JC Surfers?

dasleben

dasleben

That's just, like, your opinion, man
Hey all,

After growing up in San Diego and having been around the ocean since I was a kid (been SCUBA certified since 1997), I finally decided to take the plunge and learn to surf. I went out with an experienced friend of mine, and was hooked. I picked up a 9' epoxy longboard, and have been going out about every other day at a local beginner break while I'm at home. Loving this so far, though obviously the learning curve is very steep.

For those of you who've gone through the learning stages, any advice for someone to improve balance and paddle strength/endurance? After the first few sessions, I'm in much better control of myself and my board (read: not as much flailing ;)), but I'm noticing some strain in my elbow tendons after paddling for a significant amount of time. I would love to learn some good exercises to help strengthen my tendons and muscles in that regard.

Also, balance training I can see will be key to continuous improvement. I can get up on the board, but the ride is pretty brief.

Would love to hear some input! Thanks.
 
Long boards rock. When you get a wood one.....that rules. My main exercise has always been swimming. Was on the swim team in high school. I swim several hours a week If you have access to a pool, (at a gym, at a friends, wherever) that's a good way to build up your arms and actually swimming is a terrific way to build muscles, tone them and gain endurance. Swimming really works all of your muscles. It's also using different types of strokes too, so they should be included in any swimming routine. You can add in some webbed gloves after a time also. You can swim at different paces/speeds as well and get a good cardio workout. But you need good and proper technique in all swimming strokes to get the most benefit. Balance and stability is attained mostly through core strength. You also need decent core strength for popping up (standing up) on the board. Again, swimming is a great way to build and strengthen your core muscles.

You can add in some push ups, sit ups. squats and flexibility exercises especially for your shoulders and your back. Always do some sets stretching exercises before each surf session and afterwards. You can practice walking one foot in front of the next on any imaginary narrow, parallel lines too, for balance practice.

As you get more proficient, you can modify you board fin(s) to accommodate tighter turns, increase your speed and surf in a variety of conditions. learning to read the waves, just takes practice and experience. Make sure you know what to do if you encounter a rip. Always paddle or swim parallel to the shore. Be aware of high and low tides as this will greatly affect wave heights and where they form in relation to the shore. Look at the surf reports for the areas you want to surf and be aware of the notations for ground swells and wind swells. Again it will take some time experience to know and understand the beaches that you surf on a regular basis.

Watch other surfer's techniques, never be nervous about being the newbie, everybody once was and have fun. It's a terrific sport and something you can continue even when you're an old fart like me. lol You'll meet a lot of great people too. There's nothing like sitting on your board on a fine day with the wind at your back and the sun sparkling down on the sea around you.

Banzai brah!!!
 
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Think about being a waterman. Open water swimming. Sailing. Free diving etc. I used to teach surfing and my first lesson was always in the bay. No waves just paddling. It all about the paddling. Yoga and anything that helps hand eye like shooting or riding a mtb on a technical trail. Other than that keep on thing in mind: the guy in the water having the most fun is the best surfer ;)
 
A Life Aloft said:
Long boards rock. When you get a wood one.....that rules. My main exercise has always been swimming. Was on the swim team in high school. I swim several hours a week If you have access to a pool, (at a gym, at a friends, wherever) that's a good way to build up your arms and actually swimming is a terrific way to build muscles, tone them and gain endurance. Swimming really works all of your muscles. It's also using different types of strokes too, so they should be included in any swimming routine. You can add in some webbed gloves after a time also. You can swim at different paces/speeds as well and get a good cardio workout. But you need good and proper technique in all swimming strokes to get the most benefit. Balance and stability is attained mostly through core strength. You also need decent core strength for popping up (standing up) on the board. Again, swimming is a great way to build and strengthen your core muscles.

You can add in some push ups, sit ups. squats and flexibility exercises especially for your shoulders and your back. Always do some sets stretching exercises before each surf session and afterwards. You can practice walking one foot in front of the next on any imaginary narrow, parallel lines too, for balance practice.

As you get more proficient, you can modify you board fin(s) to accommodate tighter turns, increase your speed and surf in a variety of conditions. learning to read the waves, just takes practice and experience. Make sure you know what to do if you encounter a rip. Always paddle or swim parallel to the shore. Be aware of high and low tides as this will greatly affect wave heights and where they form in relation to the shore. Look at the surf reports for the areas you want to surf and be aware of the notations for ground swells and wind swells. Again it will take some time experience to know and understand the beaches that you surf on a regular basis.

Watch other surfer's techniques, never be nervous about being the newbie, everybody once was and have fun. It's a terrific sport and something you can continue even when you're an old fart like me. lol You'll meet a lot of great people too. There's nothing like sitting on your board on a fine day with the wind at your back and the sun sparkling down on the sea around you.

