Learning to Surf – Get Fit to Surf

Lifestyle Changes for Beginner Surfers

Mark Kaplan — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 16:28:59 +0000

Lifestyle Changes for Beginner Surfers occur as they become fit to surf. Most people in this pandemic era could lose some weight. Because everyone has been sedentary and not going to the gym, they need strength and flexibility. Aerobic fitness is always available if you walk out the door.

Losing weight is a tough proposition because people don’t want to suffer or become disciplined eaters. The first week or two are toughest and then food cravings can slow down and the discipline starts yielding results. Results create encouragement and the desire to continue.

Getting fit also requires discipline. Most exercises are difficult at the beginning and then the body adjusts. Pushups can progress quickly. They are the best beginning exercise for a surfing pop up. If you have to start with one or two pushups, try building it each time. I once started with 10 and increased by two every other day and arrived at 70. Now I like to do three sets of 30-40.

Squats and deadlifts are the best large muscle exercises that create strength and flexibility for the surfing pop up. They build the legs and core while creating flexibility in the hamstrings, buttocks, and lower back. All three are crucial for a good surfing pop up. Do them every day. Weights are not necessary until such time as you can start adding weights. I like a 35-pound barbell plate.

Start an Aerobic Program

Aerobics have four stages of intensity as defined by personal trainers and health coaches. Beginners start walking even if it’s only ten minutes a day. The goal is to build to a half hour 5 days a week and then an hour. Intensity is measured by one’s ability to exercise and talk. As intensity increases, talking becomes more difficult.

Intervals are how aerobic fitness is improved in all four stages. Walking can be increased in speed for a set period of time even if it’s only for a few minutes. Running is the same. Run at a comfortable pace and add a 30 second interval. Intensity is increased by increasing speed, then duration, and finally resting less between intervals.

Beginners to competitors increase the level of intensity with adding speed up to 95% of capacity. Duration is also increased. Less rest between intervals also increases intensity. Once the speed is increased to near capacity, the rest of the days will be spent exercising at lower intensity. Competitors will exercise intensely one day a week and the rest of the days will be moderate.

Lifestyle Changes

Losing weight, building strength, flexibility, and aerobic fitness will create a new you. You will feel better, look better, have greater self-esteem, and be more capable of engaging in any recreation. This is a whole new life. I lost 40 pounds over the last 5 months and thoroughly enjoy my new size. I have less weight to haul up mountains while hiking and better oxygen uptake while riding my bike. I love fitting into size 32 pants. I feel light.

I have adapted to a restricted calorie diet and intermittent fasting. I don’t have food cravings often. I have eliminated most sugar foods and white flour foods. Protein and healthy fats are included along with several low glycemic vegetables and fruits. I have a healthy salad every night and protein is often chicken and grass-fed beef. Vegetarians have a variety of options which include legumes, tofu, nuts, seeds, oats, kale, eggs, milk, and cheese. This time of year, I love soups.

Once you start, it will get easier as you go, and life does get more enjoyable.

Get started with my Free E-Book The 3 Week Plan. It will start the discipline process and help you set goals to complement your life. Follow the link to the landing page.

Get Weekly Tips for Getting Fit and Enjoying a New Lifestyle. Fitness is a Lifestyle.

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The Perfect Start to Lose Weight and Get Fit

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You Have to Get Started to Reach Your Goals. Quick Start to Change your Lifestyle

See Surf Packages and PerfectBody.me meal plans.

Get my new book Get Fit to Surf

Its time to get back in shape. This book discusses strength, flexibility, stamina, and nutritional needs for getting in shape and losing weight. It is the great guide to get back to fitness for all your recreational desires. If you can surf, you can do most anything.

Buy on Kindle for $5.99 or Paperback on Amazon for $7.99

Get the Learn to Surf Guide Course in Kindle, Paperback or Audio

A great 29 page course on the fundamentals of catching waves, doing beginner and advanced pop ups, riding real waves, how to do maneuvers on real waves, which surfboards to ride, and how to progress. Great for lesson preparation, after lesson review, or learning on your own.

