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It is a well known fact that staying active helps keep you looking and feeling young. Not many activities come close to the effect surfing has on the mind, body and spirit. According to experienced surfers, the special bond the surfer has with their surf board and the open ocean is almost impossible to explain.

Fresh Air

Fresh air does a body good! Surfers all over the world enjoy lots of cool, refreshing fresh air and sunshine. No matter if you’re surfing a remote location or something closer to the city, the ocean air smells fresh and clean. Out on the surf, there’s virtually no smog. When you are on the waves, it’s just you, the water and the fresh air.

Stress Free

Out in the swells, you can let your stress and every-day worries float away with the tide. Out there, it’s just you, the breeze, your board and the water. No one yelling for help or that report you should have handed in already. When you’re out there, you’re surrounded by total peace and relaxation. The only sounds are the sounds of the wind lightly kissing your skin and water slapping against your surfboard.

According to the majority of surfers, this type of relaxation is hard to come by anywhere else in the world. Just a few hours of surfing a week can help release the tension that builds up at home or in the workplace.

Muscle Tone

Surfing and swimming go hand in hand and are great exercise. Swimming works muscle groups you don’t always think to work at the gym. Sometimes even seasoned athletes will complain of muscle fatigue after swimming simply because of the different muscles being used.

People who surf are generally slender and well muscled toned into their 60’s and even 70’s. Surfing is a non-impact sport, meaning it’s very easy on your knees and other joints. After all, you don’t jog or jump on your surf board!

Cardiovascular Health

Surfing provides an amazing aerobic workout that not only helps burn fat but also keeps your heart, lungs and entire cardiovascular system in tip-top shape. A healthy cardiovascular system keeps your immune system healthy as well as maintaining a high level of stamina, to keep you feeling young.

Fun in the Sun

Surfers love the sunshine for a wide variety of reasons. Besides giving surfers great tans to keep that youthful glow, the sun provides vitamins that maintain healthy skin and nails. Healthy bones, skin, hair and nails assist in a more youthful appearance.

Other Advantages

Aside from the previously mentioned advantages of surfing, avid surfers understand they have to eat well and exercise. Many surfers enjoy going to the gym and practicing some type of Yoga. Yoga helps keep the surfer’s muscles toned and flexible and their mind alert. Many people who practice yoga taut it as a vehicle to peace and serenity in their mental well being.

If you’re looking to stay young and feel young, but don’t currently know how to surf and would like to learn, there is a wide variety of surf camps available. Women’s surf camps cater to the needs of women. Since they are only available to women, ladies of all shapes, sizes and ages can enjoy being themselves and learning to surf. You will also develop friendships and enjoy the fellowship of like-minded people from all over the world.

While some surf camps offer only women’s surf camps, there are camps that offer co-ed surf camps as well. They are a great way to learn to surf or learn a new skill or hobby while relaxing in the sun. Imagine returning to normal life, not only totally relaxed with a great tan, but also with pictures of you hanging ten, surfing like a pro and most importantly feeling and looking young.

Some say surfing keeps you young at heart. Seasoned surfers know surfing also helps keep them physically fit, looking and feeling much younger than their birth date declares.

Technorati Tags: Keeps, Reasons, Surfing, Young

It’s perfectly acceptable and, actually, highly recommended to take a surfing lesson when you’re just picking up the sport. You might think surfing is logical and that you will have the natural ability to pick it up right away, but the reality is that surfing is a very awkward sport when you first start out and there are tons of little tips that you can acquire only from a surf instructing professional.

Surf lessons can be private or in groups and last for about an hour. You will likely ride on a completely foam board that is nearly 10 feet long and very lightweight, which catches waves easily and gives you a lot of float. Most surf schools guarantee that you will stand up on a wave. If you don’t, you can usually come back for another lesson for free until you do. It might appear unnecessary and dorky, but a beginning surf lesson will likely accelerate your surfing ability more than the trial and error of learning on your own. If you go it alone, your learning curve will likely be slower, more painful, and in some cases more dangerous.

