Struggling after 5yr absence - need a bigger board?

[shaaaaaan2020]

Hey all -

Back at surfing after 5 years off. Moved back home to SoCal about 4 months ago, close to the beach and turns out surfing is not like riding a bike... and after hitting it hard all summer (going 4-5x a week) the rust is knocking off really slow. I ride a 6'2 Pill (42L) and rode it somewhat decent (beginner intermediate) before I left for NY. Anyway - wondering if I should stick with it on my 6'2" and grind it out... or just take a step back for a season, get a bigger board (8+ feet) get my fundamentals and confidence back then get back down to my shorter board.

My instinct is to grind it out... but its not really working - have made minimal progress in 4 months, pretty frustrated. Been reading on here how important confidence and muscle memory is, etc... Seems like there's some really knowledgeable surfers and surf instructors on here... anyway - thanks in advance... background below:

Been surfing off and on for about 20 yrs. Learned on a longboard - rode a 9'6 pretty consistently in college. About 7 yrs ago went to Costa Rica for 6 weeks - surfed everyday... like 2x/ day on 6'6-ish board and got pretty okay with the shorter profile. Rode the 6'2" pill for 2 years in LA - 1x/week - 2x in the summer. Love this board, love how it feels - gets into all kinds of waves easy. Before I left for NY my popups were more or less automatic -bottom turns were solid and I was trimming and progressing w/ pumping and moving up and down the face.

Fast-forward 5 years and now I'm back in SoCal, about 20lbs heavier and older, obviously - currently 43 (6ft - 210lbs) I'm still in okay shape- still run and do bodyweight exercises - anyway - it feels like I've really regressed...popups are inconsistent... nosedive a lot, just seem to bail over the side popping up when I'm trying to angle my takeoff, or when I do get up I stand straight up and then, unsurprisingly, bail... But then like every fourth wave or so... I put it all together and pop up take off and hit a bottom turn just right and feel like I am right back where I was when I left for New York. But its so inconsistent.

Dunno if it's an age thing or a fitness thing... or if surfing is just that unforgiving if you don't practice. Point is after really committing to it all summer - I've progressed very little. The only thing that's progressed is paddle strength, but everything else isn't. Takeoffs are still hit or miss almost every time I go out. Stuff I thought I'd solved shows up, goes away for a time, then comes back.... it was not like this before. Figured there'd be some rust... but it's just not getting knocked off. I'm in Oceanside and the beach break is notoriously steep and fast here... so I'm sure that doesn't help. So, yeah - back to my original question - is this a grind it out thing on my 6'2" and be patient? Or will I be better in the long run if I get a bigger, more stable board... get back to basics for a bit... and then see where I'm at next summer? Thanks for reading - appreciate any and all advice.

[oldmansurfer]

I quit surfing for 12 years and restarted. It was just like learning all over again except I was out of shape overweight and suffering from a disease they call A. G. E. Probably a longer board will help. I used to surf boards that were about 7'2" x 18' x 2.25" which would have been a shortboard back then. When I restarted I had given away all my boards so I looked for something to learn on and found a used 9'6" x 19" x 1.5" thruster big wave gun. Kind of an odd board but it suited me well for a while. Then I got a 9'6" longboard and that was good for a couple years. I met a shaper who specialized in old man boards and he made my oldmanoutofshapeoverweight board which was a 8' x 23" x 3.75". I still love that board still an old man still out of shape relatively still overweight but more muscle than before. I hear if you learn when you are younger that 15 then it's just like riding a bike.

[ConcreteVitamin]

Is your Pill the GH Pill?

[waikikikichan]

or when I do get up I stand straight up and then, unsurprisingly, bail... But then like every fourth wave or so... I put it all together and pop up take off and hit a bottom turn just right and feel like I am right back where I was when I left for New York. But its so inconsistent.

Don't surf you height. Surf an inch shorter than you are. So since your 6'0", the top of your head when on the board should be about 5'11".
When you stand up straight you lock out your suspension ( knees, etc. ). Think about this: If you're standing on a rug and I tell you get ready since I going to rip it out from under you, do you stand straight up ?

But all this nose diving and jumping to the side is caused by you LOOKING DOWN ( and a bit of unconfidence )

[shaaaaaan2020]

Is your Pill the GH Pill?

yup. Love this board. You have one too?

[shaaaaaan2020]

or when I do get up I stand straight up and then, unsurprisingly, bail... But then like every fourth wave or so... I put it all together and pop up take off and hit a bottom turn just right and feel like I am right back where I was when I left for New York. But its so inconsistent.

