Watching surfers out on the ocean riding surfboards can make one believe that surfing is a passive activity requiring little physical exertion, on a par with golf. Nothing is further from reality. Surfing done right is intensely physical. Most of the body is involved, including the muscles in the arms, legs, shoulder, the abdominals and the back. Now that you’ve decided to take surfing lessons, it’s a great idea to prepare your mind and your body for what will be a rewarding experience. Here are 13 tips to help you prepare for your first surf lesson.
1. Get Your Heart Pumping
Running, biking and swimming are great exercises to help you get the most out of your first surf lesson. Surfing is cardiovascular intensive because you’ll be constantly in motion. Your upper arms will be in the water paddling and you’ll be kicking to help you move the board in the direction you want it to go.
Your first surf lesson will run anywhere from one to two hours. There will likely be a break or two but the rest of the time you’ll be using your body continually. Choose a workout that will get your heart pumping during an hour of exertion.
When I organize surfing instructions for beginners, I take a look at each one in the group and try to determine how much of a challenge each student is going to have. I find the ones that prepared their bodies for surfing will be able to advance through the course material faster and ride waves first.
Try performing a triathlon-type workout, such as 20 minutes, jogging followed by 20 minutes riding, then finally 20 minutes of swimming. Do a couple of these workouts and you’ll be more than ready for your first surf lesson.
2. Get Used To Being In The Water
It’s pretty obvious that all that you do when you surf takes place in the ocean. You’ll be spending the majority of your time on your surfboard, paddling towards and away from waves. You will also learn how to “duck dive” and to do a “turtle roll” with the surfboard. A duck dive is when you grab hold of the edges of the surfboard and push the board underwater to avoid an oncoming wave.
A turtle roll is when you grasp the edges of the board and flip the board over when a wave approaches. These are defensive maneuvers you will be taught in the surfing lessons. Each one involves going underwater for a brief period of a second or two.
Water may go up to your nostrils and may be uncomfortable. However, the more familiar you are with water going up your nose, the more prepared and the more enjoyment you’ll get out of your surf lessons.
There’s nothing better you can do than to swim laps in a pool. If you belong to a gym with a swimming pool, take advantage of the Olympic-sized length and practice freestyle swimming. The action of the arms in freestyle swimming – arms, shoulders, and back – is almost identical to the way you’ll use this part of the body paddling on a surfboard.
Freestyle swimming builds up the biceps, triceps, lats and upper shoulder muscles without building heavy muscle bulk. Swimming a few laps until you’ve reached your limit of exertion, then try to increase your resistance over time.
The better swimmer you are and the more comfortable you feel in the water will go a long way in increasing the enjoyment of surfing lessons and surfing in general.
3. Watch Surf Instruction Videos
Although not a substitute for surf lessons, videos about surfing and “how-to” surf videos will at least give you an idea of what surfing lessons will be like. You’ll see that your lesson will begin on the sand, where you’ll learn how to paddle effectively. Remember, the more freestyle swimming you do before starting, the better paddler you’ll be.
You don’t have to take notes or remember anything the instructor is saying in the video. Relax and enjoy the presentation. How to surf videos will not substitute for actual surfing lessons.
Think of a nurse watching a video about how to draw blood. You see how she prepares the needle, finds a vein, presses the needle under the skin, draws the blood through the syringe, puts a compress on the patient’s arm, then transfers the blood to a vial.
You can get close to being able to draw blood by watching a video, but you’ll need an experienced nurse with you when you perform the procedure. What happens if you can’t find a vein? What if you can’t stop the flow of blood coming from the vein? What if you drop the vial? Is it no longer sterile?
In the same way, you will encounter different challenges than those presented in the video. You need to be out there, in the elements, learn how to overcome typical obstacles, such as the sudden appearance of a wave, and how to attach a surfboard leash properly, or when and when not to use a wetsuit, or, what if there is a shark in the area, and so on.
4. Work Out A Little With Weights
So far, you’ve read that the best tips to help you prepare for your first surf lesson have to do with getting in shape. This is because surfing is a labor-intensive sport, and the more primed your body is for what you’ll be doing the more you’ll get out of the lesson.
Much of surfing involves paddling, but what happens when you paddle and have reached the wave? To get to a standing position, you’ll push up off the board as quickly as possible and balance yourself on it.