Another thing you must keep in mind is that friends who surf are not the same as surf instructors. Some of your friends may have been surfing for years, but if you ask them to go surfing with you to help you learn, they could well be worse than your least favorite middle school teacher. You and your experienced surfing friends might paddle out together, but your friends might leave you treading water at the lineup while they’re catching all the waves.

That’s why you are much better off shelling out the $50 or so for a first lesson. Surf instructors get paid to answer questions and push you into a wave. Their main goal is for you to have a good time while riding your first wave. To take full advantage of the time you have with your instructor, it is advisable to prepare a list of questions you can ask. There’s no limit to the silly or stupid questions you can ask a surf instructor, so fire away.

Surf instructors take their students to beginner surf breaks that are usually a bit crowded. This will be a most humbling experience, but you will be among others who are in the same boat as you. One thing is for certain: Wherever it is you go with your instructor, he or she won’t paddle you out to a break that you can’t handle, so you know you will be safe and taken care of. For this reason, surf lessons ensure that you will paddle back out another day wanting more. Goodness knows you don’t want to be in over your head or get injured and be too scared to try the sport again. So start off on the right foot by taking one surf lesson. Once you get that initial lesson out of the way, you’ll feel far more confident going it alone thereafter.

Technorati Tags: Hour, Lessons, Spent, Surfing, Well

 

The Ladies Surf in Style in this yearâ??s Duke Kahanamoku OceanFest Stand-Up Paddle Surfing held August 22nd and 23rd at Queens surf spot in Waikiki.

C4 Waterman, Honolua Surf and Blue Planet hosted the Stand-Up events for the men, children (juniors) and women.

The sport has grown leaps and bounds. This yearâ??s event had 80 SUP surfers.

â??Iâ??m not surprised at all, to be honestâ? said Todd Bradley, one of the founders of the C4 Waterman company. â??From the start, everybody we turned on to the sport got hooked.  So to see all these kids and women and new-comers to the sport â?¦ I think its just the beginning.â?

Stand-Up Paddle Surfing- also known as SUP is the latest and fastest growing ocean sport. It combines the basic elements of two ocean sports canoe paddling and long-board surfing.

Women surf the SUP with style

In 2007 C4 Watermanâ??s first year hosting an open SUP event and only one women who surfed along side the men was Mauiâ??s Tiare Lawrence. Ms. Lawrence was of the first female to try SUP surfing. Ms. Lawrence as an outrigger canoe paddler and, short boarder, and Tiare was hand picked as the first top acrobatic performer in the Hawaiian version of Cirque de Soleil at the Ulalena Theatre. When I first saw her surf her C4 SUP surfing in big waves at Makaha, I was like whoa!  I had ridden big waves for years, but this was a new angle of riding waves and Tiare was charging full on with a classic style in big waves with the boys.

Ms. Lawrence said â??The fitness aspect is so rewarding.â?Â  When you go surfing you are lying down most of the time, so you work two times more muscles than surfing when you are doing SUP.â?

This year Tiare and ten other women performed in all-female SUP heats.  They were so graceful with Hawaiian style with the best technique I had ever seen to date.

Jennifer Koki of Honolulu grew up on the south shore of Oahu long-boarding. Ms. Koki is a real stylish surfer to begin with and now on a SUP she really shines.  Ms. Kohi said â??The first time I tried it, I stoped because it was so hardâ?Â  â??But I tried again and now I Love it.â?Â  â??You can paddle for long distances, and itâ??s a super workout.â?

Also from the family of champions the Monizâ??s, there is their daughter teenager Kelia Moniz a Roxy sponosored surfer girl and her four brothers with Mum Tammy and Dad Professional surfer Tony Moniz who all now do SUP and they surf the SUP with style.

Kelia is only 15 years old and is the most stylish new breed of surfer girls to come out of Hawaii on a long-board. And , can Kelia shred with grace.  Kelia kept on doing some tip riding back side, but the off shore winds kept on blowing her off, but finally she held on and got a great score and the crowd on the beach was all in a roar over how hot her ride was. Kelia rips on a short board as well. Keliaâ??s nose riding out topped all the girls in the event. If she would have caught some of the set waves she would have won hands down, but came in second place.

