Surfing Waves

Hey all,

I'm a land locked West Texan with the closest beach 8 hrs away. I took a couple surf lessons in Costa Rica in April and fell in love with it.

Anyhow long story short..I'm trying to train as much as possible for when I CAN go surfing (hopefully a Surf Lake will be opening soon 3 hours away). The YMCA has given be permission to use a foamie in their swim lanes. The lanes are 7 ft wide max with one lane being 9 ft. With this in mind would it be horrible to get a 6-7 ft foamie thruster? I was going to go for the 8 ft Wavestorm classic but I'm afraid it'd be too wide for turning in the lanes.

I'm 5'10" and 157 pounds. I'll only be using this board to train paddling (with resistance band), and balance while sitting and laying on the board. I figure the more of this I do in the pool, the more I can concentrate on pop-up, etc. when actually surfing.

I won't be surfing Texas beaches to often, but hopefully I'll be able to go to the surf park that has 6 footers once a month. I'm not sure how powerful it will be as they haven't completed the construction yet.

Any other advice for land locked training would be awesome as well!

That is an interesting conundrum. I think the short one should be good since you are only using it to build paddling strength and endurance. So you need both and that means give equal attention to sprinting and long distances. I imagine you will be really good at turning the board after doing that a few hundred times. You kind of sit on the tail and pull the nose up and pivot around. Probably best to practice that when there aren't any near by swimmers. It's a good idea to learn to stop before hitting the side of the pool because the board is going to wear much quicker if you do. I hear that new surf park should be awesome. Hopefully they will complete it soon. You will most likely benefit from getting/renting a bigger board to use at the surf park but the short one should be easier to learn to turn around and fine to learn to paddle.

Agree with oldman - if you are just paddling, then paddling on a shorter board (which is harder) has no downsides. Well, technically a paddle on a short board is slightly different to a longboard if you want to be perfect (in a short board you 'create the hull line' through holding your hand out in front for longer, like a swimmer; on a longboard you dont need to do this as the board creates the hull line). but that is like making a 5% difference and most of us will do much better getting fitter than worrying about that kind of stuff

when you are surfing, then yes a bigger and longer board absolutely. the 8ft wavestorm is a good choice

oldmansurfer wrote:That is an interesting conundrum. I think the short one should be good since you are only using it to build paddling strength and endurance. So you need both and that means give equal attention to sprinting and long distances. I imagine you will be really good at turning the board after doing that a few hundred times. You kind of sit on the tail and pull the nose up and pivot around. Probably best to practice that when there aren't any near by swimmers. It's a good idea to learn to stop before hitting the side of the pool because the board is going to wear much quicker if you do. I hear that new surf park should be awesome. Hopefully they will complete it soon. You will most likely benefit from getting/renting a bigger board to use at the surf park but the short one should be easier to learn to turn around and fine to learn to paddle.

Thanks for the input! Yeah, the BSR Surf Ranch in Waco is scheduled to be completed in Dec, and opening in the spring. It's not the ocean, but it is getting a little closer I think. Definitely closer in distance for me! This park might actually make the sport doable, to an extent, for me. If American Wave Machines gets the wave right, the only thing I'll worry about is how the line up will work!

Thanks again!

dtc wrote:Agree with oldman - if you are just paddling, then paddling on a shorter board (which is harder) has no downsides. Well, technically a paddle on a short board is slightly different to a longboard if you want to be perfect (in a short board you 'create the hull line' through holding your hand out in front for longer, like a swimmer; on a longboard you dont need to do this as the board creates the hull line). but that is like making a 5% difference and most of us will do much better getting fitter than worrying about that kind of stuff

when you are surfing, then yes a bigger and longer board absolutely. the 8ft wavestorm is a good choice

When you "create the hull line", is that basically using your moment to squeeze a bit more distance out of each stroke? or am I completely off?

Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.

WestTexSurf wrote:This park might actually make the sport doable, to an extent, for me. If American Wave Machines gets the wave right, the only thing I'll worry about is how the line up will work!

Thanks again!

You will probably have to start in the beginners section which would be on the side or end of the main wave. But you have the beginning of being a good surfer since surfing is 90 % paddling and positioning and 10% surfing and yeah, the wave machine removes the difficulty from positioning.

oldmansurfer wrote:

WestTexSurf wrote:This park might actually make the sport doable, to an extent, for me. If American Wave Machines gets the wave right, the only thing I'll worry about is how the line up will work!

Thanks again!

...the wave machine removes the difficulty from positioning.

Which Is a bit of a bummer. I like a challenge, and learning new skills, but I'll take what I can get.

