse drugs anymore and that I take relatively good care of myself.

I'm starting to realize that maybe I'm more upset that my childhood ski buddy moving away. This is someone who talked with me in grade school about getting resort jobs. The last few years have been incredible. Of course I can just go ski and run into friends but this is my like main ski buddy. I just can't believe he's moving on.

Also, surprised how many said "go pump iron". That's awful cute if all the big dudes in the gym are just working through the pain of missing a friend
 
Gotta live a diverse life. Skiing is only a part of who you are and what you love! Also, you can find lots of happiness in a mellow version of the sport.

My roommate is from granby CT, we keep it fairly mellow now that we're in our mid-20s and send when the conditions are right. Keep ya head up!
 
13629040:BumpzNtrees said:
Thanks again. There's definitely some good advice here. I meant younger. The point being that I don't really abuse drugs anymore and that I take relatively good care of myself.

I'm starting to realize that maybe I'm more upset that my childhood ski buddy moving away. This is someone who talked with me in grade school about getting resort jobs. The last few years have been incredible. Of course I can just go ski and run into friends but this is my like main ski buddy. I just can't believe he's moving on.

Also, surprised how many said "go pump iron". That's awful cute if all the big dudes in the gym are just working through the pain of missing a friend
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When I say get strong, I'm not exactly say go lift weights, but work on your core strength. I battle with back problems every year and core strength is integral for keeping the body in working condition. And honestly, yoga is going to be far better than lifting weights.
 
Pick up a camera and start shooting! Your situation sounds almost identical to mine. 9 years ago, I made the call to stop trying to ski for a profession. 7 broken ankles, a broken arm, dislocated should, ruptured spleen/ collapsed lung, etc was way too much for me. Instead, I linked up with a close buddy of mine, and we started filming/editing and eventually 4bi9. We still get to ski everyday, travel the world, live in the mountains, and (in my opinion) can make an equally valuable impact on our sport. I remember being so bummed out during this transitional phase, but looking back it was the best decision I've ever made. I hope this helps man, sounds like you've got the drive/love to make it work!
 
13628418:Drail said:
Get out of town - hell, get out of Colorado. Find a new place, meet new people, explore new mountains. Skiing wasn't ment to be done on the same run day after day, year after year. Skiing is one of the best excuses in the world to travel, explore, and experience life.
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sigged
 
13629433:Nasty_Napes said:
Pick up a camera and start shooting! Your situation sounds almost identical to mine. 9 years ago, I made the call to stop trying to ski for a profession. 7 broken ankles, a broken arm, dislocated should, ruptured spleen/ collapsed lung, etc was way too much for me. Instead, I linked up with a close buddy of mine, and we started filming/editing and eventually 4bi9. We still get to ski everyday, travel the world, live in the mountains, and (in my opinion) can make an equally valuable impact on our sport. I remember being so bummed out during this transitional phase, but looking back it was the best decision I've ever made. I hope this helps man, sounds like you've got the drive/love to make it work!
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Thanks for taking the time to write this. Honestly, this is the type of advice I think I wanted. I really want to continue to celebrate skiing. I've actually been shooting since like middle school skate videos. I've applied to a few internships and things but I have a hard time finding skiers to work with that are committed. I have probably my quickest edit uploading now. I'm trying to be more confident and put myself out there more but I'm unsure how to market myself or how to push it further. Any advice would be phenomenal but thanks again for the encouraging words. Very much appreciated
 
topic:BumpzNtrees said:
I don't think I've ever posted a thread but today has me feeling down as fuck and I'm hoping someone on here can relate or provide a new perspective.

I don't know how much longer I can keep skiing. I live in a small town called Granby a few blocks from my best friend who I've been riding with since the 4th grade. We moved here as soon as we graduated highschool and I've been skiing and celebrating skiing every day for the last 5 years since then.

Lately, my body has been wanting to give up. I have had no acl tears or things like that. But I have terrible arthritis, bone spurs, new back and knee issues, and my shoulders fall out if you look at me wrong. When I finish writing this crap I may not even post, I'll go get 11 staples out of my dome.

I was discussing this with my friend yesterday after skiing and he told me that his back and neck are pretty much done skiing and that he is looking at school this fall.

I don't know what the fuck to do. I love skiing and ski videos and everything skiing. It seems like its time to move on but I'm not ready to change my lifestyle so drastically. Skiing every day is all I know. Packing up the shit every day even if I'm sick or don't feel like skiing. That's pathetic if it's the structure I'm clinging to but skiing is all I have. I don't know what to do.
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You can't do it forever. That's the harsh reality of it... But you are not yet to the point where you can't ski. You have a world awaiting you and three other seasons of the year as well. Take a break from skiing try something new and if it's meant to be you'll get your stoke back. Your days of being a ski bum are probably coming to an end, but that means you can now do some other insanely awesome stuff. Life is what you make of it, starting down a completely different road is terrifying but also exhilarating.
 
I had to bail on skiing for nearly 4 years. ACL's, Meniscus, Arthritis .... the usual.

I went to school, got a degree ... got fat ... got some HPV .... the usual.

Moved out west for a job ... though, hey..lets try skiing again (with a little less huck to flat style this time)

... my first year back, I sucked hard .... but now I have been back at for another decade (almost) Got a slightly different steeze this time around, more pow pow...

Any way bro.... I feel your painz. Heal up .... get fat, get a degree .. (try and avoid the STDs ... if it's not too late), and be hopeful that you will come out of this a skier in the end.
 