Banzai brah!!!
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Great post, thank you!

I've begun doing laps in the pools when I'm out on the road, which I feel has helped a bit so far. I'm also doing some of those laps underwater, just to work on my breath holding. Hopefully that'll pay off. Obviously, nothing beats surf training like surfing, so I've been doing that a lot at home. :) I've thought about getting a balance trainer like a GoofBoard, so that may be worth the investment for when I can't get on a board and get in the water.

Kinda funny about being the newbie... At the advice of a friend during a recent south swell, I actually ventured out of the break I'd been going to, and checked out a mellow reef break in north county SD. When I got to the lineup, it was obvious that I was by far the least experienced guy there, so I hung back and observed from the shoulder, picking off a few of the scraps here and there when the locals weren't paddling for anything. Even though I was a total newbie compared to these guys, they were extremely cool about sharing waves. Give respect to get respect, I guess.

Though, I did later learn that when you're a beginner, don't go paddling for the faster, hollow set waves near low tide... I quickly learned what it must be like to be a shirt in the washing machine. :D Decided I should probably call it a day after that! Back to my beginner break I go.

BEEF SUPREME said:
Think about being a waterman. Open water swimming. Sailing. Free diving etc. I used to teach surfing and my first lesson was always in the bay. No waves just paddling. It all about the paddling. Yoga and anything that helps hand eye like shooting or riding a mtb on a technical trail. Other than that keep on thing in mind: the guy in the water having the most fun is the best surfer ;)
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Thanks! I've always been comfortable in the ocean, but far from being a waterman at this point. Slowly but surely.
 
I think it's great that you are so enthusiastic! Yeah, you'll find that give/get respect goes a long way with the guys in the water. It's only the a holes (which fortunately don't last or appear often) that rub people the wrong way. I also row quite a bit. Use to row more at sea and less now because of time constraints, but I use my rowing machine often at home and that also builds the leg, chest arm muscles and helps strengthen your back. I also have a pilates reformer bed that I use.

In the beginning, don't even worry about the best/most perfect waves or the largest ones or whatever. Just catch what you can. Remember to always respect the waves, the power/energy of them and the currents and you'll be fine. Once you get your synergy going, you'll understand why it's such a popular sport around the world and why some people have devoted their lives to it. The great thing about so. ca. is you can virtually surf all year round. I go from just trunks to just a shortie wetsuit to a full wet suit depending on the season. And when the pineapple express hits, the waves are awesome. They're predicting an El Nino for this winter so could be interesting.
 
I have several multi-day trips each year to Orange County (SNA), and I want to try it and get some lessons while out there. I have a car, so I could go anywhere from Huntington Beach to San Diego. Any recommendations on where the best place might be for this?
 
Take your board to the berm and practice grabbing the rails and getting your feet underneath you. Do that a number of times and see how you get a feel for it. After that try to do it in one fluid motion faster and faster. Once you think you have it down start venturing out to small breaks and even jus catch white wash so you can prefect what you learned onshore.

It's a beautiful sport and as it was said earlier, respect the ocean!

Longboards are the only way to surf. Short boards are for wannabes. :)
 
staledog said:
I have several multi-day trips each year to Orange County (SNA), and I want to try it and get some lessons while out there. I have a car, so I could go anywhere from Huntington Beach to San Diego. Any recommendations on where the best place might be for this?
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Huntington (stay away from the pier until you get more experience) and Bolsa State Beach or Mission Beach while learning. When you get better, La Jolla - especially Blacks, Zuma, Topanga, the wedge in Newport and Cardiff. Manhattan and Hermosa are a mish mash of everyone including the types of waves, with El Porto having the largest waves and more experienced guys. Seal Beach is pretty damn good as is San Onofre, the lower trestles near San Clemente, Rincon in Santa Barbara, Scripps, the Oceanside pier area - get a good variety there- , Dana Point- something for everyone.
 
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amorris311 said:
Longboards are the only way to surf. Short boards are for wannabes. :)
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The best is during the worst storms, the worst multiple rips, the tallest waves and you will see on all the major beaches us old farts and I mean guys in their 60's 70's and even 80's in groups of 5, 6 or 8 or so, all with very old, very heavy, lovingly cared for wood long boards out in the barrels and in the 5 peaks, all swimmers banned by the Lifeguards, while the kids stand on the beach watching the waves with their, suits rolled down, their this decade boards and saying naw, I'll wait a while. Yeah baby! The best is coming in finally and sometimes finding our coolers overflowing with beer and soda tributes left by others for us. Nothing like laying on your towel, in your soaking wet knee braces, looking out over the churning melee of wind and waves that you just conquered and grinning like a fool. lol
 
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A Life Aloft said:
Huntington (stay away from the pier until you get more experience) and Bolsa State Beach or Mission Beach while learning. When you get better, La Jolla - especially Blacks, Zuma, Topanga, the wedge in Newport and Cardiff. Manhattan and Hermosa are a mish mash of everyone including the types of waves, with El Porto having the largest waves and more experienced guys. Seal Beach is pretty damn good as is San Onofre, the lower trestles near San Clemente, Rincon in Santa Barbara, Scripps, the Oceanside pier area - get a good variety there- , Dana Point- something for everyone.
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My goal eventually is to get good enough to surf Blacks on a big day. What a wave.

