Out of Shape

[JfetZ]

i havent surfed in a while due to location and other circumstances. Im on a shortboard but im wondering how much would weak paddling effect my surfing?

[cj]

Paddling is everything.

If you can't paddle strong enough, than the only way you can surf is to tow-in. JK

You have to just get out there and paddle until you build those paddle'n muscles up, it is the only real way.

When I first started surfing I had the funkiest way of paddling, it was like the harder I paddled, the less distance I would cover.

Then, I learned to keep my chest up off the board, and lay on my stomach, and take nice long slow and purposeful strokes through the water, pushing the water under my board and my board over the water (rather than off to the side, like most people do when they first start, like I did).

If you have to paddle hard, you are paddling wrong.

Keep the nose up, and your chest up off the board, it's a lot easier. Once you get that balance, where you can pretty much rest on your stomach while you are paddling, you will move a lot faster.

Remember you are not trying to paddle through the water, you are trying to glide across the top of it.

[surfishlife]

Paddling is everything.

If you can't paddle strong enough, than the only way you can surf is to tow-in. JK

You have to just get out there and paddle until you build those paddle'n muscles up, it is the only real way.

When I first started surfing I had the funkiest way of paddling, it was like the harder I paddled, the less distance I would cover.

Then, I learned to keep my chest up off the board, and lay on my stomach, and take nice long slow and purposeful strokes through the water, pushing the water under my board and my board over the water (rather than off to the side, like most people do when they first start, like I did).

If you have to paddle hard, you are paddling wrong.

Keep the nose up, and your chest up off the board, it's a lot easier. Once you get that balance, where you can pretty much rest on your stomach while you are paddling, you will move a lot faster.

Remember you are not trying to paddle through the water, you are trying to glide across the top of it.

i read about paddling your arms in a "S" motion...is that the same intention as pushing the water under your board?

[cj]

I have never heard of that.

When I paddle, the main thing that I do is 'relax' my arms.

You don't want to use the muscles in your arms to paddle, you want to relax and use your arms 'as paddles', not 'to paddle' is the best way I can put it.

I try to make myself balanced in a way that feels like I am not pushing the board down into the water too much.

If you stand next to your board in the water and push it across the top of the water, it will glide real fast across the surface, this is because there isn't a lot of drag.

Once you lay on the board, your weight tends to push the board down in a way that causes the board to be less stream lined in the water. This causes more drag and makes it harder to move the board across the top of the water.

So, what I do to compensate (for my body weight) is try to keep my chest up off the board, and my legs up off the board too. I am pretty much resting on my stomach when I am paddling (but this is a balancing act that takes a while to perfect)

so most of my body weight is pushing down on the center of the board (where it is the most buoyant) - Back to my post a while back about taking your board into chest high flat water and standing next to it and putting your hands on the board, and pressing yourself up unto your hands (your feet are in the water, you are standing next to the board) the only goal of this is to show you the different points of buoyancy of your board.

Wow, I am doing a really bad job of explaining this one.

Anyway.



If this is the length of the surfboard (below)

(nose) ----------------------------------------------------------------- (tail)



Then ALL of my body weight is resting here (where the X is, below)

(nose) -----------------------------X-------------------------------------(tail)


See what I am saying.

The center of the board is the most buoyant part, therefore if you are focusing on resting your body weight there, the board will be at it most buoyant (that it can be with you on it)

Then, with the nose SLIGHTLY out of the water (slightly so you aren't creating drag by exposing too much of the bottom of the board to the water which you intend on paddling through.

Nose SLIGHTLY up, I take a long, slow (speed up stroke as the board starts moving faster through the water) DEEP ( you have to grab the water under your board and use it to push your board across the top of the water) Strokes.

I hope I am helping and not confusing you.

A lot of people will just try to push thier arms through the water, thinking that if they push thier hands against the water, thier board is going to move. Well, it does, just not that easily.

You should be pushing the board across the top of the water, by using your hands to push off the water.

Instead of pushing the water past the board.

Do you see what I am saying???

If this made sense let me know, if not, ask me again, and let me get some sleep and I will try to explain it again better.

I think I lost myself on that one.

But as far as using an S pattern, it doesn't make sense to me, not saying it isn't right, I just don't see how that would help unless you are trying to push the water underneath the board, and that is not the goal, you want to push the board across the surface by pushing off of the water that is underneath the board.

and an S pattern sends your energy in several different ways instead of one direction. Increased Power in anything is always derived from making better use of velocity. So a straight line would work better. Not saying that the S pattern wouldn't work or anything, I have never heard of it, but it goes against everything I practice, because it sends energy into too many different directions.