Then 23 year old UH Uni student Candice Appleby took first place for that day and took home $2,000.  Other women in the finals were Waikikiâ??s  Pinoi Makalena 3rd Place, Geodee Clark 4th Place, Maui, Hawaiiâ??s Tiare Lawrence 5th place and Honoluluâ??s Heather Jeppesen 6th Place. And Crystal Dzigas won for Style and won $3,000 dollars.

My class mate Tom Holbrook, an executive VP for Quiksilver came over from California with his wife to enter the SUP event.

 â??I equate this to the early years of snowboarding,â? said Holbrook.  When it first came out, it was sort of this curiosity, and then it kept growing and growing.  I see the same potential for (SUP).â? â??You can have as much fun paddling out as you can catching waves.â? Holbrook said.

Equipment cost of SUP

If you are thinking of getting into SUP know a SUP equipment, board and paddle can cost between $1,300 and $2,800 dollars depending which boards and paddles you pick.

The best CORE exercise

Its  a lot more expensive ocean sport than short or long-boarding, but the best CORE exercise you can do for any sport, that enhances any sport one loves to play.

In fact Lance Armstrong professional bicycle road racing seven Tour de France titles from 1999-to 2005 is putting his legacy on the line with a comeback with a return to racing in the Tour de France to raise cancer awareness.  Lance has been training with SUP to support his physical and mental direction to give the Tour de France a great op to win.

Mike Fox, Hawaiiâ??s famous all around waterman and stuntman Brian Keaulana and Bradley founded the C4 Waterman company in 2006.  At that time it was only company focused on high end quality sport of equipment of SUP.

How to get started

At first when you give it a go itâ??s a bit new to get the balance on a SUP board for a beginner, not already a surfer, but as long as you RELAX and keep your hips loose & eyes up looking forward, your performance moves forward fast, as long as you practice.   You have to get use to it. And doing that, one has to put some time into it. It is very different than surfing.  Not in the way you surf, but rather in the way you catch waves.

Some of the key elements in learning is to relax and keep your heads and eyes up and looking forward. Once you get it, its really fun, and keepâ??s you in great shape for when you do go surfing.

One thing is very important that without really knowing how to surf it can be very dangerous.  You donâ??t want to have people who may know nothing about surfing in the waves.  Its important they learn to surf first from a professional non McDonald surf company, that gives the total surfing foundation and who teaches etiquette and respect for the ocean and other surfers in the line up.

Here are some excellent companies to choose from if you want to learn SUP:

www.surfclinics.com

www.noosalongboards.com/

 

 

Technorati Tags: Duke, Fest, hawaii, Kahanamoku, Ocean, Paddle., Standup, Surfing, Waikiki

I own and run a surf travel company on Australia’s Gold Coast. My business basically pulls together all the services offered on the Gold Coast that a travelling surfer needs. We then go the extra step of renting our surfboards to our clients, for the duration of their holiday. The idea is simple, we want to ensure our clients have the surfing holiday of their life, without the hassle of sorting out the logistics when they arrive.

One of the great things about this business is I deliver the surfboards myself. This gives me the opportunity to have a brief chat with every surfer coming through the Gold Coast using my services. I really enjoy this part of the business as being a surfer myself, I enjoy the contact with people who have a similar passion to mine. Also, it gives me the opportunity to get into the heads of my clients, so I can understand what their expectations are for their surfing holiday and can continually improve my services based on their desires.

“I wish I was a little bit fitter for this holiday”, so many of my clients tell me when returning their surfboards. This is the number 1 desire of the travelling surfers who use my services. The want a higher level of surfing fitness for their holidays. It makes sense really. When you go on a surfing trip, you end up surfing 2 – 3 times a day, which will probably equates to 4 – 6 hours a day in th water. This you do consistently over a period of 5 – 10 days. It is a lot of surfing. No matter how much you surf at home, you will be surfing more when on holiday.

So what is the best way to get fit for a big surf holiday while you are busy back at home, with all the pressures and distraction every day living brings? We believe there are 3 things you should do. The first 2 should be part of your long term commitment to personal health and fitness and the last is aimed at giving you a real fitness boost before you go on holiday.

