Why is surf progress so damn slow?

[oldmansurfer]

So yeah board choices that make progression more difficult are often the result of the desire to surf like a pro or like other surfers in the lineup. You can see shortboarders are doing radical turns and airs and you want to do that and think choosing a shortboard will help. It may but it's more likely to slow down your progression unless you have learned to use a longer board properly first. So for beginners getting the right board will help to speed up your progression. Once your beyond that stage then it just depends on what you want to do surfing as to what board you choose.

[waikikikichan]

finally, someone to relate to...
I have been out there for 6 months...(same stat 40yrs.. quite fit)
SO DAMM HARD

So realistically where / what level should you be at 6 months ? If I was 6 months in to being Snowboarder, should I be at Shaun White's level, or a snowboarder of 6 months ?
I truly believe it takes 3 years to start to see real progression. The first 1-3 years is just trying to stay out of peoples ways and learn the basics. Then after that, start to push the boundaries. 6 months ? You got to be at least 4 seasons deep before things start to really click.

Agreed IT IS frustrating. But anything worthwhile takes time.

[OlegLupusov]

Which spots do you surf? What are your height and weight? How long are your sessions?

There is a famous tennis saying “once a week always a beginner”.

Try surfing everyday for a couple of weeks. And, you will definitely have see some progress.

Furthermore, I recommend surfing in the white for twenty minutes or so after the blue water session. At an early stage, white water surfing will help a lot with turning, etc.

And, even with regular surfing it takes more than two years to become a decent surfer.

I started late as well. Quite fit. 38 pull ups military style, one pull up with 162 pounds of added weight, 350 pounds bench press, martial arts background, etc.
And, almost daily surfing for a couple of years resulted in mediocre surfing on 9 footer.
After three years or so, I became more or less confident. Tried going down to 8 footer but had to come back to 9 footer.
Worn out two wetsuits within three years. Broke more than 10 surfboards. And, now after 6-7 years of regular surfing (with some breaks for a broken jaw, ribs, a foot, an arm and other injuries) I am still frowned upon upon in the line up and not considered a decent surfer by fellow Californian surfers.
I Surf less frequently now although I have like 6 wetsuits and other jackets, vests, neoprene shorts, etc. So, can’t use worn wetsuits as a measure of surfing frequency.

My surf buddy (black belt ju-jujitsu and a decent boxer) started simultaneously with me, went for shorter boards and still struggling a lot.

The only guy(that I know) who progressed very well within a couple of years used to be a very high level competitive athlete in a different sport and a tiny guy which helps a lot.

Light and short guys seem to have quite an advantage at surfing. Bigger guys are deemed to be mediocre surfers notwithstanding the level of their fitness.

[oldmansurfer]

Fitness doesn’t make you a good surfer unless it comes from paddling a surfboard

[OlegLupusov]

Sure! It does not. But define fitness. Bodybuilding and powerlifting would not help that much and could be even detrimental in heavy categories.

But being skinny, strength endurance, explosive power, good coordination and sense of balance help a lot and could be even necessary for some blue water surfing.

Pull ups translate into paddling. Almost the same muscles.
White water is more forgiving especially with a pushing instructor and chicken pop up.
But I have seen unfit people not being able to pop up within group lessons.

I coached myself some professional dancers and competitive athletes (although female). All of them were very capable and popped up and stayed on the board almost every time I pushed them and transferred to white water surfing on their own after a couple of hours.
Models and gym rats were not that good.

Obviously, there are a lot of good overweight and otherwise unfit surfers but they got their skills and surfing specific fitness years ago.

I played water polo with a retired pro in his sixties. Overweight and always drunk but he was the best one among young fit guys.

