Surfing Waves

hey all,
im sortta frustrated atm. just got back from college in az (4 months of no beach) and trying to surf only to find out that i cant even paddle out cause my arms get tired real quickly. has anyone else had this problem? and if so how long does it take to get back into condition? also any tips to stay in shape when im away from the beach? man this is sucking right now

Aloha!

Try playing the boxing game on Wii Sports. Jus' kiddin'. My arms & shoulders were killing the day after I bought the console.

Where are you surfing? Honolii? I grew up in Hilo but didn't surf back then. Only surfed Honolii once during the winter a few years ago and I just remembering lots of duck diving in murky water.

As for taking a break from the water, I think the longest amount of time has been a couple of weeks so it usually takes a couple sessions to regain paddling fitness (but that's just surfing small Town waves). When I'm feeling lazy I paddle out on a fish. I guess it depends a lot on the surf conditions too. I still feel out of shape when I surf the North Shore during the winter. No exercise other than surf (and going bananas at work).

anyone else had this problem?

Yes, quite often but more like a 6wk layoff mostly.

how long does it take to get back into condition?

Not as long as you first think - about 1 week of solid surfing, maybe 2wks after 4 months off.

any tips to stay in shape when im away from the beach?

Any exercise you do will help loads although swimming(front crawl) may be best, with a bit of Power Yoga/Yoga for surfers thrown in. Then just for the icing on top do 50 push ups and 150 sit ups every single day and you'll be spot on !










I wish I could be arsed to take my own advice... .

Swimming will keep you in shape when you're not in the beach.

At one point I wasn't able to surf for 3 years. Took me about 1-2months to get back into the swing of things although I have to had to reteach myself all the cool tricks I used to do. That I think was the most frustrating part. So far as keeping in shape I have a giant rubber band contraption that I sued for small resistance training of the small muscel groups, military press with a dumb bell, push ups (wide through narrow stance), lots of sit ups to keep your lower back strong, lunges, shadow boxing, etc.
There is a lot you can do out of the water to keep the muscles from atrophying (sp?). Hardest part is keeping your skill level up on long dry spells. Best of luck to you.

CH

Just keep going sufing.... push your fitness.
Wont take too long....
I know first hand, exactly what you and CHarvey are talking about.

swim more?

I had the same problem when I just recovered from a 2 week cold...
I remember I read somewhere said using weights to practice the paddling movements is a good way to keep fit and build up your stamina while you are not surfing, but don't have weights at home to try it out...
However, I think I need to try it, because I'm gonna be working full time this year, sitting infront of a computer for 9 hours, plus the travel time, won't have time to surf during weekdays anymore, only weekend. :S

Just worked out its nearly five weeks since my last surf cos of the christmas temp job. Just arranged to surf a point i've never surfed before, could be fun, not sure how sketchy it is.

i havnt surfed at all over the last 2-3 weeks! driving me mad, makes it worse that the surf is pumping as well!!

If no water is available (or if it is to much of a pain to get wet without surfing) do pull-ups, helped me loads. (I had a forced famaly vacation.) Infact, I think my paddling sprints bettered.

yea i didnt surf for about 2 months over christmas for a number of reasons, and when i went back there recently i swam out back and panicked as i had ran out of energy to catch waves, thought i was goin to be out there all day. im gonna start swimmin every week now.

I swim about a mile -2 miles a week , mile each session, and i go to the gym 3 other morning each week, it is amazing how much it helps with surfing !