MURMUR-MAGS “OTHER” 5 TIPS TO HELP IMPROVE YOUR SURFING.

Firstly this article is coming more from a “different” point of view. Generally there is tips on exercise, diet, surfboards, fins, etc, etc. They are all 100 percent correct. we think you should do the general recommendation as they all work. This article is more about things we have tried and that definitely worked for us.

Also these top 5 tips work for all levels of surfing, no matter if you’re just starting to stand up and go across a wave (best feeling ever by the way) or learning how to boost off incoming sections, these 5 tips can help us all.

So here we go.

TIP NUMBER 1: SURF WITH A GROUP OF LIKE MINDED PEOPLE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN

This can help any surfer improve in a few different ways. Firstly there is nothing more fun than surfing with friends, experiencing the ocean together, sharing waves, learning new moves all the way through to a coffee or hot chocolate after. To have a girl surf crew is the ultimate goal. 

Secondly, as someone in your crew improves, you all improve. We remember surfing with a crew of girls growing up and when one girl made a turn, we all wanted to make that turn, or if one of our girl crew got a new board and landed a floater we all wanted to go and get better equipment and do the same. It is crazy when we think back how much we all inspired each other without even knowing it. So reach out to like minded surfers and try and catch up for a surf with them as much as you can.

TIP NUMBER 2: FIND A LOCAL ROLE MODEL TO HELP YOU ALONG

We are really lucky where we live, growing up we would surf with amazing girls like Bel Hardwick (former pro surfer), Elle Northy (former pro surfer) and Laura Enever at our local line-up. They would constantly encourage us in and out of the water.

When we were struggling to get waves in a crowded line-up they would give us a wave, if we fell doing a turn they would help us understand how to fix it and when we landed a good turn you could hear the “Wooooooo” all through the line-up, that encouraged us to surf better and get more “Wooooo’s”…

Laura would lend us boards to try when we were having growth spurts, Bel would recommend different types of things to try ranging from good foods all the way to sunscreens etc and that knowledge is always appreciated and hugely valuable to help us get better in and out of the water.

TIP NUMBER 3: RIDE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BOARDS WHENEVER YOU CAN

This is something we still do all the time. If it’s small we take out a foam board or Malibu, Twin fins are always fun and great for perfecting your forehand carves and swap boards with other girls (or guys) when you’re in the line up, it’s always interesting to see what other people are riding.

The boards we ride now have little bits of design from other boards we have tried in the past. We see it that surfboards are a constant evolution for each surfer and sure we have our favourite boards that we use for contests etc but any chance we get we try different boards in different conditions.

Also if you’re lucky enough to have a shaper making your boards for you, tell him about what you have learnt trying other boards, that information can help to create a perfect custom board just for you.

TIP NUMBER 4: EAT FOR LONGEVITY IN SURFING

This one is really important for all of us surfers. Let’s take a look at anti-inflammatory foods. Surfing can be hard on the body, all of that twisting and paddling can really take its toll over time on our muscles and joints. As the saying goes “prevention is better than the cure”.

We generally have smoothies for breakfast or lunch especially in summer. We always have our smoothies with coconut water and put in a small amount of turmeric. Both ingredients are renowned for their anti-inflammatory capabilities and long term usage has great results on the body. A little word of warning though, turmeric in larger doses in smoothies etc can taste pretty bad! So small amounts over a long time is the best bet!

Other good anti-inflammatory foods are:

• tomatoes.
• olive oil.
• green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, and broccoli.
• nuts like almonds and walnuts.
• fruits such as pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and oranges.
• Spices like ginger and garlic

TIP NUMBER 5: SWIM

A few years ago we were lucky enough to do a photoshoot and filming session with a now woman’s CT surfer. The one thing that really stood out to us at the time was the strength in her paddling and movement in and out of the water. When was asked what she did to keep fit her answer was simply “I swim laps”, 3 to 5 times a week (depending on her schedule) she would go to a local pool and simply swim laps.

We asked a trainer about this and we were told “it was the best thing you could do for your bodies”. Our advice was:

• • do some laps with flippers,

• Focusing on extending our breath hold while swimming laps

• Swim some of our laps doing backstroke to counteract the forward rotating problems that can occur from constant paddling over time. Makes sense to us.

Our local board riders has an over 60’s division and a lot of the competitors are 70+ and still ripping and having fun everyday. Simply our goal is to be surfing way into our 80’s and we want to do that with minimal health and body issues. We believe if we follow these top 5 tips it will go along way to making that happen…

And a little side note. It’s important that at some point in your surfing life you become “Tip number 2” for the next generations, we have to pay it forward!

Happy surfing