Surfing Waves

Hello all,

It seems as though people struggle a lot with the pop-up(I know I did!), which is the key to open the door to fun. I thought I would add my 2 cents (hope I don't sound too presumptuous, I'm no expert). These are some simple things which worked for me.

Like any sport, you have to be fit to surf. Find out what the appropriate weight is for your height, and attain it. Remember, you will be surfing with the added weight of a wetsuit. You should be able to do about 40 push-ups in one go.

Popping up means getting into a low center-of-gravity, knees bent stance. One doesn't stand up! To emphasize this, pop up into a low a crouch as possible. You will find it hard to fall over! Obviously the pros don't surf like this, but the over-emphasis could be good practice.

Where you look, and which way you turn your head, is a crucial part of surfing. So if you look down, you will fall down. Looking down is the death knell of surfing! Again, to over-emphasize, pick a point on the beach and look at it as you pop up. And keep looking at it.

And remember, even if you are having a bad session, you are still in the ocean. Take off your leash and swim around a bit. Play with some seaweed. See how far you can submerge your board. Hope this helps, and keep ripping!

YEp the seaweed, everyone else has forgotten the seaweed!. But everything you've said is great encouragement. keep trying and then one special day it just all clicks Seaweed

When I started many years ago, I practiced my popups on my living room floor. I practiced so much that it became second nature. The popup is a strange movement and it takes some time to get used to. The more you practice at it, the easier it will become. My tip for anyone that is a beginner.

If you are surfing daily then you are practicing your popups daily but if you aren't then you should practice it beginner or not....well only if you want to be the best that you can be. I think if you want maximum skill gain then practicing at home when you aren't surfing is necessary as well as working on arm and shoulder strength and wind conditioning (when you aren't surfing). If all you want is to have some fun then ignore what I said and just have fun it's easy enough to do. I hike up and down a hill 3 to 5 days a week to work on my wind conditioning and I do light weights to strengthen my arms and shoulders and practice popping up and do balance exercises 2 days a week. I do stretching exercises every day. I surf for 30 minutes 2 days a week. With all of this I am still not in as good shape as when I surfed every day.

I agree