Sometimes when I go out, if I haven't been out in a while, I will use my arms to paddle, doing the opposite of what I just told you to do, and after my arms get all worn out, I start to paddle right, because I don't have a choice, my arms are too tired to try to push the water underneath the board, so I start relaxing my arms (again, because they are so tired, I don't have a choice) and the lighter, strokes where I push off the water, rather than trying to push hard through the water work a lot better.

Again, let me know if I confused you, I am ready to close my eyes and pass out. Peace.

[cj]

And when I say resting on my stomach, chest up, I mean resting on my upper stomach, not my belly, and don't force your back to be in a curled up position or anything, it should be the most natural position you can be in. Sometimes your lower back will get sore for the first few weeks, just make sure you are in a natural position, and not trying to force yourself into a mold of what I am describing.

[surfishlife]

that actually made a lot of sense... don't worry, your explanation was fine.

a lot of the times, i am overly preoccupied with the wanting to catch the wave, than actually trying to catch it properly, so i end up just slapping at the water and pushing it past the board, as opposed to (as you described) pushing off of the water underneath the board to propell it.

thanks thanks thanks!

[GowerCharger]

moving your arms in an S shape is a technique used by swimmers and works well for paddling too, it works on the basis of each stroke being made up of 3 seperate strokes - the entry, the main bit, and the exit, but its not something you need worry about for now its something to look into later when your paddling is already good otherwise youll just confuse yourself and go slower.

Main things to remeber are to keep you fingers together, and like cj said to "glide" across the surface. Try to avoid wobbling from side to side when stroking and keep the board tanking flat along the surface, this is easy in glassy condidtions but tougher in heavy chop (when it gets really choppy i move further back the board to keep the nose up to prevnt some of the stalling from hitting chop). And bear in mind the hardest part is moving from a stop so once you start moving keep paddling along as stopping for a rest and starting again is counter-productive in the long run.

[JQ]

just read about swimming techniques and there's some pretty intresting stuff... like how its not good to paddle straight... the s shape has something to do with this... "Some researchers now believe that changes in direction have the advantage of generating vortices that contribute to the efficient generation of force"

and then, about keeping your fingers together... not so... check this out...

http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/technique/tips.asp

i was told this when I was on my swim team a long long time ago, in a galaxy far far away... (primary school)


but hey, what's the best technique? ... you'll probably get as many different answers as there are swim coaches.

[surfishlife]

hm. interestingg...though my best guess is, swimming technique may not necessarily be applied 100% surfing because as you guys say, the idea is to move the board over the water, i.e. reduce drag, increase velocity, whereas swimmers are moving through the water. in that case, i figure the physics and dynamics to be a bit different.

[Driftingalong]

A PAIN-FREE GUIDE TO FASTER PADDLINGWITH BRAD GERLACH AND ALEX LAWS
BY STEVE BARILOTTI

Surfing Truth No. 1: You will paddle more than stand.

Surfing Truth No. 2: Powerful, efficient paddling is the key to surfing happiness.

While good positioning is a critical factor in catching a wave, the ability to sprint-paddle on command is the difference between stroking in a half-second early for a behind-the-peak tube ride or flailing over the falls. It can also help you avoid every surfer's worst nightmare: to scratch lungs-out for a huge set wave, miss it, then discover you've lined yourself up perfectly at Ground Zero. You sit panting and gulping in the impact zone as the next wave begins to feather....

Take a look at Brad Gerlach's incredible tube ride from the Gotcha Tahiti Pro this year. His takeoff is so aggressive that he's half-way down the face before the wave--easily three times overhead--unloads like a Tyson punch over the shallow Tahitian reef. There's no way he would have been able to negotiate such a backless monster unless he had great paddling technique.

Pro triathlete Alexandra Laws, a former Australian junior swim champ, coaches a variety of athletes in strength and flexibility training. As a Corrective and High-Performance Exercise Kinesiologist (CHEK) practitioner, she's done core conditioning and rehab work with some surfers, including Gerlach, and skateboarders Danny Way and Colin McKay. She and Gerlach have outlined a basic paddling stroke that can be used as the foundation for sprinting as well as long-distance paddling. The goal, says Laws, is not only to improve your paddling and endurance, but also to prevent injury. The following comments are Laws'.

* Keep your core strong. "While on your board, squeeze your glutes (butt) to stabilize your lower back. You need to activate what's called the "hip-extension mechanism muscles"--the lower back, the glutes and the hamstrings--to support the body so you don't get lower-back overuse injuries. Draw in your belly button at the same time. This activates the "girdle" (the transverse abdominus), which supports the spine. Don't flex the spine. Surfers with good core strength can go out for four hours a day and not beat their bodies up."