The first thing you need to take care of is your general level of endurance. You need to be fit enough to go hard for 10 – 15 minutes minimum as often this is the minimum paddling requirement for getting through the breakers and out the back. I believe this fitness requirement needs to be a little more specific than “general endurance”. I believe you need to have a base level of “water endurance” or water fitness. Surfers and swimmers have an inate feel for the water. It is very different to exercising on land. It has a different type of co-ordination and efficiency. The fittest runner can be a disaster in the water, burning up all their energy and getting nowhere.

So to cover off this requirement, you should be swimming or surfing at least twice a week, every week of the year. Do not leave it till a month before your holidays, it is impossible to develop water fitness in such a small span of time. If you love surfing, you will love the water. Make it a part of your life. Then, in the month leading up to your holiday, increase you workload by 1 or 2 sessions a week and make your sessions much more intensive. This will give you a little fitness boost pre-arrival.

The second key to surfing fitness is flexibility, balance and core strength. Once again, this is not something you want to leave till the last minute, rather something you want to develop over time as part of your commitment to surfing, health and fitness. Yoga is the answer here. Yoga is so good for surfing fitness, it is almost as if it was invented purely with the surfer in mind. Not only does yoga help you improve your flexibility, balance and core strength, it also re-aligns and re-balances your body back into its natural and healthy position, away from the imbalanced position which surfing causes. For example, even the simple act of paddling requires you to over-arch your back, creating a distortion in the development of your back muscles. Yoga sorts all these types of issues out, as well as conditioning your body. My advice, get yourself a surf specific yoga DVD and do it 2 or 3 times a week.

The final thing you can do is a surf specific, functional training program. If you have taken care on the first and second items above, surf specific training is the ideal pre holiday fitness preparation. It should be short, (Ie a fitness program which runs from 4 – 12 weeks) it should gradually increase in intensity over those weeks and it should be designed specifically for the muscles you use in the water. The point with such a training program is to give your surf specific fitness a massive boost prior to arriving on your holiday. You’ve got your base level of fitness sorted out already by ensuring point 1 and 2 above are part of your lifestyle. This training program recognises though, that there will be a short period of time where you will need a higher level of fitness (Ie. For those long sessions while on holiday) and prepares you specifically with those higher needs in mind.

I hope this helps you prepare for your next surfing trip where ever it may be. We all know training can sometimes be a bit of a drag, just remember how much more fun those surfing days are when the waves, your skill and your body all come together at the same time, so you can catch that elusive perfect wave.

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In these recent years, ocean surfing has emerged as a popular water sports around the world. It is widely appreciated by children and adults of all ages. But, ocean sports without safety knowledge can be high risk and dangerous. Beginners like to enhance their understanding of surfing prior to participating in the Sports of the Hawaiian Kings. Therefore, the safety books are considered a condensed source to gain complete knowledge of surfing.

The ocean safety books encloses a brief history of surfing, followed by the complete necessary information about surfing. Besides that, it also contains many color illustrations along with the drawings of various surfers. They are included as entries.

The entries in these surfing books vary in length. These entries are not very long or complex to understand. The majority of the books are written in very simple and easy language to hold on the interest of all readers. It mainly serves the biographical pattern with some concerned surfing terms like lull, lip and tube ride. Thus, it tends to explain the safety rules and surfing tricks in a comprehensive manner.

These surfing books inspires the readers to watch surfing based movies by enlisting themselves into surf movies, videos, DVDs, surfing magazines, etc. References are given throughout the book to provide additional details to the readers. Thus, in a way, it leads to accelerate practical learning of ocean surfing.

The children surfing books widely supplements the ocean safety guidelines to the children. They impart the surfing knowledge to the children through illustrated history. Additionally, it provides the information about the science aqua world to enhance the interest of the children of “big waves”. These surfing books successfully impart the safety rules with the help of impressive photographs of surfing memorabilia, movie posters, album covers and pop arts. Thus, children’s surfing books captivates the young minds of the children to learn the surfing rules in an innovative manner.

The surfing books for kids are hard to find in the local book stores. If they are found, they are available at high costs. Therefore, on line book stores are one of the best way to buy these books. These stores sell a variety of the latest surfing books. It also tends to facilitate a hassle free purchasing option for the buyers in comparison to the local book stores.

