How to develop skills out of the water..!

[j37ash]

Hi Guys,

Pretty new to surfing, and while college and exams are on I have no time to get in the water, so was thinking how else I can develop my skills.

I was wondering about investing in either a longboard, or indo board to hone my basic skills on until i can get back into the water.

What do you reckon?

Cheers for any help,

Josh

[dtc]

Which skills? As a new surfer, probably pop up and paddling are the most important, but you may not need these.

In terms of balance, I havent used an indo board but I think just focusing on balance (like standing on one leg, wobble boards etc) are probably almost as useful.

I would also read - sounds 'wrong' as surfing is obvious physical, but when you do get out there and you are perling or being smashed or cant to a bottom turn or whatever, if you know what you are meant to be doing and why, then it can be a great help.

[IB_Surfer]

Outside the water I got mad grilling skills

[j37ash]

Dtc, yeah general balance is what I'm after i think pal, although my pop up needs work, its not as much of a priority, and I'm confident that it will improve when i spend more time in the ocean!

Themathteacher, go on, enlighten me!

What do you lot think then? For General balance and basic turning skills - Indo board or long board?

Josh

[dtc]

Without being too analytical, there are 2 'forms' of balance (in the surfing context).

The first is general balance, which is a skill you can improve on land fairly easily. Exercises include:

- stand on one leg with the other raised so your thigh is 90deg to the ground. Do this for 30 seconds, swap legs
- do the same thing but wave your arms around (eg do some shadow boxing)
- stand on an unstable surface, like a bosu ball or just a rolled up pillow, on one leg; or on a pipe with both legs and slowly roll back and forth
- stand on one leg with your eyes closed (harder than is sounds).

Also, balance comes through your core (esp your hips/glutes) and ankles. Lots of people have weak glutes, so you can do some glute strengthening work (google 'bret contreras'). Ankles are usually strong but can be immobile, so ankle mobilisation is worth while.

The second 'type' of balance is not really balance but more learning about the effect of weight transfers. This is the indo board and skateboarding type of activity - you learn how moving weight onto the back foot or leaning on your heel or toe etc feels and what happens and how to get the rest of your body to react.

So the first kind of balance probably is most relevant in getting you standing on the board (just after the pop up) - when you are jumping up onto an unstable surface. The second is useful once you are on the board and you are doing your manouveres and turns and so forth. One of my friends swears blind that 1/2 hr of skateboarding (using one of those long carver boards) down his driveway instantly translates into much improved turns because his body just learns what to do.

So obviously both types of balance are useful. And indo boards etc do help with the general balance skills and core strengthening.

In terms of indo boards, you can make your own if you dont want to buy one and there are plenty of suggestions on the net. The general tip is that if you fall off the board will probably fly across the room, so dont do it in front of your TV (or girlfriend).

[j37ash]

dtc, cheers mate, that helps a lot!

Due to being a rugby player, I spend a whole load of time in the gym training my legs, thus my strength and general balance I reckon is good. Although I'll give those exercises a go and see how I get on!

Cracking then, i'll try investing in either a Indo or long board. Is it down to preference or is one of them better for development than the other? If buying new i think a longboard would probably be cheaper also.

Cheers for your help,

Josh

[dtc]

Well, even though a rugby player, try out the general balance tests and see how you go.

In terms of other activities, realistically your best way to improve your surfing when not in the water is to go swimming. Balance and all the rest works for the 10% of time you are actually standing and surfing; swimming helps with the other 90%.

In terms of what works best between indo boards and skateboards I don't know. I suspect indo boards help more with balance and core strength, while skateboards help more with weight transfer and turns. Skateboards, to me, are a more long term proposition as you can enjoy skateboarding for the sake of it, whereas indo boards are fairly limited in function. But you wont go headfirst into concrete/a car on an indo board, plus indo boards you can do inside.

So, as you say, probably personal preference. I'm not sure how many surfers use either, to be honest - I guess if you are surfing a lot you dont need to; if you arent surfing a lot then there is some use.