Kindle price $2.99 on Amazon. Paperback price $6.95 on Amazon. Audio download price $7.95

Everybody Can Surf

To read a great book for getting in shape to surf or getting in better surfing shape, read my new book Everybody Can Surf, a Health, Fitness, Nutrition, and Surfing Adventure

Description:

Get healthy and fit to surf or set a goal of surfing to improve weight, fitness, nutrition, and health. This guide by a surf instructor/health coach/personal trainer gives the short version of how to lose weight, get strong, build stamina, develop nutrition, and learn to surf. Surfing is a lifestyle enjoyed by millions and so is fitness. Fitness creates opportunities to enjoy life through lots of different kinds of recreation. No need to stand on the sidelines while others are having a great time. Start your program to health with easy steps and progress at your own pace. That is the secret to maintaining a lifestyle. Do it at your pace. This book will start you on the path.

Buy the E book on Amazon for $5.99

Buy the Paperback on Amazon for $7.99

Seniors Get Fit to Surf

Description:

Seniors often ask if it is too late to learn to surf. Age is functional not chronological. If people have been exercising and maintaining body strength, surfing can be accomplished. If people have not been exercising, then getting in shape to surf could be a life changing move. Learn how to develop strength, flexibility, and stamina to learn surfing. If you are in surf shape, you could pursue most any recreation.

Buy the E-book on Amazon for $5.99

Buy the Paperback on Amazon for $7.99

The post Lifestyle Changes for Beginner Surfers appeared first on Get Fit to Surf.

Beginner Surfers Fitness Issues

Mark Kaplan — Sat, 11 Sep 2021 14:25:57 +0000

It is common for Beginner Surfers Fitness Issues to be the same. Most beginners readily admit they underestimated the technical and physical demands of surfing. Most surf writers will say surfing is one of the more difficult sports to learn. The surprise about the physicality is that it is full body.

The new surfer needs strength, flexibility, and stamina. New students don’t train before they take a lesson. That would seem unnecessary. What they learn after they take a lesson is that they need to be in better shape. The issue most surfers face first is their flexibility.

The Basic Issues of Beginner Surfers

Getting more flexible for surfing is not just about touching your fingers to your toes. It requires flexibility in the hamstrings, buttocks, and lower back. It also needs strength in these areas to execute the pop up. All the joints need to be working for smooth execution. Knee or back problems are going to be a hindrance.

New surfers need the capacity to learn. Surfing is a coordination between the brain and the body. I find 14 year old girls are often the prime learners because they are involved in so many new physical activities. The longer it has been since a person learned something new with their body, the more difficult it is to learn the surf pop up.

Stamina is important to learn longer. The surfer paddles to catch a wave, then walks through the surf to catch the next one. This gets tiring fast and good aerobic conditioning helps quick recovery between rides. Running, biking, and swimming with intervals helps. The surfing is still different and more demanding.

The surfer’s weight can be important. Overweight makes surfing techniques more difficult. It also indicates a possible lack of exercise and therefore a lack of strength and flexibility. As a surfer gets in surf shape, he may lose weight and get stronger at the same time. A great lifestyle improvement.

Courage is the 800 pound gorilla. The ocean is intimidating to many students and especially the first time on the board. I commonly see what I call fear of standing up. The student is here to learn to surf but they don’t want to stand up because of fear. They fear falling off, but if they don’t execute the full pop up by standing up, they are going to fall off.

Surfing progress comes from making it a long term endeavor. Learning the techniques and out of water cross training help beginners and is mandatory for professionals.

Read a good book to get ready.

Visit the Home Page for Surf Lessons

See My Website https://HappinessandWorkLifeBalance.com

Learn More

The Perfect Start to Lose Weight and Get Fit

Free E-Book

You Have to Get Started to Reach Your Goals. Quick Start to Change your Lifestyle

See Surf Packages and PerfectBody.me meal plans.

Get the Learn to Surf Guide Course in Kindle, Paperback or Audio

Kindle price $2.99 on Amazon. Paperback price $6.95 on Amazon. Audio download price $7.95

Get Fit to Surf

A great guide to strength, flexibility, stamina, and leanness for surfing. Beginner strategies for getting stronger, more flexible, stronger cardiovascular system, and nutrition to lose weight. An improving surfer or one who wants to prepare must meet the whole body physical demands of surfing. Getting stronger improves ones ability to perform better.

Buy on Kindle for $5.99 or the Paperback for $7.99

Every Body Can Surf

To read a great book for getting in shape to surf or getting in better surfing shape, read my new book Overweight People Can Surf, a Health, Fitness, Nutrition, and Surfing Adventure

Description:

Buy the E book on Amazon for $5.99

Buy the Paperback on Amazon for $7.99

Seniors Get Fit to Surf

Description:

Buy the E-book on Amazon for $5.99

Buy the Paperback on Amazon for $7.99

The post Beginner Surfers Fitness Issues appeared first on Get Fit to Surf.

