Flexibility

[Chillin]

This is an aside from the over 35's thread, but i rekon flexibility is overated, especially as my misses and daughters are far more flexible than me, but none of em can surf for shit. I'v never been flexible, but my dear old granny could still bend down and touch her toes well into her 80's. I'v been to gyms and classes and done yoga and all the other pretenders(pilates) and i'm still not a flexibible person. Any thoughts?

[Cpt.Caveman]

The key to flexibility is to doing it often. Theres no real secret, just do it as often as possible (e.g. everyday would be ideal).

If you want a fast tracked stretching method, use PNF stretches:

1) Hold the stretch for 30s
2) Resist against something for 5s (isomentric against your hand for example).
3) Relax, increase the stretch, and hold the new stretch for 15s to settle in.

Make sure that the stretch never hurts, you want a good stretch but not to the point that its painful.

You usually get an inch or two gain straight away after doing the isometric contraction.

Give it a try

[black duck]

This is an aside from the over 35's thread, but i rekon flexibility is overated, especially as my misses and daughters are far more flexible than me, but none of em can surf for shit. I'v never been flexible, but my dear old granny could still bend down and touch her toes well into her 80's. I'v been to gyms and classes and done yoga and all the other pretenders(pilates) and i'm still not a flexibible person. Any thoughts?

I'm a bit the same Chillin. Never been able to touch my toes without strain and pain, even after months of stretching.

I know a guy that is super flexy, does yoga every day, could suck his own dick but surfs like he's in a back brace. Stiff as a board in the surf.

[Chillin]

Cheers for that Capn cave. I tried the big ball execises once and ended up with motion sickness! I rekon the big elastic band thing is pretty good though and iv been trying to do it regularly. I surf pretty much every day and carry bugger all body fat at 66kg so iv also started coming in after a hour or so and eating one of those 'power bars'. They seem to really give me a boost of energy, also been taking the 'muscle recovery' tablets which are mosty amino acids and im pretty much not having any muscle pain. But iv watched vid of myself surfing and i seem like a stick man in the way i surf, all angles and jerky. although im not sure if its a flexibility thing or im simply a poor stylist.

[archie123]

I don't think flexability is very important if you dont want to surf till your 65.But if you do then its really important. Thats pretty much the only reason we all stretch it keeps us primed and helps out with avoiding injury..

[Cpt.Caveman]

I'd disagree with you there, maintaining flexibility not only fends off back and shoulder problems, it also avoids injury.

Your hamstrings are at their tightest when you're sitting down, so tight hamstrings can lead to back pain during sitting, and poor sitting tolerance. Tight muscles in the hip area also transfer force up to the lower back, increasing the risk of injury.

Another reason being, the more you use and strengthen a muscle the more it tends to shorten. A muscle that commonly gets tight in surfers is the pec and front of the shoulder (anterior deltoid), from all the paddling. Tightness in the pec and front of the shoulder can start to give you a rounded-shoulder posture, increasing your risk of rotator cuff problems from repetitive over-arm movements (e.g. paddling). Combine this with a desk job, sitting slumped over a computer of laptop every day, then you've got a recipe for rolled shoulders and rotator cuff problems.

[peterb]

there are short people and tall people.....and there are stiffys and floppys....stiffys are just about unbreakable....make good second row forwards.....floppys are ...floppy .....and are good at yoga and other stretchy sports.....but if a stiffy crash tackles a floppy then the floppy will come apart....floppys are always doing ankles knee ligaments etc ....so we are all different.....but if you are a stiffy then the next time you mistime and you get launched over the lip then you know that your arms and legs will not come off ....but a floppy can be badly hurt

then there is ageing...this process slowly reduces whatever your level of flexibility ....regular stretching to YOUR level will slow down this process

but if you are a stiffy then no amount of yoga will turn you into a floppy

if you are really desperate then take oestrogen tablets....the girls are always more flexible....but of course your voice will soften and you wont have to shave as much and you might grow breasts ....best to be happy with what youve got and work with that

[Nick Carroll]

To those who think flexibility doesn't matter in surfing, I'd ask: Do you really think you surf as well as you could?