Don't surf you height. Surf an inch shorter than you are. So since your 6'0", the top of your head when on the board should be about 5'11".
When you stand up straight you lock out your suspension ( knees, etc. ). Think about this: If you're standing on a rug and I tell you get ready since I going to rip it out from under you, do you stand straight up ?

But all this nose diving and jumping to the side is caused by you LOOKING DOWN ( and a bit of unconfidence )

Thx for the reply - yeah -

re: surf your height: I've heard that from a few friends. I've tried some shorter/fishier boards...and they were okay. Problem is I'm 210-215lbs and any boards that are in the 5'10 - 5'11 range either have less volume or they get really wide... and I find it hard to get into steeper, beach-breaky waves on a wider profile - they just cork up and I get hung on the lip. Or if it's the right shape for a steeper wave (less volume) I can't really get it up to speed fast enough because I'm heavier...so I get hung up... either way I feel like I'm always late on the drop... and don't have the skill to stick those faster popups.... I find I usually just try and stay low, grab a rail and pray... sometimes I can stick it and ride it out... but its about 50/50... but I never feel in control. That's one of the reasons I want to try something a little bigger - get in earlier.

re: the popup - 100% its been about looking down. You're right about that. I think it's also about going through the popup too fast... is that something you have any advice for? The falling to the side thing is kindof new and really frustrating. Let's say I'm going right... I paddle straight ahead, angle the last few strokes, feel the wave push.. I'll hold a that cobra position or whatever it's called for a split second and try and look where I'm going and pop up and either 1) the board either slides out away from me (to my left) feels as if I'm pushing to hard with my right hand and it buries the rail... or I pop up - and it feels more like I pop "out" to the right and am angling my pop up - and come up off balance and as soon as my front foot comes up, it buries the rail and I bail. What's weird is I wasn't doing this a month ago... I suspect it's because I was actually progressing but am now getting ahead of myself... popping up too fast to get into the wave quicker, and hold a higher line... but trying to do it fast kindof fleshin' all my timing up and now I'm bailing all over the place. What sucks though is if I take it slow and work through it... I just wind up going straight and missing the section...anyway. Thx again for your advice.

[shaaaaaan2020]

I quit surfing for 12 years and restarted. It was just like learning all over again except I was out of shape overweight and suffering from a disease they call A. G. E. Probably a longer board will help. I used to surf boards that were about 7'2" x 18' x 2.25" which would have been a shortboard back then. When I restarted I had given away all my boards so I looked for something to learn on and found a used 9'6" x 19" x 1.5" thruster big wave gun. Kind of an odd board but it suited me well for a while. Then I got a 9'6" longboard and that was good for a couple years. I met a shaper who specialized in old man boards and he made my oldmanoutofshapeoverweight board which was a 8' x 23" x 3.75". I still love that board still an old man still out of shape relatively still overweight but more muscle than before. I hear if you learn when you are younger that 15 then it's just like riding a bike.

Thx man - I don't want to say it's quite been like learning all over again... but definitely a lot more challenging than I thought it would be. Looking at an 8'6" 2+1 with a little swallow tail.. should fit the bill. Thx

[oldmansurfer]

The advantage I had in relearning was I knew the ocean and waves and I knew what I was supposed to do to relearn. When I learned initially I also knew the ocean and waves intimately prior to surfing so to me it was just like learning all over again except I knew exactly what to do and the disadvantages were I was older overweight and out of shape LOL

[waikikikichan]

re: surf your height: I've heard that from a few friends. I've tried some shorter/fishier boards...and they were okay. Problem is I'm 210-215lbs and any boards that are in the 5'10 - 5'11 range either have less volume or they get really wide.

You misunderstood what I meant. Your body posture should be such that the top of your head is about a inch shorter than you actually are. I am not talking about the height of your board. Usually beginners squat / or stink bug stance since they reach down for stability or are too scared to let go. But standing up too straight is also bad.

[waikikikichan]

re: the popup - 100% its been about looking down. You're right about that. I think it's also about going through the popup too fast... is that something you have any advice for? The falling to the side thing is kindof new and really frustrating. Let's say I'm going right... I paddle straight ahead, angle the last few strokes, feel the wave push.. I'll hold a that cobra position or whatever it's called for a split second and try and look where I'm going and pop up and either 1) the board either slides out away from me (to my left) feels as if I'm pushing to hard with my right hand and it buries the rail... or I pop up - and it feels more like I pop "out" to the right and am angling my pop up - and come up off balance and as soon as my front foot comes up, it buries the rail and I bail. I suspect it's because I was actually progressing but am now getting ahead of myself... popping up too fast to get into the wave quicker, and hold a higher line

Questions:
1) How do you "angle in the last few strokes" ? You mean you start straight ahead to the beach then actually pivot to the side during the paddle ?
2) Sometimes you cobra, sometimes you stay chest down. Forget the rigid dance steps.
3) When are you "looking" ? During your angle in, as you're paddling, before your hands grab the rails ?
4) Why are you pushing down so hard with your right inside hand ? What is you left hand doing ?
5) Think about hitting a baseball. You don't swing faster, you swing so bat and ball connect at the right place and proper moment in time. There's a difference in being quick ( good ) or in a rush ( bad ).

