How many years will you continue to surf?
When I was young I couldn’t imagine not surfing. Surfing was such a big thing in my life I couldn’t think of being with out it. All the guys around that were core surfers were the same way… there was just no way they would ever think of not surfing.
When you’re young you really don’t have to worry about being in shape for surfing. If you surf a few times a week the surfing itself takes care of your physical conditioning. But as you age… different story. First you may not get a chance to surf on a regular basis. Or, you don’t surf unless there’s enough surf to make a go out worth justifying time spent. People that live some distance from the beach pretty much can only surf when they have half a day for the time it takes traveling to and from the beach and get a decent amount of time in the water.
As you age surfing becomes more and more a physical strain on your body. If you surf a lot and then stop for a time and go back you find out in your first short paddle out how physically demanding surfing can be. Get picked off by a 5 wave head high set and you’ve about had it by the time you get to the line up and will need to rest for several minutes before going after any waves. Especially if you’re 35 to 40 or over.
When I was in my late thirties I had a complete cardio check up. Did the Holter monitor, echo cardiogram, and tread mill stress test. While being prepped for the stress test I was asked if I did any physical stuff and if I thought I was in shape. You sign a release form just in case you have a heart attack. I told the nurse I surfed… she laughed and said ‘ I’ve seen you guys sitting out in the water’. Apparently she’d been to the beach on a small inconsistent day and watched the surfers in the water sitting and thought that’s surfing. They kept dialing the speed of that tread mill up until I was in a full jog and inclined pretty high before they were through…. I hardly broke a sweat. I was much younger then. Doubtful I could repeat that now. But I still surf, just not as much. It’s harder to stay in shape when you are older. You loose your conditioning faster and it takes more time to get it back.
If you take care of your self and make an effort to stay in shape it’s possible to enjoy surfing for a long time though.
D.R.
When I was young I couldn’t imagine not surfing. Surfing was such a big thing in my life I couldn’t think of being with out it. All the guys around that were core surfers were the same way… there was just no way they would ever think of not surfing.
When you’re young you really don’t have to worry about being in shape for surfing. If you surf a few times a week the surfing itself takes care of your physical conditioning. But as you age… different story. First you may not get a chance to surf on a regular basis. Or, you don’t surf unless there’s enough surf to make a go out worth justifying time spent. People that live some distance from the beach pretty much can only surf when they have half a day for the time it takes traveling to and from the beach and get a decent amount of time in the water.
As you age surfing becomes more and more a physical strain on your body. If you surf a lot and then stop for a time and go back you find out in your first short paddle out how physically demanding surfing can be. Get picked off by a 5 wave head high set and you’ve about had it by the time you get to the line up and will need to rest for several minutes before going after any waves. Especially if you’re 35 to 40 or over.
When I was in my late thirties I had a complete cardio check up. Did the Holter monitor, echo cardiogram, and tread mill stress test. While being prepped for the stress test I was asked if I did any physical stuff and if I thought I was in shape. You sign a release form just in case you have a heart attack. I told the nurse I surfed… she laughed and said ‘ I’ve seen you guys sitting out in the water’. Apparently she’d been to the beach on a small inconsistent day and watched the surfers in the water sitting and thought that’s surfing. They kept dialing the speed of that tread mill up until I was in a full jog and inclined pretty high before they were through…. I hardly broke a sweat. I was much younger then. Doubtful I could repeat that now. But I still surf, just not as much. It’s harder to stay in shape when you are older. You loose your conditioning faster and it takes more time to get it back.
If you take care of your self and make an effort to stay in shape it’s possible to enjoy surfing for a long time though.
D.R.
Photo by David Puu
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