Hahahaha well don't worry, it will be difficult even then, however the wave pool won't prepare you for the ocean too well and that will be another challenge and one that you must be careful about. But getting paddling down is really going to help. Most surfers probably start off not being able to paddle and not being able to read a wave and not being able to do anything on a surfboard. You will be well ahead of the other newbies if you get paddle fit. Then the challenge of popping up, the challenge of taking the drop and the challenge of turning and the next turn so challenges of surfing just move on to the next level. Once you can paddle then you will be better suited to learn everything else since you will be able to spend more time actually riding waves because you arms didn't turn to spaghetti after paddling for 15 minutes.

WestTexSurf wrote: The lanes are 7 ft wide max with one lane being 9 ft. With this in mind would it be horrible to get a 6-7 ft foamie thruster? I was going to go for the 8 ft Wavestorm classic but I'm afraid it'd be too wide for turning in the lanes.

What's the length of your car ? What's the width of your garage ? Can you do a U-turn in it ? To turn a board in a pool ( or even the ocean ), your going to need more than a foot on each side.

The seat-down, pick up and pivot, turn around is not a first day skill. Usually the newbies do a "egg beater" ( hands spinning ) or hands paddling in opposite turns the board (eventually).

Plus ask anyone of us if they've seen a newbie try to sit and pivot, and then have the board shoot out from between their legs. ( usually hitting the person next to them in the head ). Even trying to hold on with just your stomach muscles while paddling a 6 foot will be hard, rocking side to side, back and forth. Imagine your board ending up in the swimmer's lane. Bonk !!

waikikikichan wrote:

WestTexSurf wrote: The lanes are 7 ft wide max with one lane being 9 ft. With this in mind would it be horrible to get a 6-7 ft foamie thruster? I was going to go for the 8 ft Wavestorm classic but I'm afraid it'd be too wide for turning in the lanes.

What's the length of your car ? What's the width of your garage ? Can you do a U-turn in it ? To turn a board in a pool ( or even the ocean ), your going to need more than a foot on each side.

The seat-down, pick up and pivot, turn around is not a first day skill. Usually the newbies do a "egg beater" ( hands spinning ) or hands paddling in opposite turns the board (eventually).

Plus ask anyone of us if they've seen a newbie try to sit and pivot, and then have the board shoot out from between their legs. ( usually hitting the person next to them in the head ). Even trying to hold on with just your stomach muscles while paddling a 6 foot will be hard, rocking side to side, back and forth. Imagine your board ending up in the swimmer's lane. Bonk !!

Well my car can't pivot from the center while stationary, but I see your point. I'm a newbie, but not 100%. I've been out three times so far and the last time my instructor was having me spot sets, then pivot to match pace with them. I was too slow (hence wanting to practice in the pool). If I paddle down the side of the lane and pivot from the side of the lane I should have enough room. Especially if i am lifting the board a bit with one hand. I am also only going to be using the foamie during the pools down times just in case I do slip. Don't want to injure anyone for sure. It might be that I can only use the board once a week and then rest of the time I swim laps like normal.

While lap swimming I've tried to visualize myself as being on the board, trying to stroke as if I were on the board. Chest up, reaching a bit to the side, core tight. but all that doesn't help a lot with general board balancing.

Thanks for the input, let me know if you have any other ideas for training while away from the ocean.

WestTexSurf wrote:let me know if you have any other ideas for training while away from the ocean.

Get a Carveboard. The type with the front pivoting truck. It's the closest thing to surfing on land. A regular skateboard with loose trucks will not do.

When you are swimming do sprints along with distance swimming. You probably need to practice turning the board when there is no one around but if it were me I would go straight down the center and pivot turn. But even then I would try to be sure no one was around nearby while I was turning. I guess you could kind of just slowly rotate but once you get sideways there will be a danger of the board shooting out from under you and hitting someone. If you get good at pivot turning it will help you surf but also it will be faster. Pivoting 180 degrees is a commonly used skill when surfing in the ocean. You see a big wave coming in and you paddle out to it whip around and paddle for the wave. In a swimming pool I might try going without fins to lessen the probability of serious injury if the board gets away from me. It will be slightly different from paddling with fins but close enough. It may be that the foamie thruster would be more dangerous if it has a pointy nose. Listening to Waikichan makes me think perhaps this isn't such a good idea unless you have an open lane or two next to you. You could get a boogie board and paddle with that that would be safer and easier to turn. But if you had a safe lake or river to paddle in then a surfboard might be better. I bet I could do a 180 degree turn on my 12 foot beginners SUP in a 6 or 7 foot wide lane (well most of the time )

Follow-up:

I was able to get a waiver from the YMCA and have started my paddle and balance training.

I usually swim 1500 yards 4-5 times a week, but man paddling a surfboard is way different. Probably more of the stabilizer muscles being used to keep my chest, head and legs up. I'm starting to get used to the correct body positioning on the board, making it quicker to lay down and start paddling. I'm also starting to get a feel for how much nose to keep above the water line in order to maximize my glide.