[shaaaaaan2020]

1) How do you "angle in the last few strokes" ? You mean you start straight ahead to the beach then actually pivot to the side during the paddle ?

Typically - yes. On a right... let's say, Once I'm in position for my sprint paddle, I'll try and angle the board right at the last second then sprint.

3) When are you "looking" ? During your angle in, as you're paddling, before your hands grab the rails ?

Sometimes - but usually I'm paddling so hard I'm only able to look straight ahead or down at my board. Then once I feel I've caught the wave. I put my hands flat on the board just beneath my chest. Then do the cobra thing - this is when I look... or try to remember to look down the line. And typically start a little bit of a lean to engage the rail and then pop up. But my hands never really grab the rails. Try and keep them as flat and as close to the center of my board as I can.

4) Why are you pushing down so hard with your right inside hand ? What is you left hand doing ?

Haha - I'm not sure!.. its less that I push down so hard - more I'm popping up off balance - whenever I try and angle in lately. Like I said, I think, in an effort to get up quick and pick a higher line... I'm moving my body ahead of where I need to be to get control the board. So I'm like popping out (to the side), instead of popping up... if that makes sense. Sometimes it feels like its my hand that's pushing out... other times it's my foot. Again - this is like 50% of the time. The other 50 - I take off just fine and feel great out there. But I'm a real jekkyl and Hyde of a surfer since starting up again. On one wave... I'm up easy, in control, bottom turning, trimming, etc. On the very next wave, I'm flinging off the side if my board and doing faceplants

5) Think about hitting a baseball. You don't swing faster, you swing so bat and ball connect at the right place and proper moment in time. There's a difference in being quick ( good ) or in a rush ( bad ).

I think this is exactly it - any advice on how to slow it down out there. It's tricky, right? Everything happens so fast... slow it down too much and you bail... rush it and you bail. Kind of why I'm interested in taking a step "back" to a bigger board... a little more stability on takeoff.. a little more glide to get in a hair earlier - get some consistency and confidence back. Or im I better off sticking with my 6'2 and getting my technique down and just grinding it out?

thx

[IB_Surfer]

currently 43 (6ft - 210lbs) I'm still in okay shape- .

When I was 200lbs I rode a 6'5 and 6'10 step up as my shortboard, you may want to go bigger due to your weight, and not necessarily your a athleticism or surfing ability

[Naeco78]

Fast-forward 5 years and now I'm back in SoCal, about 20lbs heavier and older, obviously - currently 43 (6ft - 210lbs) I'm still in okay shape- still run and do bodyweight exercises - anyway - it feels like I've really regressed...popups are inconsistent... nosedive a lot, just seem to bail over the side popping up when I'm trying to angle my takeoff, or when I do get up I stand straight up and then, unsurprisingly, bail... But then like every fourth wave or so... I put it all together and pop up take off and hit a bottom turn just right and feel like I am right back where I was when I left for New York. But its so inconsistent.

Dunno if it's an age thing or a fitness thing... or if surfing is just that unforgiving if you don't practice. Point is after really committing to it all summer - I've progressed very little. The only thing that's progressed is paddle strength, but everything else isn't. Takeoffs are still hit or miss almost every time I go out. Stuff I thought I'd solved shows up, goes away for a time, then comes back.... it was not like this before. Figured there'd be some rust... but it's just not getting knocked off. I'm in Oceanside and the beach break is notoriously steep and fast here... so I'm sure that doesn't help. So, yeah - back to my original question - is this a grind it out thing on my 6'2" and be patient? Or will I be better in the long run if I get a bigger, more stable board... get back to basics for a bit... and then see where I'm at next summer? Thanks for reading - appreciate any and all advice.

I was in a similar situation, age and weight, when I tried to pick up surfing again.. O tried to get right back on a shortboard but had lots of probs. I eventually bought a 7' mini mal and it made a huge difference. It wasn't long before I went back to a 40L shortboard, but I think the funboard/mini mal was necessary to get used to pop-ups again without worrying about the board stability or having enough float. I had a hip replacement before I surfing again so I guess it's a little different but I think the funboard would have been really helpful either way, considering that I also strained a rib muscle for about a month just from paddling and not being in shape lol.
Hope all goes well with whatever you decide!