* Keep the proper amount of back arch. "You need only enough to lift your shoulders out of the water but not so much that you are hyperextending your back. Don't do 'The Cobra' while paddling. If you hold your head too high, you can't get your arms deep enough. And you could overuse the extension muscles in the back and end up with an injury. When possible, keep the chin tucked. The reason there are so many neck and lower-back problems in surfing is from hyperextending."

* Dig deep. "Surface water is more turbulent and air-filled, which means it has less resistance to paddling. This translates as working harder and moving slower. Just try getting out of the way of an incoming set when you're stuck in foamy soup. In the surf zone, water becomes noticeably more dense as you go down even another foot. By reaching deep, you're pulling against denser, less-turbulent water, which means more resistance, which means more speed. Of course, you need to build up a good set of paddling guns to make use of all that heavy water."

* The power stroke. "The hand is slightly cupped with fingers spread slightly apart. I call this the 'relaxed hand.' Pull down in a straight line for maximum extension. The first two thirds of the stroke is setting up for the power stroke. On the last third, you accelerate out with a slight flick of the wrist to end the stroke on a full extension.

* Don't mimic a paddlewheel. "At the end of the stroke, you lift your elbow up out of the water, which cocks the arm parallel to the body. From there, you simply drive the arm forward and set up for the next stroke. Do not bring the hand overhead in a full rotation as it's inefficient (you often see beginners flailing like this) and will put an unnecessary strain on the shoulder girdle."

* Be patient. "Good paddling arms do not come overnight. It takes time and practice to reprogram the mind and body. Think of your muscles--your arms and the body core that propels them--as the engine. They need to be tuned up and operating at peak efficiency to deliver the maximum horsepower. However, the best Indy engine built is useless without a good carburetor and transmission. You need to be able to translate all that paddling power efficiently and on command. A lot of surfing is sprinting, digging in and racing for the peak. Your 'fast-twitch muscle response'--the accelerator pedal--needs to be honed as well."

[Hopupu]

Very interesting topic!

I used to swim competition and the "s" motion stroke is not applied very strictly anymore. If you look at top swimmers like thorpe, there is no real accentuated "s" in there.

Surfishlife is fully right that swimming technique does not fully apply. But of course there are certain points that are very important in the arm-movement:

- bend elbow: very important in propulsive swimming and also applies to paddling: you want your board going forward with the energy you use.
- use your hand like a propellor.
- keep your fingers very slightly apart, which will increase your pullsurface.
- keep pushing untill recovering, not doing this will result to not fully using your stroke and reducing the effectiveness of the stroke.
- recovery: high, bend elbow with the hand facing towards you (reducing shoulder overload).

Of course I am not a swimming coach, so please take swimminglessons if you want more info about this.

[dondiemand]

i think surfing is 95% paddling and 5% riding

[surfishlife]

Nose SLIGHTLY up, I take a long, slow (speed up stroke as the board starts moving faster through the water) DEEP ( you have to grab the water under your board and use it to push your board across the top of the water) Strokes.


Sometimes when I go out, if I haven't been out in a while, I will use my arms to paddle, doing the opposite of what I just told you to do, and after my arms get all worn out, I start to paddle right, because I don't have a choice, my arms are too tired to try to push the water underneath the board, so I start relaxing my arms (again, because they are so tired, I don't have a choice) and the lighter, strokes where I push off the water, rather than trying to push hard through the water work a lot better.

Hmm...cj, just wanted to get a re-clarification from ya, if you're not too tired =) Previously you had said you need to take long, slow, and deep strokes. Then, you mention having to relax and taking lighter strokes. So mm...which one actually works better? Or are you supposed to do both?

[cj]

I relax my arms, so they aren't tense, tense arms tire out faster.

I take long, purposeful strokes is the best way to put it. Trying to make the board glide across the top of the water.

But, I make sure my arms don't tense up while I am doing it.

OK just re-read what you wrote, I know where I am mixing words at.

When I say light stokes, I don't mean light strokes, I mean light on your arms, in other words, keeping the muscles relaxed while you are taking the stroke. I shouldn't have used the word light to describe it, I really meant to say basically don't tense up the muscles in your arms, don't try to muscle the stroke.

Once you are about ready to catch the wave, your last 2 or 3 strokes, stroke hard then, and put muscle behind it.

But when you are just building up speed on the board, you don't want to try to paddle hard (it will just wear you out).

I hope this is a better explanation.

The word 'light' was probably a poor choice to describe it.

[surfishlife]

thanks

[GowerCharger]

i just take it easy paddling out unless i need to get some speed up to duck a huge set. save your energy for paddling into waves (and outpaddling would-be snakes)