The term “push up” literally means pressing your arms onto the board and pushing your body off the board.
Focus on your shoulders muscles and the muscles of the arms and chest. You can even try a few push ups off the ground.
5. Wear The Right Clothes For Your Surfing Lesson
If you live in a surfing hotspot like Southern California, or up in Oregon, then you know that the water in the ocean is cold year-round. However, if it’s a beautiful sunny day and the temperature is in the high 80s or low 90s, the body acclimates to the colder water whose colder temperatures are refreshing when you’re swimming or surfing in the Pacific Ocean.
On the cooler days, surfers wear wetsuits to avoid getting a chill or, even worse, hypothermia. Wetsuits are made from neoprene, a kind of synthetic rubber. They fit tight to the body and keep the body at a constant temperature while absorbing moisture with inside padding.
Find out from the instructor if your lesson includes the use of a wetsuit, which you’ll want to use if the weather is cold.
You don’t want to wear jeans when surfing, nor would you wear a long-sleeved shirt. Wear longer swim trunks and bring a t-shirt just in case. If you’re serious about surfing you might want to invest in your wetsuit. It doesn’t need to be a full-body model. You can purchase a wetsuit vest for under $40.00. At the very least, it will keep your chest protected, and usually, if the chest area is insulated, the rest of the body doesn’t catch a chill.
Wetsuits are designed with the understanding that you want unrestricted movement in your arms and legs.
6. Respect The Time Set by The Instructor
Like any other business, surf instruction is time-sensitive. The instructor likely has lessons scheduled throughout the day and is the busiest in the spring and early summer.
Plan how you’ll get there on time in advance. Know how long it takes for you to get to where the lesson is being held. Try to arrive 15 minutes early so the instructor can review preliminaries with you.
Above all, respect that the instructor wants to start the lesson at the time he or she scheduled you for. Don’t arrive late and be ready to enjoy it.
7. Eat A Good Meal Of Protein And Carbs Before The Surf Lesson
Eating fast food now and then is okay. The food is tasty and quick to order and eat. However, avoid greasy foods before your lesson, because it will slow you down, reducing your enjoyment and slowing your learning curve.
Athletes eat a meal full of carbohydrates before an event. Proteins also help support the muscles. A light meal that includes protein from eggs or a small serving of tuna, and carbs from bananas, oatmeal, blueberries, and oranges will keep you from feeling full but still give you the energy you need when you get to the beach. After your lesson, you can celebrate with a trip to your favorite fast food restaurant.
8. Practice Pop-Up Technique On your Own Before The Lesson
I’ve been emphasizing physical preparation for your first lesson, because I know from years of instructing surfers that the more prepared they are, not just physically but also having a good mindset, surf students have loads of fun, aren’t anxious and fall in love with surfing right away.
If the body is prepared then you’ll be able to overcome the challenges you’ll face, like paddling, kicking, and pushing up off the surfboard.
You can practice the pop up technique at home, on a bed or a couch or some other suitable place around the home.
To perform a pop up, place your body in a push-up position, hands flat on the surface and the weight of your body on the palms of the feet. Try to jump up to a standing position. Try it a few times and you’ll get it.
Having a leg up on others in a group lesson will help you move up to greater challenges, like riding the waves, which is what surfing is all about.
9. You’re Going To Feel It After The Lesson
Any intensive physical activity will make your muscles ache afterward. You’re going to divorce that surfing uses muscles you didn’t even know you had after your first lesson.
I’ve talked a lot about getting the upper body in shape, stressing the biceps and triceps of the arm, the dorsal muscles of the upper back and the muscles of the shoulder and the back of the neck.
One area we didn’t discuss was the muscles of the core on the lower trunk of the body. The core muscles include the abdominals in the center of the stomach, also known as the “abs”, deeper transverse abdominals on the dies of your abdominals and the sides, and the muscles located in the lower back.
I will tell you honestly that these muscles are going to hurt after your first lessons. They will ache for a few days. But the good news is that with repeated lessons and the more paddling and kicking in the water you do; you won’t feel aches or pains any longer.
Surfing is a great way to get your body in shape. The more time you spend in the water racing towards waves, the more you will want to later. Surfing is addictive but in the best way possible.
