Seniors Can Learn to Surf
Surfing is not exclusive to the young. Seniors can learn to surf as well as any adults. My oldest student is 77 years old and he got up on the board the first time and most times after that.
How to Prepare Yourself for the First Surfing Day
Children, teens, adults, and seniors could all have trouble surfing if they have not led active lives. Surfing is a full body sport. Some of the best prepared adults and kids are those who do gymnastics, yoga, weights, pilates, tri-athlons, biking, running, swimming, soccer, dancing, and so on. I think you get the idea.
In my Oceanside Surf Lessons, many seniors have surfing on their bucket list, but age being functional, not just chronological, many have not stayed active with the right activities.
Surfing has specific muscle groups that are supported with some specific practices. First is flexibility. I often ask my students if they can put their palms on the ground without bending their knees. The pop up loves flexible hamstrings, buttocks, and lower back. There is a motion of getting on the board where you bring your front foot under your chest and place it in the middle of the board.
Upper body strength is important for pushing up with a spring to move the front foot forward to the middle of the surf board. It is one thing to push your body up in the living room or on the beach and quite different in the water. Some instruction videos say practice on your bed if you want to understand how water fails to support you.
Stamina extends your learning time. If students could practice full strength all day, they could almost be pros at the end. Most adults are tired in an hour, kids and teens in an hour and a half, and seniors often in twenty minutes. Iron man work outs are a good model. Participants practice each phase of the contest building stamina and then work with weights for when the body gets tired.
This is not to scare you, but many students who think they are in good shape when they arrive find they have not prepared for the specific demands of surfing. Seniors can learn to surf and make their lives better in the process.
High Volume Surf Boards Make Learning Easier
New adult students should start on 9′ soft top surf boards. Seniors can learn to surf on bigger boards, but when they get too big they allow students to cheat on the proper techniques. The 9′ surf board will support students weighing up to 250 pounds. If weight is not an issue, then this soft top board allows new students to practice the right techniques and learn the fundamentals.
Ideally, after students have learned the fundamentals on a 9′ board, it is fun to step down to an 8′ board. The smaller board is easier to handle, more maneuverable, and more fun once students have learned the basics.
The First Three Things a Student Learns
Adults and seniors can learn to surf learning the first three fundamentals and have a lot of fun.
Paddling on the surf board maintaining balance seems easy, but is trickier than one would think in the water. Students have to maintain the balance of the surf board by lying across the middle stringer with equal weight on both sides of the board. Surfers keep their body pencil straight with both feet together, their head in the middle of the board and then balance the level by moving their butt.
Paddling is accomplished by dropping the arm in the water up to the elbows and pulling straight back along the sides of the board. Paddlers want to keep their chin and chest up to prevent the nose from going under water and to make the pop up easier.
Catching waves is the second important fundamental and many feel the most fun part. When the foam wave is twenty feet from the board, the student rolls onto the board arriving in the middle of the board and starts paddling easy. When the wave is 5′ away the student starts paddling hard. After the wave starts pushing the board, the student continues paddling hard for three or four strokes or until the board is moving without paddling being necessary.
The final fundamental is the most athletic part. Seniors can learn to surf when they accomplish this task and should practice in their living rooms at home before they take their first lesson. Videos below give an idea of how the pop up is executed.
The main four steps begin with paddling for a wave until the board is being pushed on its own. Then the student puts their hands on the board in a man’s push up position under their chest. On the third count, they are pushing off the board with power and bringing the front foot under their chest to arrive in the middle of the board. The right spot on the board is between where their hands were positioned.
On the fourth count, the student is standing on the board with shoulders and hips squared to the front, hands in front of the body, and eyes looking over the nose of the board toward the beach.
Practice Makes Perfect
Students can practice all the requirements before and after they visit the water, just like the pros. Seniors can learn to surf by practicing the physical exercises to get fit and the techniques by doing pop ups in their living room. Getting to the water often helps, but daily fitness and daily pop ups can make the whole process much easier.
If there is a long term commitment to scratch this sport off the bucket list and to continue having fun, the daily routines should become part of the student’s life.
*
This is a YouTube pop up video that demonstrates the body motion necessary on a high volume board
Great YouTube video on how to catch a real wave.
An advanced wave catching video for riding real waves.
If you are interested in Surf Lessons, see my Home Page
If you would like to ask questions, feel free to email me. markap12 at gmail.com