[shaaaaaan2020]

currently 43 (6ft - 210lbs) I'm still in okay shape- .

When I was 200lbs I rode a 6'5 and 6'10 step up as my shortboard, you may want to go bigger due to your weight, and not necessarily your a athleticism or surfing ability

Yeah - good advice - picked up a 7'8"... i guess it's a midlength... more of a funboard with some performance characteristics... I'll ride that for a few months... see if things get better. Thanks for writing

[shaaaaaan2020]

Fast-forward 5 years and now I'm back in SoCal, about 20lbs heavier and older, obviously - currently 43 (6ft - 210lbs) I'm still in okay shape- still run and do bodyweight exercises - anyway - it feels like I've really regressed...popups are inconsistent... nosedive a lot, just seem to bail over the side popping up when I'm trying to angle my takeoff, or when I do get up I stand straight up and then, unsurprisingly, bail... But then like every fourth wave or so... I put it all together and pop up take off and hit a bottom turn just right and feel like I am right back where I was when I left for New York. But its so inconsistent.

Dunno if it's an age thing or a fitness thing... or if surfing is just that unforgiving if you don't practice. Point is after really committing to it all summer - I've progressed very little. The only thing that's progressed is paddle strength, but everything else isn't. Takeoffs are still hit or miss almost every time I go out. Stuff I thought I'd solved shows up, goes away for a time, then comes back.... it was not like this before. Figured there'd be some rust... but it's just not getting knocked off. I'm in Oceanside and the beach break is notoriously steep and fast here... so I'm sure that doesn't help. So, yeah - back to my original question - is this a grind it out thing on my 6'2" and be patient? Or will I be better in the long run if I get a bigger, more stable board... get back to basics for a bit... and then see where I'm at next summer? Thanks for reading - appreciate any and all advice.

I was in a similar situation, age and weight, when I tried to pick up surfing again.. O tried to get right back on a shortboard but had lots of probs. I eventually bought a 7' mini mal and it made a huge difference. It wasn't long before I went back to a 40L shortboard, but I think the funboard/mini mal was necessary to get used to pop-ups again without worrying about the board stability or having enough float. I had a hip replacement before I surfing again so I guess it's a little different but I think the funboard would have been really helpful either way, considering that I also strained a rib muscle for about a month just from paddling and not being in shape lol.
Hope all goes well with whatever you decide!

Thx for the advice - picked up a 7'8" - it's a mini mal / performance longboard. Been out on it twice and haven't bailed on a popup yet... so I guess that's something. Thx for writing.

[Banana]

I've been going through the same thing, but I'm 67. Here are some things I learned:

1. Although I was already in good shape, with regular strength and cardio training for years, it took two months for me redevelop the strength and endurance I needed for surfing. I increased my pushup count by 65%, for example.

2. Flexibility is an issue. When I popup, I can never get my front foot all the way to where my hands are, but it works okay on my 9'8" board. I'm sure that I could not surf on a shortboard.

3. It's helped to watch the tons of YouTube and Instagram surfing videos. What a difference from 1968 when I first learned how to surf from a book.

4. For me, it has been like riding a bike, but unfortunately, that means that some of the bad habits I used to have need to be unlearned.

Good luck to you!

PS: Here's a blog about my 2007 surfing safari down the California coast:

http://calsurftrip.blogspot.com/search/ ... servations

[BaNZ]

PS: Here's a blog about my 2007 surfing safari down the California coast:

http://calsurftrip.blogspot.com/search/ ... servations

I love your blog. It reminded me of my own surfing safari in SoCal!

It's funny how you did this in 2007 and I think 10 years later I did mine in around 2015/16.

Quote from your blog:
Here's the San Onofre parking lot. It extends for about a mile, but on good swell days, people line up two hours before sunrise in order to get a parking space.

This is really interesting because the regulars here at San O kept saying it wasn't like this till the pandemic. You just proved them wrong, it's always been like this.

[IB_Surfer]

hi, hows the new board?

[shaaaaaan2020]

Hey man - honestly, so, so good. Catching way more waves/ session - and that' just helping everything out. I've wiffed on like two popups since getting this board. Rides are longer... and I've even been trying cutbacks the last two sessions. Wish I would've gotten the bigger board sooner. Appreciate the advice. Whereabouts in SD are you? I'm in Oceanside.

[IB_Surfer]

Down in Chula Vista but ride OB and PB Drive most of the time during the northern swells. I'll send you my digits cause I do Grandview and around there once in a while.