Surfing exercises most muscle groups on the body. Paddling fast is a skill and one that is respected by other surfers. The faster you can paddle, the more waves you’ll catch. Some days out in the ocean, the waves are tubing and can get as high as 20 feet. When you get the surfing bug in you, days, when the surf is up, are from heaven.
10. Be In The Right Mindset; Relax
Surfing lessons aren’t like military basic training. This isn’t boot camp. You join a lesson to have fun.
Your first day of surfing can be the happiest day of your life. Riding on a surfboard, floating over the wave, time slows down dramatically. Nature is giving you a free ride; when you ride a wave, your awareness is only of your feet on the board (if that, even!), and the wind blowing through your hair. You exist for a few precious moments in an alternate reality, where there is no time. Everything in life is in harmony, everything is perfect, and there isn’t a care in the world.
The moment you enter into that world of perfection, you’ll never forget it. I’ve been riding for 20 years and I still remember the first time. In the years in between, I’ve gone to Australia and Tahiti for big wave surfing, I’ve ridden the tube more times than I can remember, and I’ve floated on waves for over a minute at a time. But I still remember my first time.
When a musician plays a difficult musical passage on the piano, he is not thinking of every note he plays. If he did he’ll probably make a few mistakes. It is the same when surfing. When you approach the wave and pop up perpendicular to the wave and let it take you, you feel it, rather than do it. For the pianist, his mind is elsewhere, he feels the movement, and suddenly he plays 30 bars of rapid 16th notes beautifully and seemingly without effort. You ride the board and feel the wonder and beauty of nature as you’re carried to another dimension.
11. Get An Understanding Of Rip Currents
A rip current, also known as a “rip tide”, is a fast-moving powerful water channel that moves in a direction away from the shore. A rip current runs underneath waves and breaks through breaking waves.
A rip current will easily pull you far out from the shore. The worst of it is that you’re not aware of it paddling on your board. Even the strongest athlete is easily carried out by a rip current.
Know how to identify a rip current. If you see a line of debris or seaweed moving fast in a straight line and heading out to sea, move closer to shore. Other indicators are a choppy channel of water or a wave pattern coming in to shore that doesn’t look normal, as if it is being disrupted.
If you find yourself caught in one, You’re going to want to swim against it towards the shore. Avoid this instinct. Instead, swim parallel to the shore, swimming in a slightly diagonal direction towards the shore.
If this isn’t working for you, then it’s best to ride out the current and follow it to calmer waters.
Most important is that you stay calm, and relax your body. Panicking in the ocean will only work against you. Take deep breaths, and slowly appraise your situation. Handled calmly, a rip current is not going to harm you. Look around and get out of it at your first opportunity. You’ll be successful and you’ll know how to deal with rip currents when you find yourself in one again. Surfing and rip currents go hand in hand.
12. Spend A Day At The Beach Body Surfing
A great tip to help you prepare for your first lesson is to go into the water and catch waves with your body. Instead of catching the wave with a surfboard, when the wave crests and just before it breaks, align your shoulders with the wave and let it take you back to the shore.
The reason for doing this is to get to know what the ocean does when you’re surfing. You will tumble a lot, and you may bump against the sea bottom a lot. You might get banged up a little, but there’s no more harm in it than that.
Knowing what to expect before you surf will make your actual surfing experience more wonderful than it’s already going to be. Body surfing is a popular sport in itself, and the day will come when you’re a very good surfer, but you feel one day riding the waves on your shoulders instead of on the board. You’ll have that option when you learn to do both.
13. Love The Ocean
Surfing is done entirely on the water unless you do it on a lake. If you love the water and are captured by the magnificent strength and power of the ocean, you’ll always want to be near it, and in it.
Surfing is not only loving to surf by itself; it is a love of the ocean, the way the sun and surf interacts, the smell of saltwater and the feeling you have when you are surfing in it.
Most of the planet is an ocean, about 77%. There are many dozens of wonderful spots on earth to surf, as far as Australia and in places as exotic and dreamlike as Fiji.
When you connect with the ocean, you understand the oceans are the most powerful force in nature. You’ve decided to take your first surfing lesson. You will fall in love with the ocean then. Surfing will give you more peace of mind than anything else you can do.
