Thread: Best "dryland" preparation for surf noob?

OK guys, edumacate me!

Here is the deal :

I'll be spending one month in Indonesia next summer, and I want to learn surfing while there.
Since I'm not a skilled athlete (slow learner) I'd like to be as well prepared as possible before that.
problem, I live in Switzerland where surfing is a bit...problematic (no ocean).

What could I do in advance to be somewhat ready when I'll be in Indonesia?

I already ski and tele.
Should I pick up snowboarding?
Waterskiing?
Windsurfing? (we have pretty big lakes here)
re-watch "Point Break"?
Balance drills like unicycle or slacklining?
skateboarding?
Surf games on the playstation?


Any advice welcome!
Thanks!

swimming, skateboarding and watching north shore

hop in



Swimming and boxing work pretty well for me

Originally Posted by pollard

hop in



Swimming and boxing work pretty well for me

I like it. Climb in a front loading washer and fill until only your head is above water. Have a friend turn it on for 8-15 second bursts. Wait 12-20 seconds and repeat over and over for about 10 minutes. Then immediately go swimming for 20-30 minutes. Take a 10 second ride on your skateboard directly into the washing machine. Repeat the whole process for 2-3 hours. This should get you into perfect surfing shape.

lots of swimming. otherwise you become tired easily and sore and that is really not any fun. As fara as balance, if you are somewhat of a athlete (you can ski/snowboard/skateboard) the balancing on a board should be no problem. you will have fun, just be prepared to move to the beach after your summer is over.....

One month? You're not going to learn to surf, you're going to learn how get the shit beat out of you and just how much your nose can run. Not trying to discourage you in any way, that's just how it is. I'm a pretty good athlete and it took me a year of going 2-4 times/week to just barely not completely suck. If you stick to tiny waves on a big ass longboard you'll probably catch some rides though, which is OK because small waves really are fun.


edit: this is DTM

You could actually look into river-surfing in the Swiss area. If you can hook up with a local club, I actually believe there are some spots in Switzerland, that would be great training and practice. You'll get your ass kicked there too but its something. There are a few people around here (Calgary, Alberta) that have never surfed in the ocean before but are dilligent in the river and have developed their balance and strength. Otherwise swimming is the best thing you can do. START NOW!!

[QUOTE=mtglider;1179237] As fara as balance, if you are somewhat of a athlete (you can ski/snowboard/skateboard) the balancing on a board should be no problem. QUOTE]

Errr? I call BS on this claim. "no problem"? Being an athlete in similar sports will help, but nothing mitigates the issue of standing on a board, on water, to the stage where it is "no problem" for a beginner. Jong.

Get out there, expect to have fun, expect to get cleaned up on a regular basis, don't expect to be a pro from the start, and enjoy the sinus washout afterwards.

Originally Posted by robnow

You could actually look into river-surfing in the Swiss area. If you can hook up with a local club, I actually believe there are some spots in Switzerland, that would be great training and practice. You'll get your ass kicked there too but its something. There are a few people around here (Calgary, Alberta) that have never surfed in the ocean before but are dilligent in the river and have developed their balance and strength. Otherwise swimming is the best thing you can do. START NOW!!

yes, about 30min from zurich is bremgarten, and you can ride a standing wave on the river there. i've done it a few times, it's not "real" surfing but it's a hell of a good workout paddling paddling back against the current all day. it will certainly help you with balance and standing up.
some info: http://mypage.bluewin.ch/a-z/riversurf/index.htm

otherwise, i highly recommend snowboarding as crosstraining for surfing. i've surfed for over 20 years and since snowboarding, my surfing has improved dramatically. i get better at surfing each year and i only go for one or two weeks now.

where are you located in Switz?

POP-UPS !!!!!

In addition to all the cardio and upper body training, you should do at least 20 surf pop-ups a day (ideally more).
Number one problem learning to surf is having a consistent and quick popup.
Find some tips on a surf website - there are videos out there to show how its done right.
But DO IT!!!

PS - I am a surf jong, but know that a solid popup was the hardest thing to get, and dry land popup training really helped since it gives you muscle memory for when you actually get on the water.

PPS - Swiming is probably best training. Surfers are really "paddlers" - as a jong, you will do even more paddling than a real surfer.
PPS - balance board training might help you improve your balance.

