Tips recovering from a surf session?

[BaNZ]

A bit too late to ask now as I only got 2 more days of surfing left. I've been surfing nearly every day for the past 3 weeks. Not once did I go out feeling like I was 100% recovered from the previous day.

I surf between 1-3 hours, depending on the condition. Was wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks on how to recover faster? I try to eat healthy and sleep before 11.

Made sure I don't drink any alcohol, have a big breakfast, cereals, milks, banana, lots of bread with honey + nutella to give me the energy. Lunch and dinner is usually pizza, pasta, burger or fish. I'm getting fitter, but just not as fast as I want.

For anyone who was following and helping me on my previous post. I'm surfing much better now. I went from catching 2 waves in 2 hours session to around 10-20 waves as it depends on the crowd. I would say I get around 70% of the waves that I paddle for, but I still need to work on my paddle technique and strength. When the wave is quick and powerful, I struggle to catch them.

[oldmansurfer]

You have to work up to it. No side ways around it. You have to get fit first then you can surf longer and feel recovered.

[waikikikichan]

You listed a lot of what you've been eating, but not what you have been drinking. You need to drink water before you paddle out. You are basically jogging for 3 hours. If you ran around the park for that long, would you stop to drink water ? Of course ! You need to keep your muscles hydrated. If they have a Gatorade, Aquarius , etc. type of drink there to help replenish your electrolytes, that would be good for after surf.

[drowningbitbybit]

I've been surfing nearly every day for the past 3 weeks.... I surf between 1-3 hours, depending on the condition.

Sounds like you should be giving out the advice on exercise, stamina and persistence

[dtc]

This is probably a bit late, but feeling tired after a few days of surfing is perfectly normal. I've heard that the 4th day slump is very common on surfing boats - people surf for 3 days and then fall apart. You are using your muscles, causing micro tears, and the muscles need time to rebuild themselves (micro tears are perfectly normal, this is how muscles adapt and grow - but they need time to repair). You can't force fitness to occur faster than your muscles can adapt.

Apart from the tips above, you could try an 'ice bath' which is something athletes use to minimise the effect of the muscle use - in your case, that probably involves jumping in the ocean for 5 minutes without a wetsuit....

By the way, when you get home you will probably feel terrible on your first day back. Not because you are back (or just because...) but your body has the ability to keep going, even if tired, but when you have finished the activity the body says 'ok, no need to keep going'. Lethargy and early to bed for a day or two.

Fantastic on the advancement in your surfing

[BaNZ]

You listed a lot of what you've been eating, but not what you have been drinking. You need to drink water before you paddle out. You are basically jogging for 3 hours. If you ran around the park for that long, would you stop to drink water ? Of course ! You need to keep your muscles hydrated. If they have a Gatorade, Aquarius , etc. type of drink there to help replenish your electrolytes, that would be good for after surf.

I usually surf an hour after breakfast. 2 cups of orange juice and that's it. I never drink any water before I get in water. Or else I need to pee and I never do that in my wetsuit. I also don't feel thirsty after my session so I don't drink any water. But I'll try drinking more today after the session.

[BaNZ]

Sounds like you should be giving out the advice on exercise, stamina and persistence

There are so many spots here it is amazing. You can surf in any kind of wind and swell, there is always some beach / reef that you can go out in. After all it is a surfing holiday, so I guess it is normal to surf every day?

This is probably a bit late, but feeling tired after a few days of surfing is perfectly normal. I've heard that the 4th day slump is very common on surfing boats - people surf for 3 days and then fall apart. You are using your muscles, causing micro tears, and the muscles need time to rebuild themselves (micro tears are perfectly normal, this is how muscles adapt and grow - but they need time to repair). You can't force fitness to occur faster than your muscles can adapt.

Apart from the tips above, you could try an 'ice bath' which is something athletes use to minimise the effect of the muscle use - in your case, that probably involves jumping in the ocean for 5 minutes without a wetsuit....

By the way, when you get home you will probably feel terrible on your first day back. Not because you are back (or just because...) but your body has the ability to keep going, even if tired, but when you have finished the activity the body says 'ok, no need to keep going'. Lethargy and early to bed for a day or two.

Fantastic on the advancement in your surfing

Maybe I haven't given my muscles any time to rebuild themselves I guess. But my triceps are now bigger than when I first started the holiday. I thought 3 weeks of surfing is enough to bring my fitness level back. I'm too optimistic I guess and it is probably an age thing as well.

Heard about the ice bath, I don't think I can manage that.

I'm already feeling the depression knowing that I only have 2 days of surfing left

[jaffa1949]

Peeing in wetsuit, the silent P as in Surphing! Does eventually rot the crotch but is warming? Personal choice. A medical bit of trivia, fresh healthy urine is sterile. Good for some stings and bites .

Whether you peer to always give your wetsuit a good rinse with fresh water inside and out.

Another bit of medical trivia, perspiration inside your wetsuit is not sterile, sharing wetsuits is not a good idea, tinea to genital warts and herpes can be transmitted.
Dive schools usually have a disinfection process for their suits.
You do perspire inside your wetsuit!

[oldmansurfer]

deffinitely age makes a difference. You don't heal as well and lose flexibility so you are more likely to suffer damage (your connective tissues don't stretch as well). Where I live there are lots of older surfers who now do SUP because they wrecked their shoulders surfing. But the good news is you are doing what it takes to get into shape (surfing often).

[BaNZ]

Whether you peer to always give your wetsuit a good rinse with fresh water inside and out.