Why Age is Functional More than Chronological

Mark Kaplan — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 15:37:01 +0000

Many aspiring surfers learn Why Age is More Functional Than Chronological. New students from kids to seniors can succeed or fail based on conditions much different than age. Activity levels have changed during the pandemic and capabilities are also a function of how active a lifestyle a person enjoys.

These days most kids are not nearly as strong nor flexible as they should be. On the other hand, adults and seniors that have maintained normal weight, strength, and flexibility make good surf students. Its a simple as that, almost. Next is a person’s ability to learn. In surfing specifically, students are taught movements that are not familiar. How capable is a person’s brain of listening and executing the novel movements to their body.

The Basics of the Surfing Sequence for Learning to Surf

People who are active generally have better movement flow in their muscles and joints. Any area of dysfunction can impede the flow of rising from a lying position to a standing position on the surfboard. Being physically fit gives a person more confidence in learning new movements and dealing with the intimidation of getting in front of ocean waves on a surfboard.

The first step is rolling over smoothly on a surfboard and paddling before a foam wave arrives. Overweight people can have trouble balancing on surfboard while trying to paddle. I utilize boards bigger than an experienced person of the same size would use to help new surfers with this issue.

The student needs some natural abilities and instincts to get the timing of paddling and catching waves. The more connected one is with their body and senses, the easier this is. Next the person has to perform a sequence that is technical to stand on the surfboard correctly. It is not enough to stand up. People trying it on their own can often stand up, they just can’t ride. The surfer must stand up in the correct position of balance.

The new student goes through a sequence of putting their hands on the surfboard, their rear foot, standing on that foot, and placing the other foot near the nose of the board. They must arrive with feet shoulder width apart, hips and shoulders squared to the front, hands in front of the body, and weight equal on front and back leg. This is a little tricky on a small platform getting pushed on an uneven surface at 10 mph per hour and not at all stable like standing in the living room.

I give new students a count to keep them at the right pace, stop them from thinking, and warn them not to rely on their instincts. Instincts rarely serve in learning this process. An experienced surfer has great instincts, but a beginner’s instincts are all wrong. A new student willing to submit their will to learning the instructions is often up on the first ride. The more resistance a student has to learning something novel, the longer it takes them.

Having a body that is flexible and strong is a big advantage regardless of age. Aerobic conditioning helps students stay energetic for a longer learning session. The brain will actively learn until the body becomes fatigued and then it starts losing focus. Active learning can occur at 8 years or 70 years of age. It all depends on the individual.

Read a good book to get ready.

Visit the Home Page for Surf Lessons

See My Website https://HappinessandWorkLifeBalance.com

Learn More

Get the Learn to Surf Guide Course in Kindle, Paperback or Audio

Kindle price $2.99 on Amazon. Paperback price $6.95 on Amazon. Audio download price $7.95

Get Fit to Surf

Buy on Kindle for $5.99 or the Paperback for $7.99

Every Body Can Surf

To read a great book for getting in shape to surf or getting in better surfing shape, read my new book Overweight People Can Surf, a Health, Fitness, Nutrition, and Surfing Adventure

Description:

Buy the E book on Amazon for $5.99

Buy the Paperback on Amazon for $7.99

Seniors Get Fit to Surf

Description:

Buy the E-book on Amazon for $5.99

Buy the Paperback on Amazon for $7.99

The post Why Age is Functional More than Chronological appeared first on Get Fit to Surf.

Beginners Master the Pop Ups

Mark Kaplan — Sun, 25 Jul 2021 14:41:24 +0000

Beginners Master the Pop Up by learning the techniques and practicing in their living room. The pop up is one of the more challenging techniques for beginners to learn and they need the specific strengths and flexibilities for success. Many beginners have not exercised for a while and their bodies are not accustomed to movement.

The pop ups (beginner and advanced) require smooth power to push the upper torso off the surfboard and then to get the rest of the body up on the strength of the legs. If people have put on weight and not exercised, they often do not have the strength in their legs to be smooth.

The Basics of the Pop Ups

I mention two pop ups because some learn the advanced pop up in their beginner lessons in times past. I have found the advanced pop up which is popping both feet on the board from the prone position is too difficult for most people. I teach a beginner pop up in which the surfer puts their back foot on the board first and stands on it.

The beginner pop up emphasizes leg strength which most people have more than upper body and core strength. In the beginner pop up, the surfer puts their rear foot under their butt flat on the surfboard. This is where flexibility fails many beginners. They don’t have the hamstring, buttocks, and lower back flexibility to get the foot flat on the board under their butt.