I do have a technique question. When I start sprinting I notice my board will turn or wiggle slightly left and right when I am pulling with each arm. Also the rails will dip a bit to the side while pulling with each arm. Is this a sign of bad technique? I do feel I am getting more speed but I don't want to reinforce bad practices.

This is the softboard I purchased for pool training:
6ft Stormblade Squash Tail https://stormbladeboards.com/product/6f ... -surfboard

I think that board will work fine. Here's an exercise you can do three times a week to strengthen many of your paddling muscles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydpy886udzo

I don't do this as a cross bench exercise. I just lay flat on the bench. I also use two hex dumbbells and push them together over my head and then slowly, with good form, lower them behind my head. I also return them slowly, with good form, to starting position. I like this exercise because when my muscles get sore from it it's the same kind of soreness I get from paddling a surfboard. I'd also recommend dry land popups. Good luck.

A little bit of wiggling side to side is ok but I think that wiggling more makes you more likely to get sore ribs after paddling. It would be something to work on trying to keep the board stable as you paddle. Even the pros wiggle side to side a little at times and I think with a shorter board is much more difficult to keep it from moving side to side so I wouldn't get too concerned but how is the turning going?

WestTexSurf wrote:Follow-up:

I do have a technique question. When I start sprinting I notice my board will turn or wiggle slightly left and right when I am pulling with each arm. Also the rails will dip a bit to the side while pulling with each arm. Is this a sign of bad technique? I do feel I am getting more speed but I don't want to reinforce bad practices.

I would recommend that you focus on keeping your head up when you practice your paddling. Doing that will absolutely destroy your neck muscles in the beginning, but it really helps in surfing to be able to keep your head up. It will also provide your girlfriend an incentive to encourage you to keep surfing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwFBojLeUt8

oldmansurfer wrote:A little bit of wiggling side to side is ok but I think that wiggling more makes you more likely to get sore ribs after paddling. It would be something to work on trying to keep the board stable as you paddle. Even the pros wiggle side to side a little at times and I think with a shorter board is much more difficult to keep it from moving side to side so I wouldn't get too concerned but how is the turning going?

Turning is going well. I think I fast enough for spotting incoming sets while already out the back. Now paddling toward the set THEN turning is a different story.

RinkyDink wrote:

WestTexSurf wrote:Follow-up:

I do have a technique question. When I start sprinting I notice my board will turn or wiggle slightly left and right when I am pulling with each arm. Also the rails will dip a bit to the side while pulling with each arm. Is this a sign of bad technique? I do feel I am getting more speed but I don't want to reinforce bad practices.

I would recommend that you focus on keeping your head up when you practice your paddling. Doing that will absolutely destroy your neck muscles in the beginning, but it really helps in surfing to be able to keep your head up. It will also provide your girlfriend an incentive to encourage you to keep surfing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwFBojLeUt8

I had seen that video on the side bar but never clicked it! Good find.

WestTexSurf wrote:Probably more of the stabilizer muscles being used to keep my chest, head and legs up.

When I start sprinting I notice my board will turn or wiggle slightly left and right when I am pulling with each arm. Also the rails will dip a bit to the side while pulling with each arm. Is this a sign of bad technique? I do feel I am getting more speed but I don't want to reinforce bad practices.

waikikikichan wrote:Even trying to hold on with just your stomach muscles while paddling a 6 foot will be hard, rocking side to side, back and forth.

I warned you about that. Grabbing/Holding the board straight using you stomach/core muscles will come in time. That's why it's hard for beginners to paddle short(er) that don't have stability nose to tail.
As for the rails dipping, you just got to keep the torso "quiet" and only thing that moves is from the shoulder out.
Question: How many strokes Average does it take to cross the pool ?

waikikikichan wrote:

WestTexSurf wrote:Probably more of the stabilizer muscles being used to keep my chest, head and legs up.

When I start sprinting I notice my board will turn or wiggle slightly left and right when I am pulling with each arm. Also the rails will dip a bit to the side while pulling with each arm. Is this a sign of bad technique? I do feel I am getting more speed but I don't want to reinforce bad practices.

waikikikichan wrote:Even trying to hold on with just your stomach muscles while paddling a 6 foot will be hard, rocking side to side, back and forth.

I warned you about that. Grabbing/Holding the board straight using you stomach/core muscles will come in time. That's why it's hard for beginners to paddle short(er) that don't have stability nose to tail.
As for the rails dipping, you just got to keep the torso "quiet" and only thing that moves is from the shoulder out.
Question: How many strokes Average does it take to cross the pool ?

I'm not sure. I'll keep count tonight, though i'm sure its not great since I've only been at it a week.