Since having my Hernia op i've been going to physio and pilates. I have learnt so much about stretching and as much i keep myself reasonably fit. I still have only learnt the degree of stretching i need. Hopefully this will improve my surfing aswell. The only stretch i can't really find is one for my arms/shoulders before a surf. Anyone got any tips????

I stretched slowly over and hour this morning before heading down for a surf. Can't believe the difference, was still a bit rusty not surfed much lately but body felt so much better on the first wave.

Stretching as a pre-sport warm-up does not actually prevent injury. If you do it regularly on it's own, it promotes flexibility and that's what helps reduce chances of doing something. It's more of a psychological thing.

What you want to do before any hard exercise is warm up you body and get the blood flowing. This is what warm-ups are for. A little jog up the beach is better than the couple minutes stretch staring at the waves.

In saying that, you also don't want to stretch your shoulders too much. It's held in place predominantly by ligaments susupending it in it's capsule. Stretching too much may even loosen the joint and you'll end up with shoulders that may 'pop' out a lot or increase your chances of that.

Awesome advice guys, thanks heaps. Its all food for thought for me. Am big on self improvement and gonna do what it takes to get right.

fozzy said...

newguy said...

What you want to do before any hard exercise is warm up you body and get the blood flowing. This is what warm-ups are for.

I thought that's what the paddle out was for, at least that's where I do my warm up.

In a sense it is but proper paddling technique does require that reaching out motion and you can easily stretch a muscle. Not to mention it can get hectic when sets are coming in hard and fast. A warm-up shouldn't be strenuous, something light like a little jog down to the shore line before you chuck your leggie on. Worse comes to worse, leave your heater on full blast before you get out of your car

brownie49 said...

newguy said...

Stretching as a pre-sport warm-up does not actually prevent injury. If you do it regularly on it's own, it promotes flexibility and that's what helps reduce chances of doing something. It's more of a psychological thing.

What you want to do before any hard exercise is warm up you body and get the blood flowing. This is what warm-ups are for. A little jog up the beach is better than the couple minutes stretch staring at the waves.

In saying that, you also don't want to stretch your shoulders too much. It's held in place predominantly by ligaments susupending it in it's capsule. Stretching too much may even loosen the joint and you'll end up with shoulders that may 'pop' out a lot or increase your chances of that.

Spot on, movements involving your major muscle groups and joints eg lower back for us old farts is the best way to lessen the chances of injury but more importantly get your body ready for action

+1

It has been said by some in the field that stretching after exercise is more beneficial as this releases the build up of lactic acid caused by the exercise itself, promoting less muscle fatigue.

yes I agree. Read a paper on this recently. If you want to stretch you should do static (still) stretches first then do movements such as a run, moving yoga

I am a big advocate for the connection between yoga and surfing.

updog - when your on a steep wave stops nose dive
warrior - getting your foot inbetween your hands helps the lower abs which are so important for the jump up

If your weak in the core - pilates, if you need flexibilty and strength - yoga

also my old housemate goes for male:female ratio

Daneli said...

crusher said...

https://surfbodysoul.com

Check out this web site, the bloke is a trained physio, yoga and pilates instructor and surfer.

The blog has some good reading plus many stretching hints.

Hi Crusher, Have you got these? Any good mate? What do you get, just and audio or a DVD? My speed to my feet is slowing these days and I need to do something about it or I'll be riding boogers soon.

Gday Daneli, I havent signed up and paid for his programs but Ive been reading his blog for a while and have practiced some of his stretches. There is a free tester program you can download of his site. He looks to me to be really onto fitness for surfers. I do pay for yoga classes 1-2 times a week and I you tube yoga classes imbetween those days. I rekon its the key to keeping enjoying surfing into middle - older age. Yoga has many other benefits Ive found, check out the latest Surf World and what Gerry Lopez says about it.

Good luck staying off the lid

little o said...




warrior - getting your foot inbetween your hands helps the lower abs which are so important for the jump up

Tell me more, just learning and getting the front foot between hands is still challenging. What part of warrior helps here?

62mac said...

As an old guy just walking to the waters edge is enough

Nah, serious Mac. Try to do this:



I can't My front foot ends up under my back knee not between my hands (if that makes any sense)

I've been watching heaps of yoga video's and I still have no flexibility

it you do a sun salutation sequence there is a part where you go from a down dog to putting your foot inbetween your hands. That is something which really helped me going from arching back just after paddling to jump up.

kadilak said...

little o said...




warrior - getting your foot inbetween your hands helps the lower abs which are so important for the jump up

Tell me more, just learning and getting the front foot between hands is still challenging. What part of warrior helps here?

put the foot your about to bring towards your hands straight up and back behind you first (http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/2338), then bring through to hands. It should come further This is a trick I was taught which really helps me on those still days.

Also with down dog try 1/2 down dog on a wall. Focus on bringing heart down
www.ehow.com/video_4944898_yoga-downward-facing-dog-wall.html
that will help you feel what a down dog should feel like. Then when you go to do a full down dog bend your knees a lot to get a better shape in the upper back. It's first about the shoulders and back opening then you can start to pedal your feet up and down (lift and raise heels) to slowly stretch out the hamstrings.

It takes me 10 sun salutations to get to my normal state of flexibility.

the most important thing too is to breathe.....sounds simple but everyone holds their breath when the first start yoga (I still do it at times)