[ricki]

I try to warm up and down for sessions when I can. Things like posterior shoulder stretches, high elbow stretches, quadriceps, adductor and calf stretches. I tore some tendons and ligaments three years ago from excessive and long duration kiting arm loading so wrist stretches are real important for me. I try to stay well hydrated to reduce the risk of strains. Also, when I mess things up, I immerse them in ice water for up to ten minutes to reduce inflammation a few times per day to improve speed of recovery. I try to allow reasonable time for healing with appropriate rehab activities following injury.

My knees are still in good shape, fortunately. I think there are quite a few messed up knees from other activities that are dinged further from kiting loads. Conditioning that comes to mind would be balancing on a stability ball or foam pad one leg at a time. Making sure your foot straps are the correct tightness for your style and that they are well secured. One foot in, one out of the straps have messed up a lot of knees in kiting. I understand kiting strapless also reduces a lot of knee impact.

There are some detailed conditioning guides out there for kiters. Chirojoe from Cancun put one together about eight years ago and there is a lady based in OBX who put one together a couple of years back. They might provide some good research for your project.