Gimme a few years. ;)
 
Very good advice in this thread!
@dasleben, when you're on an overnight in a hotel with a pool, I would add pullouts to your routine; it helps build upper-body strength (though you'll likely be sore for a bit). After you've warmed up, swim a lap, do a set of pullouts, swim another lap, more pullouts, etc.

Weight training is another way to complement your lap swimming/surfing/paddling. Here are some of the exercises to focus on: Lat pull-down, seated row, bench press, incline press, shoulder front raise, and abdominal work (I understand that planks, when done correctly, are very safe and effective).

I would also consider getting an instructor; poke your head in one of the local surf shops and look for further info. I don't think they're terribly expensive, and they will be willing to impart the nuances of surfing (things like reading waves, not dropping in on people, who has the right-of-way, and so forth) .

Finally, get out there and practice, practice, practice!
 
amorris311 said:
Take your board to the berm and practice grabbing the rails and getting your feet underneath you. Do that a number of times and see how you get a feel for it. After that try to do it in one fluid motion faster and faster. Once you think you have it down start venturing out to small breaks and even jus catch white wash so you can prefect what you learned onshore.

It's a beautiful sport and as it was said earlier, respect the ocean!

Longboards are the only way to surf. Short boards are for wannabes. :)
Click to expand...

Even though I won't give up my fish, I recently bought a 9'0" Walden Magic Model and love it. Maybe my next step is to buy an "Old Guys Rule" t-shirt ;)
 
^^^^^^^
To add to these great tips.

Having someone explain the ocean to you is a great idea. Bring a stop watch and time the sets. This will help with getting out and not being exhausted when you finally make it out past the break. Also use the rip tide to get out. There isn't a giant maelstrom at the end so don't be afraid. :) It is quite a good tool the ocean gives and if harnessed correctly will keep you out much longer.

I'm excited for you, this is a great sport and beautiful way to become one with nature.
 
fender_jag said:
Even though I won't give up my fish, I recently bought a 9'0" Walden Magic Model and love it. Maybe my next step is to buy an "Old Guys Rule" t-shirt ;)
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I found a Hap Jacobs at a garage sale down the street from my parents house about 15 years ago. Best board I have ever had and most likely ever will.
 
fender_jag said:
Very good advice in this thread!
@dasleben, when you're on an overnight in a hotel with a pool, I would add pullouts to your routine; it helps build upper-body strength (though you'll likely be sore for a bit). After you've warmed up, swim a lap, do a set of pullouts, swim another lap, more pullouts, etc.

Weight training is another way to complement your lap swimming/surfing/paddling. Here are some of the exercises to focus on: Lat pull-down, seated row, bench press, incline press, shoulder front raise, and abdominal work (I understand that planks, when done correctly, are very safe and effective).

I would also consider getting an instructor; poke your head in one of the local surf shops and look for further info. I don't think they're terribly expensive, and they will be willing to impart the nuances of surfing (things like reading waves, not dropping in on people, who has the right-of-way, and so forth) .

Finally, get out there and practice, practice, practice!
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Awesome, thanks! I'll look into adding those workouts into my training regimen. Thankfully my upper body strength is at a decent level already (thanks to CrossFit a while back), but the muscles necessary for surfing definitely need work.

The etiquette of surfing is cool... Having heard of some horror stories of fights out in the water, I went in well-read on who has priority, how to best get out to the lineup without getting in the way, etc. Oddly enough though, it seems like very few people out there actually go by those rules, at least where I go (a popular longboard break in San Diego called Tourmaline).

amorris311 said:
^^^^^^^
To add to these great tips.

Having someone explain the ocean to you is a great idea. Bring a stop watch and time the sets. This will help with getting out and not being exhausted when you finally make it out past the break. Also use the rip tide to get out. There isn't a giant maelstrom at the end so don't be afraid. :) It is quite a good tool the ocean gives and if harnessed correctly will keep you out much longer.

I'm excited for you, this is a great sport and beautiful way to become one with nature.
Click to expand...

My buddy who introduced me to the sport has been a huge help so far when it comes to learning how breaks work. It's nice to have an experienced guy (as evidenced by the big wave gun in his garage) to chat with about this stuff. Just gotta buy beer once in a while. ;)

Even having grown up in and around the ocean, I'm amazed at how much there is to it in the surfing sense.
 
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