The waves are pumping, you’ve just been analysing pro surfing videos for inspiration, you’ve got your favourite stick, you wax up and run to the beach.
You are frothing so hard, you couldn’t be bothered with a proper warm-up, so you rush a few stretches and just head straight for the break.
Your body feels a fair bit stiff through your neck, shoulders and lower back as you paddle out but you assume your body will ease up once you warm up.
You sit and wait for that perfect wave, start scratching away and heck, you’re on! You visualise how those pro surfers looked in the videos and then you start to pop-up. You imagine a smooth, effortless spring to your feet and in reality you feel closer to an elephant barely getting his feet clear of the board. Whatever.. you’re up and that’s all that matters. You do a few turns, not quite with as much finesse as those pro surfers and with less extension, rotation, power and drive.
These are perfect waves and just over an hour in, your neck, shoulders, lower back and knees are feeling shot. You decide to call it a day and head back in. A handful of younger, fitter and more agile surfers who paddled out before you are still surfing, showing no signs of fatigue or body limitations. You’re a bit frustrated with your stiff body but are stoked nonetheless that the waves were so good.
Years go by, your body feels more and more stiff. Your ability to freely move and surf as your mind imagines declines. Chronic muscle tightness leads to joint mobility issues, joint pain and sets the stage for potential joint injuries.
The dude in the story above grew up surfing most days of his youthful years, never saw the purpose of stretching and barely touched strength and conditioning coaching specific to surfing-related imbalances. Today he is only at the ripe age of 35, works at a desk all day and tries to go surfing at least 4-5 times per week. You can avoid or greatly reduce your chances of having a tight, stiff body like he does.
For more on this article, read Michelle Drielsma’s The Inertia Post here.