Technorati Tags: Condensed, Impart, Knowledge, Ocean, Source, Surfing

If you are exploring holiday destinations try Portugal Surfing holidays this season.You will find Portugal Surfing Holidays to be a very unique and special experience that will give you an opportunity to enjoy the truly stylish and exciting culture. The Portugal Surfing Holidays are for everyone – for singles, couples and families looking to experience warm sunshine, pleasant water conditions and excellent sea food or great wine.

So Portugal Surfing Holidays will prove to be a great idea to go for a perfectly holiday -relaxing and action packed at the same time. You can go with your friends and family, and believe me there’s no better spot for that than Portugal. Some people are under the misconception that holiday with Portugal Surf in mind, is just for young college-goers. That is not true. Even if you’re older, or younger, you can still have fun with Portugal Surfing Holidays.

If you are planning Portugal Surfing Holidays first and foremost what you should do is to explore district regions of Portugal. Each district has something unique to offer. Right from the lush vineyards of the Douro in the north to the craggy coastline of Alentejo in south-west Portugal to holidays on the sandy beaches of Portugal’s Estoril Coast which offers green and unending golf courses in the Algarve to the mid-Atlantic Azores islands if you would like whale watching and nature trips as part of your Portugal Surfing Holidays

Portugal Surfing Holidays is one of the oldest adventure sports known to man. Historians have dated Portugal Surf adventure to as early as 3000 years ago, but the modern form of Portugal Surf as we know of it today was developed in Hawaii couple of centuries ago. Portugal Surf as a sport came to Portugal much later, but now it’s a major sport for amateur surfers because of friendly waves that help a beginner learn it in safe and encouraging environment.

Portugal Surfing Holidays are not just for the pros or those who already know the sport. Like mentioned earlier even the beginners can have surfing fun here and Portugal beaches have a lot to offer to them too. Portugal Surfing Holidays means, friendly waves that you can ride even if you are newbie, it offers you good instructors plus there are shops where you can rent surfing gear etc that make Portugal Surfing holidays a perfect destination.

If you are seriously considering Portugal surfing holidays, there are many travel agencies in Portugal which offer you packaged holidays inclusive of `Portugal Surf Learning Sessions and practice’ with pros. The tutors and instructors will guide you through the the lessons of surfing.

If you are planning Portugal Surfing Holidays you must be aware of all the aspects of Portugal Surf. Remember that surfing is an adventure sport, which means there’s a slight amount of risk involved with it. You should not go for your round of Portugal Surf if you don’t know how to swim. Because if the surfboard overturns, which often does, your swimming skills will come in handy and if you are an energetic swimmer you will be able to get back to shores safely.

Have a great, memorable and safe Portugal Surfing Holiday!

Technorati Tags: Holidays, Most, Portugal, Surfing

What is surfing?

Surfing is a surface water sport in which the person wishing to surf uses a surfboard to travel along the face of a breaking ocean wave. Such waves are called â??surfsâ?? and thus the activity is called â??surfingâ??.

Origin of surfing

Surfing originated in ancient Polynesia with the chief being the best skilled rider and the ruling classes had access to the best beaches. This activity was noticed by Europeans in Tahiti in 1767 and has now become one of the most popular forms of adventure sports at beaches around the world.

Types of surfing

There are three major types of stand up surfing practiced widely. These are â??

â?¢ Longboarding â?? This type of surfing is performed using a type of surfboard known as a longboard. The longboard is primarily a single finned surfboard with large rounded nose and length of 9 to 12 feet (2.7 to 3.7 m).

â?¢ Shortboarding â?? A new type of surfboard has been in widespread use since the 1960â??s. These boards are between five and seven feet in length, with a pointed nose and a rounded or squarish tail, typically with three skegs (fins) but sometimes with two or as many as five.

â?¢ Tow in surfing â?? This is a unique form of surfing which the ancient Polynesians would not even have imagined about. In this type of surfing, the surfer is towed into a breaking wave by a partner driving a personal watercraft or a helicopter with an attached tow-line. This is generally done when the wave is too large or too quick.

