CRONULLA BEACH GO PRO FOOTAGE #2 – CLEAN CONDITIONS

Hi Steemians, what an incredible autumns day, it felt like summertime. The conditions were clean with modest off shore winds. Glassy waves and gleaming light is all you could ask for. I was exhausted in the morning and did not make it down to my local beach until 9:45am. Too bad, as I heard Surfer’s talking about how good the surf was at 7am.

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The swell had dropped off a little and the waves were in the region of 2 to 3 foot. Nevertheless it was a gorgeous day to take a paddle. I surfed a total of 7.5 hours and felt in shape to do so. I had a break at around 2pm to meet with my girlfriend for lunch and coffee. It was the perfect day.

I dropped in on a fun barrel. It was a shame you cannot see the lip of the wave, I must need much bigger waves and am a little eager about the coming winter ;). Slowing the footage starts to become more like how riding in the barrel felt and expresses a little more scale. It was a fun ride and I received a hand gesture (peace signal) from another surfer after watching my fun ride :)

I captured other surfers enjoyable rides and Manoeuvres. It has been exciting to put together the footage and learn from watching others in slow motion, it truly is rewarding to surf and enjoy the company of others with a similar interest. The last clip in the video I got the fright of my life, as I almost collided with another surfer, luckily we avoided a clash.

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WAYS TO IMPROVE SURFING

There is a long journey towards becoming a good surfer, and have been focusing on certain goals to increase my potential. Working hard on improving techniques and overall performance. The below points are just a few ways in which I have been attempting to propel my surfing ability and overall well-being.

• Surfing Video’s. I watched the film ‘Endless Summer 2’; it was strange to see how very little people surfed back then. I have also been watching ‘Andy Irons’ who would have to be my all time favourite surfer. Analyzing great surfers can be an enjoyable way to learn.

• Dieting and clean eating. I have lost weight and have transitioned from 87 kg to 81kg in the last month. I have noticed some enhancements in my surfing ability such as paddling faster and poping up easier during take off.

• Body weight strength training(power to weight ratio). I have ceased heavy lifting and started high rep training. The exercises I have been doing are performed with more explosive movements. The basic exercises include chin ups, pull-ups, rows, push-ups, dips and lunges. While performing these exercises I focus precisely on the activation of important muscles like the scapula and deep abdominals. Other exercises include using a stability ball to improve balance and core muscles such as balancing back extensions.

• Massaging. I have a massage therapist who has worked on my tight muscles, and in combination with a foam roller has reduced tightness. After about 2 weeks of foam rolling my muscles everyday, I have been able to create more torque in surfing snaps and carves. The most noticeable improvement has been the hip flexors and glutes.

• Meditation and relaxation(internal martial arts,Taiji). This has taken time to notice any changes, generally I am less agitated in peak hour traffic ;) Surfing in itself has many benefits of providing a relaxed frame of mind. I will be looking into Yoga in the near future.

• Carver skateboarding has been used to improve technique and learn moves. This has given me an advantage to learn the feeling of surfing faster, I still have a long way to go. It has been very fun and convenient to practice more often. Thanks to @nudimar again for the insight and training footage, check his posts out.

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I will also be learning some further techniques to improve my breathing. @nudimar has mentioned this technique and will take time to learn. The beauty of a platform like steem it, is that we can all share valuable information and learn together through the experience and wisdom of others.

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I hope you enjoyed the go pro video and stay tuned for more surfing adventures.