Monday, November 30, 2009

Women In Surfing - Who's - Who

Shelia Anater Ralston - She and her sister Sharon Anater Hansen started surfing in 1956, after watching a young women Charlene Mohaus Prall, come down the beach with a big paddle board out at the river mouth, they looked at each other and said, "we can do that".


Shelley Merrick - Shelley was born in Texas where her father was stationed during World War II. Her parents settled in Malibu, CA in 1946 and was raised all her life on the beach at Latigo Shore Drive, a right point break. She started surfing in 1955 when she was 10 years old. She surfed in her first contest at the age of 15 in the United States Championship at Huntington Beach in 1960. In 1963 she was the second woman to ride for Dewey Weber on the Weber Competition Team.


Rosemari Reimers Rice - Born and raised in Hermosa Beach, California. Started surfing in 1954, at the age of 14. Learned to surf with the help of her husband Johnny Rice. He also shaped and designed her first surfboard, a blue balsa with Rosmari written in yellow across the nose. They run Johnny Rice custom surfboards.


Daize Shayne- Daize Shayne's family moved to Hawaii when she was only 6 months old. She decided to take up Hawaii's favorite sport surfing at the age of 16 years old. What helped her to be able to surf was a supportive principal at her high school that allowed her to surf whenever as long as she got her work done and she graduated with honors from high school. The ocean lover Daize was ambitious so she taught herself how to surf as a kid growing up in Hawaii. Daize worked hard and eventually won many surfing competitions.  In 1999, Daize won the World long board Championships; she won first place as well as in the Quicksilver Winter Classics that same year. In the 2000 World Longboard Championship, Daize won 2nd Place. During the 2003 season, she won the Converse/Longboard Nose Riding Championships and she was a finalist for Action Girl of The Year. In 2004, she won the World Longboard Championships. Since then, Daize has not been surfing as much even though she still loves it. The largest wave she's ever surfed is a 12 footer.




Keala Kennelly-got her first surfboard 5 years old. Her dad taught her how to surf growing up in Hawaii. She looked up to her brothers who she competed with all of the time growing up. They inspired her to work hard and become a better surf. She grew up surfing with the Andy and Bruce Irons and they were her role models. She even beat them when she was younger.  She started surfing in the girls division of US Surfing Championships. She finished 3rd in 1992 and 2nd in 1993 and 4th in 1994. Keala placed 3rd in 1994 world championships. Keala won the 2001 OP Boat Challenge in Indonesia and won the Teahupoo event four times. She was ranked world number 4 in 2002. Keala was runner up to Beachley in 2003. She surfs with a goofy stance. She is known for riding the biggest tow-in wave by a woman. Keala prides herself on not being the typical girly surfer. She works to make herself known on the scene as woman that will not be objectified by men. She is a strong sense of self worth and believes men and women surfers should have a level playing field.



Monday, November 23, 2009

Working on the popup!

Ok gals, I know its winter and most of you haven't been out so what are you doing on land to work on your surfing? Well here's a quick overview on what you can be doing everyday to help you with surfing. Try this simple routine 1-3 x a day. All it takes it about 5 mins and the pay off is well worth it.

Exercises~
First do 15 Popups, followed by 25 pushups, and then finish with a plank 3 x for one minute.

Below I  have shown you how to do a popup and a plank. If you go to the archive I wrote about pushups and the different ones you can use.....so check it out!  Get in to it!

Pop Ups~


  • Lie face down with hands directly below your shoulders
  • Draw belly button towards spine
  • In one quick move, push up off the floor bringing both feet forward into a surfboard stance
  • Return to start position and repeat 15 x
  • Practice both legs, even if you are regular or goofy to avoid any imbalances and improve skill

Plank~
 


  • Lie face down with elbows directly below your shoulders and toes on mat pushing heels into the air
  • Draw belly button towards spin. Hold for one minute
  • If this is to hard break a min into 2 30 seconds or if this is easy then raise one foot in the air for 30 and then repeat with the other
  • Return to start position and repeat 3X








Sunday, November 15, 2009

The 4 C's -

So whats the whole 4 C's about....well its simple! Mental ability to surf~

The 4 C's Concentration, confidence, control and commitment. Generally considered to be the main mental qualities that are important for successful performance in most sports.

Concentration - ability to maintain focus
Confidence - believe in one's abilities
Control - ability to maintain emotional control regardless of distraction
Commitment - ability to continue working to agreed goals

Yes gals along with working our physical bodies we also need to work our mental.  How many times have you said I am going out and then found a excuse why not too?  or maybe second guessed yourself because everyone in the water is better than you? Well no worries, we all do it, but it's something we should work on for surfing and well lets face it life!

So here is my weekly suggestion.  Try to take 5 minutes a day for yourself. Take this mental break to remind yourself how great you are and how you will try to do something surfing related this week....aka push ups! And then do them. You will feel better about yourself and your commitment to surfing.