Some other sports which are variations on surfing are paddleboating, sea kayaking, kitesurfing and windsurfing.

If you are planning a surfing holiday now, plan it through World Surfaris. They are the experts in surf travel. The respected leaders with over 20 years surf experience, they can arrange the best surf trips to the Maldives, Indonesia, Mentawais, Sumatra, PNG and heaps more regions where the surf is pumping. They have got surf trips to perfect uncrowded reef-breaks with just you and your mates. World Surfaris has the largest range of surf boats and surf resorts available for all budgets. If you need maximum surfing time with minimum hassle then they will have the surf trip for you. For any further information please visit www.worldsurfaris.com

Technorati Tags: Riding, Surfing, waves

In the early 1900’s the Hawaiians organized the Hui Nalu (surf club) and competed in neighborly surf competitions with the Outrigger Canoe Club. This drew a great deal of attention to the Waikiki surf shore, bringing a revitalized interest in the sport, which had fallen out of favor in the late 1800s. Duke Kahanamoku, an Olympic star in swimming, popularized the sport further by traveling internationally and showing off his surfing style to thrilled audiences around the world. He was favored by Hollywood elite; having acted in bit parts in films and was always recruiting new surfers wherever he went. He is credited with surfing the longest wave of all time in 1917, in the popular surfing area now called Outside Castles in Waikiki. His 1000 meters plus wave record has yet to be overtaken.

In the 1930s, the sport of surfing was experiencing a Renaissance. Tom Blake, founder of the Pacific Coast Surf Championships that ended with the onset of war in 1941, was the first man to photograph surfing from the water. Another photographer and surfer named Doc Ball published California Surfriders 1946, which depicts the pristine coastal beaches and good-time, relaxed atmosphere of surf living. Surfing, although curtailed in the aftermath of WWII, revived as always by the 1950s. Bud Browne, an accomplished surfer and waterman, created the first ’surf movie’ with his 1953 “Hawaiian Surfing Movie”. This inspired many photographers, filmmakers and surfers to continue documenting the sport, culminating with is arguably the best surf movie of all time, 1963’s “Endless Summer” by Bruce Brown. The film opened up the genre of the surf movie and the art of surfing to non-surfing people, accumulating fans and inspiring neophytes.

Although surfing was a male-dominated sport, adventurous women surfers can be seen all the way back to the times of the Polynesian Queens. Two notable ’surfer girls’ were Eve Fletcher and Anona Napolean. Eve Fletcher was a California-born animator for Walt Disney and Anona Napolean was the daughter of a respected Hawaiian surfing family. The two pioneered the sport for modern women, winning surfing competitions up and down the California coast at the end of the 50s and into the 60s. Hollywood was quick to be on the scene and with the 1959 film “Gidget”, surfing was flung far out into the mainstream, never to return to its humble, ritualistic beginnings. “Gidget” inspired a slew of “Beach Blanket Bingo” movies that brought surfing to a new generation of teens and inspiring a new genre of ’surf music’ that accompanied films and made The Beach Boys more famous than Elvis in the 60s.

Surfing spread throughout all media and Surfing Magazine was born in the early 1960s by famous surf photographer, LeRoy Grannis. After that, other publications cropped up bringing more information on the sport, equipment and stars of the surfing scene. John Severson, an accomplished filmmaker and photographer, created Surfer Magazine, originally called “The Surfer”. These publications brought advertising, professional surfing, surf culture and publicity to the now very popularized sport.

Technorati Tags: History, Surfing

World champion big wave surfers, Garrett mcnamara and Kealii Mamala rode into surfing history last week when they towed into a monster tsunami created by Child’s Glacier in South-Central Alaska. The creator/producer, Ryan Casey, “disovered” the wave in 1995, while on location shooting in Alaska. Then after finishing his last film, Quest, a documentary on big wave surfing, he showed Garrett the wave… that was six months ago. So after a short scout in June, we went up in August to film this… For more information contact: info@deepwaterfilms or Ryan @ ryanmayrcasey@hotmail.com

Technorati Tags: Alaska, Glacier, Surfing