You have to make time to stay fit. There's a million excuses, but it comes down to not being lazy, and forcing yourself to exercise. That's the sad truth.
Diet is everything. I struggle with my weight. At 5'6", a few lbs makes a world of a difference in finding the right board. Ive been steady in the 160s and pretty muscular, but I've been known to make it into the 180s, which throws everything off. You HAVE to stay on top of your fitness. Best thing I've done to keep my pop in good standing: do 200 box jumps twice a week, and do a superset where you deadlift 135 for 10 (if thats failure for you then kill yourself), and then to "ice skaters" x8 for each foot. Keeps you explosive.
Bunch of old farts here. PBS shows Lawrence Welk reruns on Saturday night in case you all are interested. At 60, I must stay active just to decrease the rate of decrepitude. I work out more consistently now than I did in my 20s.
Lawrence Welk is the man! My wife and I get baked watching that dude then bicycle out for a Saturday night on the towne! I highly recommend this! Walk, run, bike, surf, Welk.
If you don't treat working out and eating right as a lifestyle, then you will forever struggle with being out of shape and fat. Like Lazy & LBcrew said, you have to make time to workout. Make it part of your daily routine and it will become a habit. Once that happens, being fit becomes less a chore and more a need. Plus it has the benefit of improving many day to day aspects of your life, plus your surfing gets better.
My 2 cents. Ditch the longboard. I dont hate them, but for someone aging and gaining weight, its a crutch. Find an acceptable new normal body weight, and eat/workout to maintainnit. Hook up with a decent shaper that can keep your boards short, but still keep enough foam and an appropriate planshape to help you keep catchin waves. Avoid golf as a hobby. Causes many to give up surfing and resign to playing more golf. Big beer belly and wimpy arms usually follow. Good luck
I hear ya. Sometimes I have to really dedicate my self for 6 weeks every 6 months to get into good shape. I try to maintain an every day approach, but my wife is a chef, and I drink booze, so when the belly gets a tad softer, its time to shape up. My surfing gets better if I lost 5 lbs (I'm 56 years old / 5'9" 165 lbs ). Yoga helps my pop ups as much as anything, along with push ups and burpees. That, and returning shopping carts. A little extra foam on a shortboard is not a bad thing except inside the barrel.
Just kinda goes along with my life philosophy...do everything the hard way then you can prolong the longevity of the fun stuff... Which basically comes from Dave Marsh's belief system (12 ncaa swimming nat titles and over 100 Olympic medals from athletes he's coached) If there is an elevator or an escalator, take the stairs...if there is an automatic door, use the non-handicapped one...park far away and walk...always choose the more difficult, athletic option - your body will thank you for it (and then you won't be a fat piece of shyte that looks like you're wearing a sleeping bag for an epidermis when you neked and you're pop won't turn in to a viagara commercial segment)
Setting up a surf trip usually builds my best motivation. What cracks me up is my pop is still quick, but the "grunt" is def getting louder - I sound like Serena playing tennis.
^^^^ This!!! About a year ago, after my kids left for college, I cleaned up my diet, started exercising (DDP Yoga), dropped 30+ pounds, and now I'm in the best shape of my life at 52! (And went off my BP meds!) Only downside was I had to buy new clothes and wetsuites. I've surfed a longboard most of my life, scored a vintage 10'0" Dewey Weber Performer free from a lady who didn't want it in her garage anymore when I was 16 or 17, and that was it. I love the glide. But this isn't a LB vs SB thread. Ride what you like. If you change your mindset and think of everything you consume (food and drink) as fuel and stay away from CRAP (Carbonated drinks, Refined sugars, Artificial anything, Processed foods), and exercise daily, you'll be much better off in all aspects of your life. Actually no... drink, smoke and eat all you want, and the only exercise you need is 12oz curls! (more waves for me)
"sad reality is just sinking in" ??? Nearly everything you included in your post are choices getting pudgy moving away from the beach not doing anything about it because of work riding a longboard pleasing the lady after work There are some amazing small wave shapes out there that make really fun things possible even for us old folks. I'm 52 YO and am having more fun in waves under waist high that I ever did and not on a log even though I love longboarding. If you haven't spent a summer on a mini simmons, it will change your whole perspective on 2 foot waves. The main difference I have noticed is in big surf, overhead and wearing lots of rubber, I just cant make it happen on small board anymore. Mid 6 foot is what I'm on when its big, and paddling a 6'6" out sucks!
Yeah man--- superset every exercise with box jumps. NEVER return shopping carts in the summer. there is a stoner kid that words there that wants nothing more than to get baked in the lot and kill time.