By "no problem" I meant that he should be able to stand and get the hang of it in a rather short period of time. Skating and Snowboarding use the same movements and similar balance. If you are use to those types of sports, than picking up surfing would definitely be easier.

I am not an athlete and I was able to pickup surfing over a summer. I still suck, but I have just as much fun as the next guy. And isn't that what it is all about?

buy some coral reef at the local petstore - enough to cover your floor. Belly flop onto the coral daily to simulate learning in Indo

Originally Posted by altachic

One month? You're not going to learn to surf, you're going to learn how get the shit beat out of you and just how much your nose can run. Not trying to discourage you in any way, that's just how it is. I'm a pretty good athlete and it took me a year of going 2-4 times/week to just barely not completely suck. If you stick to tiny waves on a big ass longboard you'll probably catch some rides though, which is OK because small waves really are fun.


edit: this is DTM

if he were going to a beach break, he'd be fine and could learn in a month (after seeing you ski, it's hard to think you had this tough of a time surfing). but he's not, he's going to indo-sharp-reef-land and he's going to get his back cut up with coral for a week and quit.

Thanks a lot for all the replies.Didn't think about the importance of swimming, but it makes a lot of sense.

A few more jongish questions :

what is a popup? I take it it's the standing up motion that gets you from on your belly to on your feet? I remember Kanu practicing that on the beach in "point break" (yes I'm an über-Jong!)

Is Indo somewhat an "advanced" spot? can you give me a quick crash course on best spots for beginners here? We'll spend some time in Ujung Padang/Makassar (on Sulawesi Island) for sure, rest of the stay is open to suggestions. where to go?

Rips : I'm from the Martigny region, but live in Neuchatel now.
cj001f : who's the chick in your avatar? Gorgeous...
altachic : thanks for the reality check what does DTM means?

I just found out Nicolas Hale-Wood (organizer of the Verbier extreme) is also president of the Swiss Water Surfing Federation...so perhaps there are some landlocked surfers around here? I'll look into that.

Will windsurfing bring bad habits? is it better than nothing?

Read Core-Shots reply again - it says check out hints on surfing web-sites.

Actually, do a search on here, read the Stormrider Guide and use the internet which extends just outside the bounds of TGR - but only just. If you do this you will achieve two things:

1) Answer your questions.
2) Not annoy people around here.

Originally Posted by Neon

Thanks a lot for all the replies.Didn't think about the importance of swimming, but it makes a lot of sense.

A few more jongish questions :

what is a popup? I take it it's the standing up motion that gets you from on your belly to on your feet? I remember Kanu practicing that on the beach in "point break" (yes I'm an über-Jong!)

Is Indo somewhat an "advanced" spot? can you give me a quick crash course on best spots for beginners here? We'll spend some time in Ujung Padang/Makassar (on Sulawesi Island) for sure, rest of the stay is open to suggestions. where to go?

Rips : I'm from the Martigny region, but live in Neuchatel now.
cj001f : who's the chick in your avatar? Gorgeous...
altachic : thanks for the reality check what does DTM means?

I just found out Nicolas Hale-Wood (organizer of the Verbier extreme) is also president of the Swiss Water Surfing Federation...so perhaps there are some landlocked surfers around here? I'll look into that.

Will windsurfing bring bad habits? is it better than nothing?

yes on the popups (practice getting to your feet all in one motion).

indo - surely you'll be able to find some mellow waves on the mainland. it is known for it's boat trips to offshore reef breaks.

i have the perfect board for indo reef waves that i'll sell for cheap. if you are interested, PM me.

windsurfing? it won't really help except maybe with the balance effort a little bit.

Originally Posted by altachic

One month? You're not going to learn to surf, you're going to learn how get the shit beat out of you and just how much your nose can run. Not trying to discourage you in any way, that's just how it is. I'm a pretty good athlete and it took me a year of going 2-4 times/week to just barely not completely suck. If you stick to tiny waves on a big ass longboard you'll probably catch some rides though, which is OK because small waves really are fun.


edit: this is DTM

Even not having seen you ski in person, I'm confused by this too.

