My teens and 20’s I always had something going on, always on the move. 30s were mostly spent working at my career and having children. I stopped doing everything, more or less. I turn 40 this summer and will hopefully have more me-time.
I’d like to explore new hobbies, skills, experiences, anything and everything. Give me your best recommendations please
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Smoking meats, getting a pristine lawn, Warhammer collectibles, Woodworking, Fishing/Hunting seem to be the de-facto options lol.
Might be cliche but I think wood working and other building type skills would be fun to work on and also practical if you don’t have them already. Mostly because you may want to save money fixing up your own house!
Hiking! You get to exercise and experience some amazing places.
Gym, marathons, triathlons
Overlapping interests are the best: hiking, birding, photography for example.
Start going to all the concerts.
For me anything outdoors, photography and one of the most expensive hobbies you can do is film making.
Hiking is the best hobby overall, that I’ve found. Healthy, fun, practically free and can be great to do with friends, assuming they have free time (mine don’t). And if you get really strong & fast, can also throw some trail running in there. I feel most alive when I’m sprinting, full speed, down a steep decline. Core and leg muscles fully engaged, scanning ahead for every step and really putting my reaction speed & balance to the test. Makes me feel like a superhuman!
Might not be your jam, but I play tennis and there’s almost always a court in the area with a group of players that meet up weekly to play doubles and hang out at the court a bit. My favorite part is the guys in their 60s and 70s that I see there. I wanna be one of those guys when I’m that age. It’s exercise, outdoors, and community. It’s a great hobby if you can get into it and want some competition in your life.
I turn 40 in two months and I’ve been getting more into outdoors stuff in my 30s. If it’s summer, I like to drag myself up mountains. In the winter, I zoom down them.
Fun, low pressure team sports are a good way to meet people and get out of the house. Softball, bocce, soccer, even bowling.
You either get way into ww2 or smoking meat
Explore your sexuality with more gay stuff.
Martial arts. Marathon or half marathon
I had children in my 30’s too. I’m spending my 40’s driving them to activities, practices, and tournaments.
I discovered bike riding in my fifties. My first car was a motorcycle, so I never looked back. I’m blown away how much I feel like I’m 12 years old again when I go bike riding
Bonsai. I never thought I would enjoy such a thing. Slow progress, fairly expensive and tedious – but Im hooked. Also, as others have suggested, connect with nature somehow. I appreciate wildlife etc so much more now Im 40.
i’m biased but i think juggling, partner dance, and improv comedy are great to try
Grow vegetables. Not buy the plant at Home Depot and replanting it; start from seeds, tend them, love them, and, with any luck, eat them.
Use good heirloom verities, none of that GMO Burpee crap.
Salsa dancing. It’s a social and you’ll met a lot of people, skill-based hobby (meaning it’s more rewarding when you see yourself progressing), decent exercise, and it’s a skill that opens up new avenues when you travel like taking classes or going to socials in another city.
Learn an instrument!
Learn a new instrument. Gym. Try to remember things you really enjoyed and were naturally drawn to as a kid and explore them. I really liked drawing and sketching, so I bought supplies and am in the process of creating artwork to display in my home.
Enroll in some sort of workshop, course or some group to learn stuff, it keeps you engaged, accountable and you meet people with similar interests. It can be anything from a cinema club to a welding and metal-working course. Keep learning. Build community. Read more, read like you know you’ll die someday, read beyond your comfort zone. Exercise more, exercise like you think you’re 20 again. Keep good sleep habits and a strict routine, sleep 8 hours, non-negotiable, you’ll feel 10 years younger.
Soon to be 40 here. I never even thought about this, but I started going to raves, I think I found my calling. I’ve always been a full blown metalhead, but the first rave I attented last year blew my mind. No need to use alcohol or drugs. Vibe is the same as in metal festivals. So maybe my general advice would be, try everything, you never know if you like it or not before experiencing!
Check out F3. Workout group for men. Mine does sandbag workouts, rucks, trail runs and various challenges.
I unexpectedly started the parenthood path when I was 21. Now at 44, 3 out of 4 kids are grown and the youngest is a teen and busy with their own interests. Free time reentered the chat.
I have started to go to more concerts. Woodworking and making stuff has always been an interest. Painting, drawing. Thrift shopping. I have been making myself read books – It’s hard for me to sit still, but I can get into it. The same goes for movies. I had a running list of stuff i wanted to watch, but never made the time because it wasn’t productive. Last weekend I ate some shrooms and watch Network and The Conversation. Then I laid on the ground in my back yard and watched the sky. My dogs keep me grounded. I just got my technician license for amateur radio. Stay curious!
I’ve found volunteering for community events & music festivals to be very rewarding.
Get to meet new people, check out cool bands, do some different kinds of work and most of all feel a connection to the broader community.
One of the highlights last year was seeing a post hardcore band blow the roof off a packed house with a midnight timeslot. Had I not already been out of the house wrapping my volunteer shift into the evening I wouldn’t have dragged myself out for such a late show.
I don’t know, my hobbies haven’t changed much since I was a teen. Tabletop gaming lets you meet new people and escape for a while. I also enjoy shooting
-Good age to get in the best shape of your life!
-Lifting, Cycling, Running…whatever floats your boat.
-Disc Golf is really fun. Its a hike and then you chuck discs too!
-Kayak Fishing is a nice relaxing one
-I personally refuse to grow up and I am planning on playing baseball even more (37 right now)
Gardening and JiuJitsu have been my two favorite hobbies since having kids.
