Grey Fitness

[Freestyler]

Hey this one for anyone 45 yrs and over and still on shortboard.
Know much been written about keeping fit, i.e. swimming running etc.
But curious to hear specific routines from others with a bit of grey on top that keep the aches and pains at bay.
Just turned 49 and pretty fit (swim/soft sand run/stretch/surf 3/4 out of 7 days) and on a surf boat trip body holds up well and surfing pretty good.
But back home where work mostly office bound, close outs the norm, and chilly earliers, the old body is a bit stiff, which often results in niggling muscle injuries.
As more surfers keep pushing out the age barrier on shortboards there's got to be some good advice out there or maybe the best advice is just surf good waves, if only.
Stay Cool & Wet

[crooked]

Pack o viagra and head up the 'cross fortnightly! You'll be the fittest bloke out there!

Stay Cool & Wet

Keep it warm and wet mate and you'll be happier, healthier and won't get down in flat spells- in fact the opposite!

Charge it!

[PdogH]

I reckon maybe yoga could help in terms of flexibility and strength...ever tried that bikram yoga?

[Freestyler]

Have dabbled with yoga over the years, liked Ashtanga as its physical, and have thought doing yoga full-time would probablty be best answer. Anyone else out there a yoga advocate? If so, what type/frequency?

[ric_vidal]

Just turned 49 and pretty...

We’ll judge whether you’re pretty or not

Turning 49 tomorrow, assuming I don’t shuffle off during the night. Just got back from a spin at DY on the 6'1" quad, so fair to say shortboards are still part of the equation.

Do nothing for fitness other than surf, and not nearly often enough. Tried yoga for a stint until I did my back in (not doing yoga). Didn’t seem to make much difference. Always had the flexibility of a tinman anyway doesn’t stop me though.

So after all this time, the knees sound like gristle when I go up stairs, the elbow hurts from shaping a few and probably pushing around a mouse for too many years, the shoulders are tired as soon as I hit the water, one toe is rooted from dragging it across the board and/or bashing it into the deck about a 100 times, one ankles even less flexible than the other from rolling it just walking out into the surf, the pterygiam is coming on nicely...

I get my fair share when I’m out though and satisfied to get the ocassional decent* ride.

*open to interpretation (mine)

[Nick Carroll]

Ya gotta have a goal. I want to go in that Coolangatta Gold race in Oct (old man's division of course, I'm 46). So:

- Two days a week, early morning swim squad pool training, ard 4ks a hit, one session technical/aerobic, one session power/aerobic.

- Three days a week, fairly early morning, racing paddleboard training, one skills/fartlec, one distance intervals, one variety.

- Three days a week, running, fairly slow pace, one day soft sand, one day harder surface, alternating.

- One day a week a short amusing session trying to master the god damn surf ski.

- Every second day, open air plymetric/isometric work plus stomach, argh.

Plus a lot of stretching and so forth. None of this is being done at full pace yet, it's just the first eight weeks of putting down the base. At this stage any of it can be dropped to accommodate an actual swell event. Later it will get much more specific and intense, pushing out heavy intervals at 90% effort in pool and running, some long ski paddles, probably cut out a board session and add a light weights.

Then toward the race time, back right down, the last three weeks prior drop the weights and cut back the number of sessions, rest, drink a lot of water and eat a lot in the final week, let the body fill up. Do the race. Relax for a couple of weeks. Do the Hennessy paddleboard race from Snapper to Burleigh at the end of Oct. Find some way of tricking my employers into sending me to Hawaii. Surf me brains out.

Keep in mind I wouldn't recommend this sort of insanity to anyone, it will give you aches and pains in places you never knew existed. But you come out the other side and surf better than you've ever done in your life, and paddle rings around every surfer in the water without even trying.

[collnarra]

Hey Nick,

I really enjoy reading about yr programs, and have tried to incorporate pieces of yr advice.

But here's the rub: what if you're an office schlub, leaving home before 7am, getting home 12 hours later, kids and wife and mortgage and the only respite is the prospect of a cold one at the end of the day, and no prospect of this idyllic work from home lifestyle that the IT revolution promised us...?

Short of fasting and doing pushups beside the desk, what options would you suggest? I reckon what's needed is some sorta office program, so that those of us that can sense the lard creeping as we sit here bathed in the blu-glo of computer monitors and fluros, can at least have half a shake at keeping in shape.

Even the firestairs are offlimits in this building, so there's no prospect of walking the 7 floors from the ground.

the still mojoless (and growing fatter) col.

[ric_vidal]

Oi Mr Carroll, you got too many days in your week

[Freestyler]

Nice reply ric_vidal, got a good laugh out of it, but only because your list of ailments sound familiar.

Thanks Nick, good advice, get a bit more disciplined with the training and get a good base, 8 weeks sounds like it would produce desired results.