Another bit of medical trivia, perspiration inside your wetsuit is not sterile, sharing wetsuits is not a good idea, tinea to genital warts and herpes can be transmitted.
Dive schools usually have a disinfection process for their suits.
You do perspire inside your wetsuit!

I always wear my wetsuit into the shower and give it a good rinse and if I know I'm not going to surf for sometime, I leave it in the tub with water overnight.

Oh God, I never thought about the wetsuit that I rented sometimes. Guess it is fine to let my other half use my wetsuit though whatever she got, I probably got too.

deffinitely age makes a difference. You don't heal as well and lose flexibility so you are more likely to suffer damage (your connective tissues don't stretch as well). Where I live there are lots of older surfers who now do SUP because they wrecked their shoulders surfing. But the good news is you are doing what it takes to get into shape (surfing often).

I'm worried about my right shoulders, cos I can hear the joints/tendons grinding and it makes clicky noises. I never had this until I started surfing... what do you recommend? Guess I shouldn't push myself that hard and should train up slowly.

[oldmansurfer]

Don't overdo it is really important because it is repetitive motion injuries that sidelines surfers. Before I restarted surfing I started strengthening my shoulders. I used light weights (started with 2 pounds but increased to 15 pounds now) and did a variety of exercises avoiding those that made my shoulders hurt. and did shoulder stretches to loosen my shoulders. I still do all of those. However at 1 to 3 hours a day, I guess it depends on what you are doing for those 1 to 3 hours. Lots of surfers spend a lot of time sitting. My shoulders and knees make lots of nose. I also do knee stretches and strengthening exercises. Currently I can surf without any repercussions however I only surf 30 minutes 2 days a week which makes for slow learning but It's a schedule I can live with.

[oldmansurfer]

When I was young I surfed 2 hours a day after work on weekdays and 4 to 6 hours a day on the weekends. I never needed to do anything to stay in shape

[Jester]

When I was young I surfed 2 hours a day after work on weekdays and 4 to 6 hours a day on the weekends. I never needed to ything to stay in shape

I need to go live in Hawaii. Green with jealousy now Oms

[oldmansurfer]

I worked at Coco Palms hotel which is right scross the street from the beach I now surf regularly. I would change into surf shorts and take a less than one minute drive to the front of the hotel or up to ten minute ride to Kealia like 3 or 4 miles away. I never lived out of walking range to the beach (except when I went to CSU). Yeah I know I am spoiled lots of people think within 30 minutes driving is close to the beach but I always lived within 30 minutes walking to the beach. For a little more than a year I lived in a place that I could jump on my board in a stream and paddle down to the beach then surf and paddle back up the stream to go home.

[Jester]

For a little more than a year I lived in a place that I could jump on my board in a stream and paddle down to the beach then surf and paddle back up the stream to go home.

Ok now I don't only envy you your amount of surfing but I don't think I could paddle upstream for more than 20 seconds either!! I'm gonna hide behind my enormous BIC and sulk

[oldmansurfer]

I surfed a 7'1" single fin board which was a shortboard back in those days. It took me 10 to 20 minutes to the beach and 30 minutes back, but I paddled harder coming back than going. With a longboard it would be a piece of cake. The stream didn't flow fast or if it did I would walk (30minutes).

[BaNZ]

3rd day since I came back. My body is still aching. It doesn't help when you're sitting down in a 9-5 job.

Friends are suggesting to join a crossfit gym and upon further investigation. It seems like it is quite a controversial topic.

[oldmansurfer]

Maybe take up swimming?

[dtc]

In terms of short term recovery, just keep moving but gently - walks or slow swims or whatever.

For longer term, crossfit is probably pretty good for surfing. It gets some negative reviews for a number of reasons, such as

- it seems to want to do certain activities as fast as possible, but a number of exercises create high risk of injury unless done under control. Faster is not always better; and some exercises (deadlifts, kettlebells) should involve detailed and personalised training, whereas crossfit has a reputation of giving 2 minutes demonstrations and letting people loose

- some of its variations seem designed to assist with speed rather than any real benefit (kipping pull ups!!)

- there is no formal training or certification process, so many trainers are unqualified

- its easy to tire people out with an exercise routine, but making people tired is not the same as improving their strength or fitness. See previous point.

- the workout of the day concept fails to in any way deal with an individuals needs, abilities, injuries etc

But, that said, crossfit with a good knowledgeable trainer is definitely going to be of benefit. Its a class activity, there is plenty of motivation etc. If there are beginners classes so you can work your way up to 'full intensity', that would be good - going straight into it is a recipe for disaster.

Personally I prefer circuit training, because its safer and it doesn't have the 'at the edges' risks of crossfit; but I'm old school. Actually, I just hit the gym when I have time and do my own workout, which works around my injuries and needs.

Adding in swimming is a good idea. Any cardio exercise is useful, such as running. Boxing is excellent (well, not hitting people, but boxing workouts). But focus on medium to high intensity - 5km runs rather than 15km.

Whether you want to add in more pure strength work is then up to you. Its probably not totally warranted for surfing, which is more aerobic (low power over long term) than anaerobic (short bursts of power) - while the paddling for a wave is a power activity, you don't need to be super strong to catch a wave. But if you aren't doing some resistance (weights) training, then just go to the gym and lift things up and put them down again.

By the way, in thinking about your exercise program, have a read up on 'the law (or principle) of specificity' and Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands (SAID), then build your programme around those concepts

[Jester]

How did you feel your surfing came on Banz? Did you have any stand out moments or achievements you felt unable to do at the start of your hol? Looked awesome out there