Almost every really good surfer of the past 30 years has been preternaturally flexible and has worked on that flexibility throughout their surfing lives. The freak exceptions (Occy) just tend to prove the rule.

Staying loose and flexible just gets to be a bigger and bigger deal as you age ... and it's pretty hard to regain your youthful rubberiness if you ignore it till you're 45 years old and suddenly rip your ACL or need a hip joint replacement.

It's also much harder to surf back to back days if you don't do a bit of flexibility work.

It's not the be-all and end-all of surfing -- I think water confidence, reflex speed and power-to-weight ratio, plus really good proprioception (body awareness), are all more fundamental -- but flexibility enhances all of that.

[oldman]

A muscle that commonly gets tight in surfers is the pec and front of the shoulder (anterior deltoid), from all the paddling. Tightness in the pec and front of the shoulder can start to give you a rounded-shoulder posture, increasing your risk of rotator cuff problems from repetitive over-arm movements (e.g. paddling). Combine this with a desk job, sitting slumped over a computer of laptop every day, then you've got a recipe for rolled shoulders and rotator cuff problems.

Bingo!

Exactly the forces I have been working to alleviate for a long time. Once again CC comes up with useful observation. I recall you're in the profession caveman.

Didn't realise how tight I was in the pecs, front of the shoulder until I went to a physio years ago and she got me to do an exercise that showed me how much. She did the same exercise, showing me how it was supposed to be done, and I thought she was a double jointed freak, (plus her ample bosoms poked out in front so obtrusively I could do nothing but stare.)

You usually get an inch or two gain straight away

Aye captain, that I did.

[pridmore]

seriously if you think flexibility isnt an advatage in surfing ( or any physical activity for that matter ), then I am amazed...it has to be a bonus when getting into different positions and trying to recover and regain balance IMO...I'm not as flexible as I used to be when I played league and trained alot and always stretched, flexibility goes away quickly when stretching of those parts stops, the trick is to stretch regularly....In league it was vital to prevent injuries from being forced into positions that the body isnt designed to go into.... I'm 36 and no real dramas yet but I plan on surfing alot and keepiing my body in some kind of condition to allow me to continue to surf the way I want for as long as possible..well thats the plan anyway...

[channels]

I used to do a "Yoga for surfers" routine in the North Steyne club house and this did amazing things for my flexibility. The big benefit I used to see out of it was an increased (albeit slight) chance of recovering from doubtful turn.

[speedneedle]

Flexibility does have its rewards...in or out of the surf.

It'll increase your ability to extricate yourself from crazy positions during turns...and hurt yourself less often. It'll enable you to paddle longer and deal with hammerings.

When I was at my peak as a yoga freak I was feeling invincible, on the most practical levels. Even in so little as being aware that I would otherwise have sprained that ankle coming down from a floater, or suchlike...

But flexibility alone, of course, won't make a kook a good surfer. And the obsession it takes to go places like these pics is in itself not necessarily a good thing.

For me though, the photos coincided with my best surfing years...

Josh
http://www.joshdowlingshape.com

[oldman]

Flexibility does have its rewards...in or out of the surf.

But flexibility alone, of course, won't make a kook a good surfer. And the obsession it takes to go places like these pics is in itself not necessarily a good thing.

For me though, the photos coincided with my best surfing years...

Damned impressive josh, hammies particularly.

I am about 5 years of daily intensive yoga from getting to there. Good luck to you, but your comment about the obsession is also well noted. I'm a bit averse to any obsessions these days.

[puurri]

So begging the question; does Speednedle like gay bars and sniffing his farts?

[DV8]

Flexibility does have its rewards...in or out of the surf.

It'll increase your ability to extricate yourself from crazy positions during turns...and hurt yourself less often. It'll enable you to paddle longer and deal with hammerings.

Josh
http://www.joshdowlingshape.com

I gave Yoga a good go for 12-18 months until other commitments made it impossible to attend and as mentioned ,found the biggest benefit was a greatly reduced amount of small injuries from beatings or awkward landings . Those annoying little muscle tears and pulls become very rare and if they did occur seemed to heal more quickly.

Lately they have become quite common so back to YOGA class one day a week for this chump . Every little bit helps I reckon.