I was in Hawaii for ~2 weeks last summer and the only surfing I'd done before that was 2 1-hr surf lessons spread over 4 years. I took another 1-hr lesson the first day, then did about 4-5 more sessions over the next 10 days. These were actually pretty depressing, as I was having lots of trouble actually catching a wave. The standing-up part was a piece of cake.

Then I went over to another island, thought I'd give it one more go, and rented something closer to a real longboard - still had a soft top, but most of the board was glass (the first one was all soft, just a plastic sheet on the bottom, that they use in the beginner classes). That was it, after about 30 minutes fooling around trying to figure out where I needed to be on the board - and several exciting nose dives - I was catching waves left and right. No problems at all, got around to starting to actually turn (intentionally!) and such. Great fun. It wasn't the North Shore, but the good waves were probably a solid 4-5 feet.

Moving to a shortboard, that I don't know about. From what I've read, for only a month, probably stick to the longboard for most of that. You'll have fun regardless.

Originally Posted by tuffy109

after seeing you ski, it's hard to think you had this tough of a time surfing

Actually, it was really only about 4 months. The rest of the "year" I was pulling 20 credits and barely went. Other problems included:

1. Born and raised in the mountains, I suck at the ocean.
2. Bought a fairly short board (7').
3. Learning how to read the waves. If I had a dollar for every wave that passed me by (or pitched me onto my face because I took off too late)....
4. Summer waves in CA are meh. There were a couple of days with really nice waves where I did pretty good and got some nice long rides and started to get a feel for how to work a wave and use it to generate speed. But most of the time it was mushy sectiony junk.

edit: Our trip to Sayulita in two weeks will be surf-less thanks to my thumb, yipee

Originally Posted by Neon

Any advice welcome!
Thanks!

Beat it haole buddy! Bettah you go to a wave tank in Arizona fo yo surf lessons.

Originally Posted by Dantheman

4. Summer waves in CA are meh.

only from a consistency standpoint.

ride (standing) a cafeteria tray down some stairs

Surfing is the hardest thing I've ever learned to do - EVER! On my 1'st or second day a kind soul told me that I would fall down about 200 times before I made a decent bottom turn - that estimate was right on the money. It took me about 2 solid weeks, about 2 hours a day. Surfing can't be "taught", it must be learned - the hard way. Snowboarding, skating, skiing...all child's play by comparison. Not trying to scare you off, just saying that if you fail to commit to it you will not learn, it's as simple as that. Good news is you'll be in Indo where the water is warm, the women are scantily clad, and the beer will be cold - you'll have a blast regardless!

Originally Posted by Big E

It wasn't the North Shore, but the good waves were probably a solid 4-5 feet.

Thats the funniest thing I have ever heard in a while! Ok, so your a surfing n00b/jong, so I will to forgive you, but 4-5ft is pretty fuckin big for a beginner on a longboard. Your mistake is that you have measured the face of the wave. As a general rule surfers dont measure the face, its measured from the back of an unbroken wave. Its probably easier to halve the size of the face, so 4ft becomes 2ft. Its kind of a surfers modesty, and its also to downplay it to other people to reduce crowding.

As for the original guys question, yeah, swimming training, popups, whatever may make everything a bit easier but nothing is going make a huge difference. Its going to be hard and its going to be frustrating. Its like skiing, if someone had never skiied before, all the leg exercises in the world wouldn't prepare them for the bunny slope. Its just experience and practice.

Originally Posted by Ginger

Thats the funniest thing I have ever heard in a while! Ok, so your a surfing n00b/jong, so I will to forgive you, but 4-5ft is pretty fuckin big for a beginner on a longboard. Your mistake is that you have measured the face of the wave. As a general rule surfers dont measure the face, its measured from the back of an unbroken wave. Its probably easier to halve the size of the face, so 4ft becomes 2ft. Its kind of a surfers modesty, and its also to downplay it to other people to reduce crowding.

Yup, you got me there, guess I hadn't really thought about it. Measuring that way, you're probably right.

Please pardon my kookness, but I've never understood the "measure the back of the unbroken wave" thing. Hawaiian style, right? I'm sure they must have had some reasoning back in the day, but when you're riding the face of the wave it seems more applicable to measure the face, XXL style.

Everest is only 11,000ish "Nepali style" (from basecamp) but we give it the full 29,035"

Please educate me. Is it just tradition and modesty or is there more?