On the topic of greying shortboarders, would be good to see pix/videos of our generation still carving, likes of the Carroll boys, Potz, Barton, Michael Ho, Rabbit, Shaun, etc, in Mentawis or some such place. Surely there's a market as surfers push out the age barrier. Longboaders seem to be covered. But as we live in youth dominated society won't hold breath.

[ric_vidal]

Nice reply ric_vidal, got a good laugh out of it, but only because your list of ailments sound familiar.

My work is done!

likes of the Carroll boys, Potz, Barton, Michael Ho, Rabbit, Shaun, etc, in Mentawis or some such place.

Get “The Hole” on DVD, it’s got some good footage of the ‘talented’ Carroll brother and Pottz at the Mentawis (it’s a few years old now though)

If you want to see the ‘other’ Carroll brother, have a look at “No Destination”, and you’ll see Knicknack performing on a couple but it is really about Kelly, Knox, and a few other US lads through the Mentawis (he’ll confirm/deny if that’s the right one after he calls me a smartarse again). He did the ‘scriptwriting’, ha, fairdinkum Carroll you must have some good karma from previous lives

[Nick Carroll]

fairdinkum Carroll you must have some good karma from previous lives

Are you kidding? What about me little brother??? What about KELLY SLATER?????? Don't talk to me about bloody Karma.

Coll, well I reckon the first thing once again to do is make a goal. No matter what your situation.

The goal you set, be it ever so simple (one of them ocean swim races next summer?), will cause you to begin looking around for ways to achieve it. Maybe there's a pool near the office, I'll always encourage surfers to swim first out of all exercise forms. Maybe there's a gym nearby too.

Maybe you can convince some of your acquaintances to join you in your quest, regular training of any kind is always more fun when done with others.

I'd caution you to be careful how much you try to take on, a lot of people rush into heavy exercise programs with a kind of hearty desperation, but even a moderate program by an athlete's standards will cause injury and pain to someone starting up, specially if they haven't done much for a while (and I class even regular surfing as being "not much" in the way of physical exercise).

Underneath I reckon a fair bit of it is about being willing to give yourself the time to do this stuff -- it wouldn't take much, just an hour or so every couple of days which you take for yourself to do something you want to do, in pursuit of a goal which is yours and yours alone.

In the end the goal will become semi-irrelevant and the process will be where you make your gains, both outwardly and within.

[Butts]

Freestyler, not quite as OLD as you (and others) only 41!
But, I'm in a similiar position as Ric.
Back probs, knees rooted, shoulder issues..........
I still keep pretty active with, 4-5 surfs a week, soccer training Tues then
game on weekend.
But best assistance I have found is Pilates.
Physio got me into it whilst recovering from a knee prob.

[fong]

listen up ladys

i've just worked me backside off in a mine site in the middle country 4 six weeks......and guess wat THERE NOT PAYIN

YEAH NO WAGES

to quote the manager " sue us"

so now i'm home.....i got the best girl and kid.....no worrys getting old job back washin dishes so just mayb blessin in disguise

MY POINT you all need wake up and smell the roses

even if u can't bring u self too pull u thruster out the new car and paddle out just sit 4 a minute and chill.......u live a privallaged life

stop taking everything 4 granted....."oh my back....oh my knee" shut up and have some fun

p.s nick"give a dog a bone" do u rate rowing ( like in a tinny) a good training thing .....just tryin save petrol and still kill fish

[Hawkeye]

listen up ladys

i've just worked me backside off in a mine site in the middle country 4 six weeks......and guess wat THERE NOT PAYIN

YEAH NO WAGES

to quote the manager " sue us"

That is absolutely horrendous. Can't let that pass. No union?

[ric_vidal]

listen up ladys
stop taking everything 4 granted....."oh my back....oh my knee" shut up and have some fun

Listen Sapphire, who you callin’ ladys, biatch?! and who’s takin’ everything for granted, just stating physical facts it’s taken years to acquire this degree of decay

Seriously though, I can’t believe your work/pay situation, don’t let the bastards get away with it!

[Johnno]

Turning 49 tomorrow,

Happy birthday ...............

Knew I had a reason for a drink..............

In the end the goal will become semi-irrelevant and the process will be where you make your gains, both outwardly and within.

Got one set up in the " BEER GARDEN"

Just for practice..............




Does have a cross bar for the other codes.

[fong]

That is absolutely horrendous. Can't let that pass. No union?

welcome to the new" workchoices order"

wasn't allow join cmu.....part of the sign on deal

and like......if it wasn't 4 shaunns advice i'd still b out there diggin away......" the money b in next week" call can sux u in

u cut it.....let it go.....i can't afford a lawyer plus it would drag on 4 years

AND ON THE GOOD SIDE......i'm got a knooky tonight and waves in the a.m and kids grow up to fast not to b around

[bookster]

welcome to the new" workchoices order"

wasn't allow join cmu.....part of the sign on deal

That is actually illegal...