Working on the 4C's will not only help your surfing ability but your whole life!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Surf Tips

Pre-Surf Warm Up

So I know all us surfing gals get super stoked to hit the waves as soon as our feet hit the sand but we need to take a moment for ourselves. Warming up is a good habit to get into and it will also allow you to watch the surf and understand the conditions at hand. I know, its VB but it's always good to do both!!! Watch and Stretch is the way to go! And if you are cold and also tight, then this could lead to a possible injury. To start, warm up the body with a gentle jog down to the beach. It will get you too the water's edge quicker, giving you time to stretch out those nicely warmed muscles before going in.
Even better 3-5 surf salutations is a great warm up for the muscles and prepares for the session. The more repetitions you do the more your body and mind is prepared to hit the waves.
A series of Surf Salutations and triangle poses before heading in.....





Thursday, November 5, 2009

Push-Ups - A Surfing Gals Secret

Push-ups are a great way to stay fit and strong, they work your entire back, chest and arms, and can be done anywhere, anytime, making them a super-duper, duck-diving necessity.

When you duck-dive your board through a wave  it requires a lot of upper body strength, and you’ll also need en­durance to make it through each set of waves. If you burn out after one set and have to turtle-roll your way through the next or even worse, bail your board and swim down, then the fol­lowing exercises will benefit you the most. Practice these moves 2-4 times per week over the next 3 months and watch your duck-diving skills and fitness level improve dramatically!

The following 3 moves work together to tar­get your entire upper body including the ab­dominal muscles, as well as the buttock and leg muscles, that is, if you use proper form and are doing them right. All three moves can be performed in “traditional” pushup position or in “girlie” pushup position, or a combination of the two depending on your fitness level.

Warm-up: (arms should be directly beneath the shoulders)
1st set: 6 girlie pushups
2nd set: 10 girlie pushups
Stretch: Gently stretch your shoulders and wrists for 2 minutes before continuing the exercise routine, these are key joints in pushups and its important to protect them.

GIRLY
PUSH-UP (warm up)
While performing pushups in the bent-knee position (a.k.a. girlie push-ups), you may feel like you’re not really working very hard, but this is actually an es­sential way to start your workout by gently warm­ing up the chest, arms and back without straining or pulling them. Let’s call it “prep work”. It’s also a great way to finish a set if you’re extremely tired but are determined to finish.
A girlie push up is performed exactly like a traditional push up when it comes to hand placement, but the key here is to place your knees on the ground, pro­viding support to your core and assisting the arms (placed slightly farther than shoulder width apart), and shoulders during the push-up movement.
When you can complete all 3 exercises (3 sets each) in the “girly push-up” position without excessive straining then you should begin performing the exercises in the traditional pushup pose.
1. Lay on your stomach on the floor as if you were going to do a regular push-up.
2. Place your hands flat on the floor so that your elbows are up and out ward at a ninety-degree angle. (This is proper form for any push-up.)
3. Keep your knees on the floor as you push your upper body up and off of the floor. Be sure to keep your torso as straight as possible from the top of your head to the bottom of your spine. (Don’t forget to keep your elbows at a 90-degree angle.)
4. Slowly lower yourself down to the floor, keeping your back straight, as far down as possible without your body or nose touching the floor. Repeat steps 1-4.

TRADITIONAL PUSH-UPS
The traditional push-up can be one of your favorite exercises once you build up your strength, but it’s important to keep your body straight and not allow the lower back to sag towards the floor. Breathe throughout the en­tire exercise.
1. Lie flat on the floor or another hard surface that can support your body weight. Keep your feet together.
2. Place your hands slightly farther than shoulder width apart with your palms on the ground. Curl your toes upward (towards your head) so that the balls of your feet touch the ground.
3. Raise yourself using your arms. At this point, your hands and the balls of your feet should be supporting your weight. (This position is called “plank,” which is used for other various exercises. This is the beginning and the end posi­tion of a single push-up.)
4. Make sure you’re balanced and steady, then slowly lower your torso to the ground until your elbows form a 90degree angle. Keep your head facing forward and try to keep your nose pointed directly forward as you’re lowering down. Breath IN as you lower yourself.
PAUSE… Then raise yourself back up by attempting to push the ground away
from you. Breathe out as you push. The majority of your power will come from your shoulders and chest.
Continue the push until your arms are almost straight but do NOT “lock” the elbows. Repeat this step for the remainder of the exercise.

WIDE-ARM PUSHUPS
Wide arm push-ups really activate the upper back muscles and chest and you should notice a tremendous growth in strength after doing these consistently for a month or more.
Wide arm push-ups are performed exactly like the tradi­tional push-up, the only variation is the placement of your hands and arms. Arms should be at al­most twice your shoulder width.
TIP: Try performing this exercise in “girlie push-up” form (knees on the floor) until you’re comfortable with the position and are strong enough to support your full weight.

DIAMOND PUSHUPS
Again, this exercise is performed ex­actly like a traditional push-up, only the placement of your hands is different. Place your hands close together, with your index fingers and your thumbs touching, forming a dia­mond shape - then slowly lower your body towards the ground- just like a tradiitional push-up. These are hard!

So go work on your push ups. See you in Class Jan 9th~M