[oldmansurfer]

I watched a guy who was an Olympic skier learn to surf. He said it was the most difficult thing he has ever done and he was super fit. Admittedly he was able to catch and ride green waves after a couple weeks which might be fast compared to the average. I am not sure what the average is. I caught and rode green waves the first day I surfed so until I started reading this forum I had no clue that everyone didn't have a somewhat similar experience. Guys who excel at long distance board paddling also seem to do very well at surfing. I imagine swimmers would have an easier time because the muscles and conditioning are quite similar. Paddling conditioning is what is needed to have more useful time in the ocean. The problem beginners have is they are gung ho but after a little while in the ocean their arms are getting weak and they have trouble catching waves. All the guys I knew who learned to surf called it rubber arms because when you paddle you shoot your arm out like a rubber band then let it fall back into the water without strength. Even though I paipo boarded and body surfed and swam before surfing I experienced a little of that however I found that I could over come that weakness with mental effort. I forced myself to use my arms when they were so tired I wanted to rubber band them. A good surfer is a good surfer regardless of weight. Perhaps it is easier to learn if you are lighter because you have less weight to pull on the board but once you learn having some weight to put into your turns also helps. Early on it's upper body conditioning that helps but once that is good then lower body conditioning comes into effect. The upper body conditioning has to be better for a bigger person because they are pulling more weight. I think lots of people have unrealistic expectations of what to expect learning to surf. They see the pros doing airs and amazing maneuvers and think they want to do those things. How hard can it be? It looks so easy. I snow board or skateboard and so it will be like cake. Many errors in estimating what it takes to learn to surf. But if by learning to surf you mean standing up and riding whitewater toward the shore then most of the people who take lessons here in Hawaii can do that the first day. They might say they learned to surf in one day.

[krustyburger]

Fitness is important. But so is timing.

Check out "Jimbo" ripping.

http://thesurfersview.com/categories/epic-videos/fat-surfer-jimbo-pellegrine

[OlegLupusov]

There is always one fat guy who can dance, do split, fight or surf! And, everybody is amazed that he can do it. It’s very unique and the skill level is average.

[oldmansurfer]

I doubt Jimbo can still surf as well as he once did because he lost an arm in a drunk driving incident. Pulling that hulk into a wave with one arm ain't gonna happen at least not for very long as stress injuries will accumulate in that one arm.Even if his surfing life was not cut short by losing an arm he would be much more susceptible to stress injuries than your average normal weight surfer and have to quit at a much earlier point. That might be a reason why there aren't too many big surfers , they are more prone to getting repetitive use injuries.

[krustyburger]

I doubt Jimbo can still surf as well as he once did because he lost an arm in a drunk driving incident.

I did read that as well... tragic.

Even if his surfing life was not cut short by losing an arm he would be much more susceptible to stress injuries than your average normal weight surfer and have to quit at a much earlier point.

Probably right. And he seems to be surfing a Bali Reef with some real "push" and a clear take-off. He would probably have a harder time surfing a shifty beach break or a crumbly point.

There is always one fat guy who can dance, do split, fight or surf! And, everybody is amazed that he can do it. It’s very unique and the skill level is average.

Obviously, there are a lot of good overweight and otherwise unfit surfers but they got their skills and surfing specific fitness years ago.

I would have to agree that he probably learned to surf at a younger/ smaller age. His surfing may not be the best... but he does make some pretty critical drops and is getting barreled. Definitely not a kook. Although he savagely drops in on someone at 0:40s.

In any case, we seem to agree that nothing makes up for water time. Which is why people always talk about how old they were when they began surfing. And no number of burpees or miles running can make up for water time. Because water time and experience go such a loooong way. I'm always surprised when I see great surfers that are clearly out of shape. They're often a little older and probably don't surf very often any more. But they know where to position themselves, know their equipment, and can surf better than most. This obviously applies to other sports as well (ex. snowboarding). But there's no other sport that I have tried that is like surfing in that being in the right spot at the right time makes things so much easier. And that is about knowledge and experience, not fitness.

[jaffa1949]

I started to surf a year ago. Indeed, it is really tough but very inspiring. I also thought that it is possible to learn up to surf according to the videos from YouTube by yourself. But really, I concluded that I need a coach or a more experienced assistant who will guide and help me. I remember how difficult it was to choose a good surf. I read many reviews on the Internet until I found a suitable one on . Unfortunately, I'm not as athletic as you, and it is not easy for me to train. But I am a thief in my strength and in the fact that I will be able to ride my first big wave at an early date.

[stimbley]

as a late beginner, i can relate to everything others have said. For me learning has always been about repetition, that seems to be the hardest part about surfing. It is extremely difficult to get repeatable rides, the swell, wind, tide is always changing. Some days you might be lucky to surf clean repetitive waves but of course they will be crowded. Other days you will have a few good rides and feel like you're making progress then the conditions will fizz out. As someone said though even shitty conditions have something to offer. Either way I love it, even small achievements (like landing 6 take offs in a row) make me feel so happy.