After having the foot flat on the surfboard, the surfer stands on it as he raises his hands and drives the front foot towards the nose. The proper stance is feet shoulder width apart, hips and shoulders square to the front with both hands in front, and knees flexed. Riding in the correct posture is necessary to stay on the surfboard.

If the posture is correct, the surfer will go straight to the beach with little effort required. If the surfer falls off the back of the board on his butt side, he has twisted into a skateboarders stance with one hand behind the body. If the surfer flies off the front of the surfboard, he hasn’t released his hands soon enough and probably held onto the board until both feet were in place.

Daily practice in the living room will lead to greater success in the water.

In my new book Get Fit to Surf, I introduce a good program for beginning the long term process of getting healthy and fit by losing weight as we get stronger. Both are great for surfing.

Visit the Home Page

Get Surf Lessons in Oceanside

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See the book on Getting Fit to Surf and Losing Weight at the same time. A great combination for changing your lifestyle and improving your health. Everything becomes possible when you are fit.

Buy the E-Book on Kindle $5.99

Buy the Paperback on Amazon $7.99

Get the book Everybody Can Surf. It is a great guide for those who have been inactive or are overweight. Learn how to get the body in motion, start exercises to improve surf specific muscles, develop the flexibility for the pop up, and how to begin a weight loss program. Also learn all the fundamentals learned in a surf lesson for catching and riding waves.

Buy the E-Book on Kindle for $5.99 (the E-book cover is different for the moment)

Buy the Paperback on Amazon $7.99

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Surfing is Timing and Rhythm

Mark Kaplan — Sat, 10 Jul 2021 14:43:46 +0000

Surfing is Timing and Rhythm. When beginners start their first day, it is difficult to get them into the smooth timing and rhythm that makes surfing look easy in the movies. Most people come into the water with nerves and expectations.

It takes a few rides for most people to calm their minds to listen and focus on what they are supposed to do. The count I give beginners for catching waves and popping up is supposed to be a substitute for thinking and them acting on their instincts.

The Basics of Surfing Timing and Rhythm

The surfer first has to catch the wave and then they can progress to standing up on the surfboard. In the beginners mind, these two concepts are not really separated and they push them together as one. With this thought in mind, observe any surfer on film catching a wave and you will see that he first catches the wave and then he puts his hands on the surfboard. So there is paddling first and hands on the board second.

I have new students paddle until they feel the nose of the surfboard come up and start to plain on smooth water. In reality, a few strong paddles will give the board the momentum to plain and then the surfer can put their hands on the board. The problem is many new surfers cannot paddle hard enough or don’t take to heart the need to paddle hard to get in front of the wave .

Once they grasp this concept, the board is always in front of the wave and they learn to put their hands on the board when it is going fastest. This makes getting to a stance easier. The next things surfers must do is put their hands in a man’s push up position next to the chest. In their hurry, new students put their hands out in front of the shoulders. This is the end of the ride. They can’t recover.

Another important detail is putting the foot flat on the board in the beginner pop up. I have students paddle, put their hands on the board in a man’s push up position, then push and follow putting the back foot flat on the board under their butt. Most students are in such a hurry, they don’t put their foot flat, but rush to put their front foot on the board while their hands are still on the board. When the nose is in front of the front foot, off the board they go.

Once again, this is about slowing down the mind and body to do the right steps. Once students start slowing down to put their foot flat on the board, the pop up is easy and they will do it every time. So what sounds easy on paper and what is explained clearly in the dry land lesson is ignored in the water.

The process doesn’t not have to be fast. It has to be smooth. The surfer can’t leave out any steps.

Return to the Home Page

Get Surf Lessons in Oceanside

Learn More

Get the Learn to Surf Guide Course in Kindle, Paperback or Audio

Kindle price $2.99 on Amazon. Paperback price $6.95 on Amazon. Audio download price $7.95

Overweight People Can Surf

To read a great book for getting in shape to surf or getting in better surfing shape, read my new book Overweight People Can Surf, a Health, Fitness, Nutrition, and Surfing Adventure

Description:

Buy the E book on Amazon for $5.99

Buy the Paperback on Amazon for $7.99

Seniors Get Fit to Surf

Description:

Buy the E-book on Amazon for $5.99

Buy the Paperback on Amazon for $7.99

The post Surfing is Timing and Rhythm appeared first on Get Fit to Surf.