Have you actually been formally diagnosed with arthritis? If not you may have runner's knee which isn't a huge problem.

When I was 19 I had a grade 3 ankle sprain, lumbar lordosis, forward head, runner's knee in both knees that was so bad I couldn't even get into a squat position. My ankle hurt for a whole year and I was convinced I was gonna have to put up with chronic pain. My knees would kill me after every ski sesh. I had to do 2 walks per day to fix my back as well as a huge amount of back exercises, but I also had to do a bunch of ankle exercises after walking because of the strain. Then one day I was jumping on my tramp and I got whiplash because of my forward head. So I was bed bound with back problems, a bad ankle, and a very painful neck. After I recovered I started doing body weight fitness workouts and doing more exercise in general and stretching a lot. I recently skied in Japan and I didn't have any problems at all. Now I'm basically as strong as I've ever been and I don't have any health problems anymore. I suspect you're just not taking care of your body atm.
 
13630278:Oxcilic said:
Have you actually been formally diagnosed with arthritis? If not you may have runner's knee which isn't a huge problem.

When I was 19 I had a grade 3 ankle sprain, lumbar lordosis, forward head, runner's knee in both knees that was so bad I couldn't even get into a squat position. My ankle hurt for a whole year and I was convinced I was gonna have to put up with chronic pain. My knees would kill me after every ski sesh. I had to do 2 walks per day to fix my back as well as a huge amount of back exercises, but I also had to do a bunch of ankle exercises after walking because of the strain. Then one day I was jumping on my tramp and I got whiplash because of my forward head. So I was bed bound with back problems, a bad ankle, and a very painful neck. After I recovered I started doing body weight fitness workouts and doing more exercise in general and stretching a lot. I recently skied in Japan and I didn't have any problems at all. Now I'm basically as strong as I've ever been and I don't have any health problems anymore. I suspect you're just not taking care of your body atm.
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I have, actually. I thought it was tendonitis for a while. It's a joint in my ankle. I can get shots of cortisone now that provide relief for a few months. It's gotten so bad at times that I can barely walk and it screws up my knee, hip, and back. I used to snowboard, actually. But now I need the support of a ski boot. Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not really a complainer and I'm beyond grateful that I can still ski. Especially when I get on here every other day and read that someone is dead. It's a double edged sword
 
I feel you man. The thing is it is OK to let it bum you out about skiing but don't let it bum you out about life. It's hard to separate but it is important. I've been skiing for 25 years and I'm 30. I've lived at a ski hill for 11 years of my life and haven't had a season off in almost 25 years. Work, fun, social circles. Most everything is skiing.

A few years ago I really noticed things hurting. Then my back decided to spasm for a year or two. Everything else seemed to be falling apart as well. Instead of being a release, skiing actually became negative because it was so frustrating and disappointing. Going from skiing 100 days, learning new tricks and 50 days touring a year to shit just not working. I judge big mountain comps and sometimes it was all I could do to make it to the judging tent. Embarrassing to say the least. Of course it got me down. It's pretty easy to fall into the shadows in a ski town when everyone else is going on missions and is stoked and you wake up in the morning with more pains than you went to bed with. Yoga, stretching, massages and most physio made my back worse. It just reacted. The other issues were exacerbated because I just couldn't run it out, if you know what I mean. Specialists, rheumatologists, neurologists, you name it. Sometimes you want answers to at least accomplish something. But when your life is centered around doing stuff and that doesn't work anymore, you really have to keep your head straight and look at other things.

I decided to take a year off and chase a girl in Ireland. I had to realize skiing wasn't everything and I could take a break. Surf, learn photography, get my mind off it. I found a few therapies that work and a few windows of painlessness that I can apply the therapy. Don't listen to the guys who say you just need to get strong. I am and always have been super muscular but that doesn't mean things are working properly. You do have to take care of yourself but it's not always clear how. A big part for me is to

Now that I think I am physically mending, it is time to work out the mental barriers and the bad habits I learned in my movements. I'm not clear physically but I don't have to lay on my shower floor for an hour after every day of work. I've got a plan at least.

It's hard not to complain about the pain. People get pushed away when you do. Let people know the things besides the pain that are eating you up. Respect the pain your body tells you. I almost ripped clean through a tendon in my ankle because I was sick of complaining and ignored it. Also know, you will be fine without skiing. Rest and you have an entire life to get back to it. The ski world has a bad reputation about forgetting about people who can't be there shredding daily.

Lay off the cortisone, it will destroy your body. Acupuncture, electro-accupuncture and Osteopathy are often overlooked methods of looking after yourself.

Good luck.
 
13628416:Kennyf said:
What I would do, personally, would be to go back to school. Get a 4 year education. The entire time, make sure you are working out, and stretching very often. Ask a personal trainer how you can get to be feeling better. If all goes according to plan, when you graduate, you will have a bachelor's degree, you body will be much healthier, and you will be in the peak of your prime and ready to ski again. Your rowdie years aren't over.... you just need a break.
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THIS.

I regret not just going to school when it went downhill. I would have finished my degree, rested physically, been in a better mental state of taking command rather than being beat up.
 
I think yoga would help but I feel you on having real aches and pains already. I'm 24, skated since I was a kid and raced motocross. I feel old some days. Now I don't ride dirt bikes, I mountain bike, which can be easier depending on the medium. Get yo self a hot tub and take a hiatus, you'll be back in no time.
 
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