[blkout212]

Julian

3. How often can you get to the surf? Some may measure progression and experience in years while in reality Wave Count is a more accurate measure. Is someone that claims to have been surfing intermittently for 30 years going to be better than a committed beginner with a few solid years of daily sessions under their belt? Not necessarily. You surf about once a week, so maybe you have 100 sessions under your belt. I think its perfectly reasonable that you are still working on your pop up... you just started your surfing journey.

-Krus

Heck, I signed up just to kudos this comment. Spot on. I've been surfing for less than a year; I am comfortable where I am at riding a 6ft fish most the time occasionally a speedy 6'9. Still working on my bottom turns, trimming and cut backs but I think it's the amount of time I've spent out there that has gotten me to this point and wave count is certainly the deciding factor. At the start I was catching maybe a wave or two at best some crowded sessions I was just getting nothing but sunburn. But I surf almost every day, when the waves are tiny I go looking for a good break anyway and put time into small and big surf. Every wave really is a lesson in itself and an opportunity to learn more about how to read what the ocean does and is doing in on any given day in all conditions.

I had a session today catching beach breaks, I lost count of the amount of waves I took in the end but it would have been close to 8 or more; a couple were really bangers the others were probably bad choices and xxxxx position but fun non-the-less. One was certainly a 'lightbulb moment' though

I think wave count is key, as is out-of-water practice. I improved my pop up doing pop-up's on dry land, doing yoga etc. I have a good baseline of fitness - I run, I lift weights, I stretch, I swim laps etc and I am mindful about what my body needs. I started at 29, swimming and running were good bases to begin from but the real key so far has been dry-land practice and just taking what I can get on small days and trying like hell to make it work.

[oldmansurfer]

Yes there is wave count and then there is what kind of wave you are catching. If for whatever reason your not catching waves such as too crowded, tired, board too small for you, then you aren't learning to surf. Then what kind of waves you are catching affects your skill. Short wave or long wave, tubing or crumbly. The longer the wave the more opportunity to learn and the more challenging the wave the more likely to learn up to a point. Then there is length of time between surf sessions. If it's been too long since the last time then you are just catching up

[Geezer]

No substitute for paddle fitness. The better you paddle, the longer you can stay out, the more apt you are not to be lazy and will work to get into and keep up with the correct starting position to catch the wave, and it's easier to get into the wave. Good paddling is technique and paddle fitness combined, and I've found no substitute for actual time in the water in the gym.

Another observation is that most of the struggling surfers I see in the lineup have boards too small for either their ability or the wave size-type or both. Hard to improve if you can't make a wave.

[Kinink]

I also started surfing late. The first time, was at 15 yrs old, but was very inconsistent and although I didn't catch many waves at that age, I did learned the basics: paddle in, paddle out, pop up. Then, affpter a little more of 10 yrs living abroad, I came back at it at 32. Sure, I had a head start since I already new the basics. But is time in and out the water that will make you progress and catch up those years. Don't give up. I have friends at the 70+ that are still surfing so you have at least a life of surfing before you.

If you have access to a swimming pool, train your duck dives and turtle rolls there, get a surf skate, watch a listen to more advanced surfers.

Once in the water, I try to set a 1 step rule. I always try to do that extra step everything, just one. Put in your mind "today I'll make a late drop" and focus on it. Trimming, making cutbacks...for that you have to wait in the line and for good waves. For 99% of the sport, you don't! You can choose a spot that has more close ups and exercise as many pop ups as you want. You can stay on the inside and train as many duck dives and turtle rolls as you want. On dry land, you can make your body learn where to place your feet and where to look til exhaustion. All of these counts. When all of the steps above are mastered, you can focus on riding green waves without worrying about the rest. Filme yourself popup on dry land and on a swimming pool and you will be able to correct many mistake. And also, don't just stick to one board. When you switch boards, you get a feel of what's makes what on a board.

Surfing is not about being the best, I have acquaintances that are doing airs every session but still, more often than not, there are folks in the water pulling better waves than them. Surfing is not about being the best, is making it a good part of your life! Laugh at your nose dives, getting over the falls - just try not to injure yourself! Surf is the sport that it is because it's not about who's the best, but of who can get the happiest with it!