Lifting weights/yoga, running, walking, rucking/hiking. It’s zen time. Can throw on a good audiobook, too either pleasure or about a topic you want to learn more of.
Disc golf. Most places are free entry, just need to get a few discs.
Smoking meat, sous vide.
If you have any sport interests, could always check out if there are any men’s leagues you can get into.
If you want more laid back, PC building and grab a few games. I connect with buddies that are across the country a few times a month this way.
I started BMX racing this year at 40. Not really “competitively” because I mainly just go on practice nights, but it’s fun to just go ride the track in an attempt to get in shape.
Other hobbies I still do are snowboarding, MTB riding, 4 wheeler riding, paintball, building random stuff, and the ever popular general “tinkering” in the garage. Definitely don’t do any of it as much as I did in my 30’s, because kids and stuff, but it’s good to get out and do something for yourself every now and then.
Some form of exercise to stay healthy. Maybe combine hiking and photography and/or birding? I have more free time now so I got heavily into gardening which led to pickling which led to canning…
Golf, come join the rest of us, you can’t escape, it’s inevitable once you nail your first iron shot.
Motorsports. Get a sports car for track days, high performance education and autocross competitions. Get a sim racing rig to practice at home. Take up go karting. Go watch a live F1 race for inspiration
Get a fast road bike and go bike riding.
Hit the gym and lift weights
Play racket sports. Tennis, badminton, pickle ball, squash. It’s all good cardio
Read. Download the Libby app on your phone. Everyone is addicted to their phones these days so might as well get an app that makes good use of it
I’m so busy with kids stuff that I don’t even have time for hobbies. I try to run several times a week so maybe you can count it as a hobby. I do it more for my sanity though and to semi stay in shape.
Avoid turning into one of those dads that watches wrestling in the evening. Adults that watch wrestling have a high probability of also eating buggars
Workout at 7am start work at 815. Play with my daughter at 530 to 630. Work until 830 and spend whatever of the day is left with my daughter. Once every few weeks go out with the guys during the weekday after 930pm. That’s adult life.
What are you into?
Stereotype:
– cars, motorcycles, fishing, hunting, beer making, wood working, sugar babies, nascar, football, regular at a bar
New stereotype:
– marathons, triathlons, cycling, pickleball, kettlebells, steroids, Thailand, build a pc, wine snob
Find a physical activity you enjoy and keeps you healthy. Pick one.
Find a creative activity that keeps you excited. Pick one.
Follow the Warren Buffet plan, buy stock in the very best company in the best industries. I waited to late to follow his advice and it cost me dearly, eventually I started buying stock in Tesla and that one stock purchase based on Warren Buffet’s advice made a big difference and allowed me to retire at 55. I do wish I would have started at 40 or 30 or 20. I could have made so much money. There is always one company, one publicly traded stock that stands out as the best, just buy that, if it drops to #2, sell and buy #1. It’s really not that hard, and once you cash out you can do whatever the hell you want.
Something active: Body building. Martial arts. Tennis. Marathons. Triathlons.
I had kids in my mid 20s and I am 43 now. The kids do their own thing most of the time now that they are teens. I am more secure financially and own my own business which gives me some flexibility. I go to see as much live music as I can, both local acts and major artists. I recently lost a lot of weight which has motivated me to get back outside. I have gotten back into skiing and mountain biking again and since it’s warming up I hope to get back in my kayak now that I won’t sink it. Good luck finding your way have fun!
Give meetup.com and try I found some hobby groups, gang groups, and social groups on there that have been really rewarding
Fitness! Run, find a new sport, learn to really cook! Learn a musical instrument. 👍🏼
long range drones
41 is ~ 16 weeks away (ugh).
I’m going to every concert I can this year. Baseball games.
I’m regularly doing trivia with friends.
I dunno if this is what you want to do, but it’s what I want to do. I imagine you know what you to do.
Glad you had this realization. One day I’m gonna look back and say “oh yeah, all those concerts in 2025” Hopefully you can do the same.
Concerts. Cultural stuff. Visiting cities with a lot of history.
Thumbs up for the more positive post
Airsoft, I started at 47. It’s like being a kid playing ‘Army men’ again, but it keeps you in shape, both mentally and physically.
I just bought a kayak. I’m 54.
Love speed and/or heights? Start skydiving!
I’ve always loved motorsports and now that I’m old enough to afford a fun toy that’s not a raggedy POS, I really enjoy driving a manual turbo car again. It’s something I get to do daily
Are you interested in spending a few thousand bucks on a bike and gear? If so, I can recommend gravel biking.
Rock climbing
As a guy just exited his 40’s I recommend that at least some of these involve physical activity. Consider a gym. Something for mobility like yoga. I am definitely a bit behind on this but don’t let that stuff slip. And you can combine that…hiking and trail running etc.
As some who “recently” entered this phase. I’d say make sure you crave out that time. Example every Monday night and Wednesday night is “me time”. Every other weekend I get a Saturday of “me time”. If you don’t lock it in it’s very easy to let that “me time” slip.
Solo backpack south east Asia for extended time.
Learn about investing. Stocks ETFs etc. Start early.
It’s amazing how much reading more novels makes me more interesting, more interested in other people, and more interested in the world.
Go hard David groggins style the next decade
Hiking is free. As you get into it, you’ll spend money on boots, pants, a pack, and the stuff to go in it, but it’s one of the cheapest, most rewarding things you can do.