Ah youth! I was once 27 and just like Bassmon I used to think old people limped and walked weird because they didn't exercise or try yoga etc. Cmon down. I will strap 15 pound weights on each of your ankles, 5 lbs on your arms before you paddle out. But you never get to take those weights off....Then you can tell me that just keep practicing it and the pop up will be automatic Save a copy of your post. When you turn 60, reread it . You'll get a good chuckle from it
The zipper leash snag is the exact reason I will never buy a wetsuit that is not a chest zip as well as flush.. But you got me thinking. Lately like the past few months I am thinking about my fins on the drop. like in my mind i can see them go thru water and see the plain of my board on the drop. Slowmo. and i am all like this has to be perfect..really helping me alot.
Hahahaha. I didn't mean it that way Betty. Even at 27 i have knee and back issues. Trust me, when I'm older I'm going to need a wheel chair. I'm just saying the motions are automatic. The muscle memory. That's what is automatic. Having the body keep up with that muscle memory is a diffrent story. I injured my back in high school. Sometimes it really really really bothers me. Just last week actually. Couldn't walk normal. Couldn't bend over. Stretching my legs and hips out (as well as the rest of my body) on a regular basis keeps that pain and tightness away. It's when i start slacking on the yoga/stretching that it starts to bother me. Stretching definitely helps
I've done that a few times. Now, when I wear a back zip, I tuck the zipper leash into my neck opening. As far as the pop-up, I have found over the years that losing the belly bulge or any other layers of stored energy(fat) and strengthening the core has helped me the most.
I'll agree about core strength and flexibility being critical to a strong, efficient pop up. But I'll disagree with burpees being the best exercise. Why not make it a surfing-specific exercise? This is what I taught kids when I ran a surf camp. Along with normal core strengthening exercises, like crunches, planks/modified planks... do a burpee with a pushup, but twist your hips so your front foot lands between your hands, under your chest. It's that twist that you need to make efficient, and it uses different muscles than a regular burpee. Practices does not make perfect... Perfect practice makes perfect. (some football coach).
LB makes a good point with that twist suggestion. When i learned to pop up i was taught this way. Pretend there's a spider under your chest (im terrified of spiders), push your body up away from the spider, then stomp on it. Obviously there's more to the stomp on it part. But i bring this up because of the body position before you get your feet under you. The push your body up away from the spider part. It resembles that yoga position, upward facing dog. If you can't get your body up enough, it'll be harder for you to get your legs under you due to the lack of space. Doing simple flowing yoga from standing to a half bend (stretching legs) to downward facing dog to upward facing dog then getting your feet under you and returning to standing, repeat. That flow helps loosen the pop up muscles as well as get your body moving. When i wake up before a surf i always do that flow for a few minutes to loosen up. I think it helps
I'm getting all hippy on you duuudes... It's called the "Sun Salutation." Whenever I get into a warrior pose from downward facing dog, I work at getting that front foot up between my hands like I'm popping up. Left foot regular, right foot goofy...
In my 30 years of surfing, I can honestly say, I have never had this happen. Funny visual, though! I don't do yoga. One thing I have noticed that has helped, I stopped working out to build size.
Land exercises and drills are good an all and will certainly help in making you more fit and athletic, BUT, nothing can replace real water time. The more repetition you have actually in the water, the more things will click I have found. I notice a drop off in all skills after just a few days of not surfing. When i'm on it every day, I don't even think about it, i'm just on auto pilot and I just do, rather than think. When I was living inland and hadn't surfed in 5-7 days, it usually took me that first 30 minutes to an hour to get dialed back in. Sometimes it would take all session. Just how it works. Like a golf swing, or bowling, or shooting pool or w/e it is that you like to do, if you want to do it well, you have to do it often.
agree on the twist suggestion too made by LB...never really tried it. I still think for me (in the vein of older guys staying fit to produce a better outcome on the popup), the Burpees are the best thing (again for me). For beginners, it's a whole different thought process (burpees can still help there too). But, after surfing for 30+ years, its not really a technique thing (although I guess I am losing some lol)....it's a diminishing ability thing. To keep up with the changes in my body, the action of squatting, doing a push up, and back up again really gives me a good work out (incorporated into my regimen). Also, core strength is probably the most important but upper body strength really has a lot to do with an efficient popup. The first motion to pop up is the push up.
when you squat, put your hands out/down and simultaneously kick legs out to push up position...do your push up and then roll right back into squat position then stand up and jump then do it again. Do 10 of those in between push ups or crunch reps and you will wear yourself out (at least I do lol). burpees are also seeds for da garden....
Chest zip FTW Once u go front, u never go back Same with that Yamamoto rubber. Mmmmm so stretchy So nice
My Spring and older 3/2 are both back zips, never cause me too many issues, but I recently got an O'Neill SuperFreak, chest zip 3/2, and it's the tits. I'm fine w/both though. http://www.hbc6.com/o-neill-superfr...PzddxS_azWiGuRQ_-90m9VDEHq3aj_WmJ0aAk_b8P8HAQ
It's my Rick James suite, goes something like this... [video=youtube;QYHxGBH6o4M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYHxGBH6o4M[/video]
