Better Surfing Balance

Thsi isnt a product for sale but just something ive made for my own surfing balance.

 I dont get to the surf as much as I like so Im losing the subtle muscle co-ordination and balance and the current balance trainers available look like something to pose on rather than helping with the real movements of surfing so I whipped this up with high density styrofoam and a wooden top just for strength but the foam part is less than 3 ft long.

Oddly its hull shape is just like a 60's/70's board, rounded in the front and vee in the tail, but all the curves are accentuated. An interesting example of how hull design reacts to a flat surface instead of a curved wave.

 It replicates the muscle memory and has similar roll and balance as a real surfboard. I can feel my legs finding the co-ordination of alternately pressuring down on the board thats just like surfing.

 Heres a little sequence..

take off down the face

[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/SURFFOILS/rBSB012bt1sml.jpg[/IMG]

bottom turn

[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/SURFFOILS/rBSB010bt2sml.jpg[/IMG]

pulling up the face

[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/SURFFOILS/rBSB011bt3sml.jpg[/IMG]

setting up the roundhouse cutty

[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/SURFFOILS/rBSB009bt0sml.jpg[/IMG]

The board does rotate around as well so you can get some torque into the turns.

 

 

 

 

Good idea... BTW, nice legs.

D

I can remember your original post about this some months ago - it looks good mate.

 

Is the high density styrofoam durable?

Thanks uncled !

 Bunyip, I chose the high density styrofoam because thats what I had in the shed, and its holding up well, I'm doing maybe 1/2 hour every 2nd day. As long as theres a carpet square or similar under it it hasnt worn at all. The foam or the carpet.

 Its was easy to shape because with each alteration I checked to see how it 'felt'.....e.g. did it feel like I was surfing. So I kept  whittling it down till it moved like it should.

Its a bit like surfing an endless wave because you can do a bottom turn and then you can do another 50 bottom turns to keep working on getting the leg muscle sequence right to perfect what muscles work to get what result. Its still about balance so the top half has to get into position too.

 I know I sound hyped over it but the co-ordination is so realistic and I cant figure out how I'd improve it except to make it more sensitive for sharper turns. I might have to give it a quick 2 X 6 oz just so it survives the weekend and some of my chubby mates.



Get one of the large size exercise balls.  Start on your knees, practice until you can stand, then work on doing squats on the ball.  Works better than anything else out there. 

elewis, I had a good look at all the balance trainers on the 'net and while great balance would be essential to be a great surfer, gymnast, cyclist, springboard-diver or snowboarder, you'd still have to do the actual sport to get the 'muscle memory' and 'body awareness' sorted.

 Balance is good but you still need technique to get the job done.

 I hope my pics show a more realistic 3 dimensional surfing technique than these posers.... 

[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/SURFFOILS/349.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/SURFFOILS/balance4.jpg[/IMG]

 

Best exercise for surfing (below the waist) is skateboarding…get out of the house and go draw some lines and get a little carto out of the deal.

Hopefully, your still going to surf and not just use the ball.  Your simulator or an Indo board are more fun than the ball, but for core strength and balance there is no comparison.  Try for week or two, you will see.

Not quite into hairy legs however thats pretty realistic looking from here, could slap a sensor pad on the bottom n with some helmet cam footage + software + projector have one of the best surf simulators around. All world class waves right in the entertainment room, grab a beer if ya like and take couch potato to the next level. No crowds, no dropins, include all climate controls, tide, wind, swell maybe even a shark or few. Sure have an epic time getting the stock footage.

hahaha  nice legs. 

I like this.  I have been practicing on a half medicine ball (as shown in the picture above)  and it seemed to help alright.  But try this with your setup-  close your eyes - then practice your turns.  It adds a whole other dimension.  ahhhh

peace. whitney.

"close your eyes - then practice your turns."

 

Yeah... now spin around like a top for a few and then try closing your eyes.  Maybe squat in a deep knee bend while you're at it.

By the way, that's a reasonably close (a bit more extreme though) bottom to what I'm putting on some of my longboards.  I'm not calling mine a 'loaded dome' or anything fancy like that but the combination of rocker and belly under your feet gives a ball bearing effect to the bottom of a real board.

I was practicing at the gym for a while with the 1/2 medicine ball, and got quite a few LOOKS. haha.   

 

will you make one for me too?  I don't think I want to join the INDO board trend... anyone have suggestions/ recommendations on them?

(i am in school to be a physical therapist...) 

peace. whitney.  

 

Now THAT is a pretty good idea…

Except all you’d need to do is have a mounting bracket for the Nintendo Wii controller. It will do it all.

 

Surffoils, you should approach Nintendo about that! Given the huge popularity of all the other boring sports you can play on the Wii, imagine having surfing…

Thanks for all your comments, I'm not likely to make it into a commercial product but I think someone will because the moment you step onto it... you know youre surfing...or alt.surfing. ( the feeling is way too similar). 

 The other products are all about balancing to stay upright/ steady (or fall off) but mine is all about balancing to stay moving.....moving like youre surfing.    Its certainly more realistic than wiggling on a flat plank on a pipe.

I'll refine it a bit more to get it as good as I can, and then I'll post some dims but any shaper worth his weight in foam dust could whip one up, and its a bit of fun to experiment with the design to get the feeling right.

Whitney, you're welcome to use this idea, or a suitable version, for your work as a physical therapist as part of a program to assist people to get their balance back after surgery/ stroke ??

 

wow...cool gizmo...i just got done making a bunch of balance boards to give to my friends...we made 2 kinds...one that rocks side to side like the "traditional indo board" and one that rocks from heel to toe...i use them both...but it seems like you can go any direction here without switching out boards...maybe a new project after this board im shaping now?

sweet, yeah I will have to learn more about it. 

 i'm looking to go into the "sports medicine" area of PT w/ an emphasis on surfing/extreme sports.  :) balance is key in more than just surfing. 

now go out and get in the water.

peace.whitney.

For walking (or trying to walk) up to and back from the nose, I don’t think there’s any better training than slacklining.  It feels exactly the same.   

 

 

 

When I moved up to Portland I took up rock climbing to fill the void.  There are a few of these in the gym I climb at most freuently.  I was shocked when I first took a few steps on one of these.  The feeling was eerily familiar.  Climbing, while great, never really filled the void.  Rubber up!

Get a carveboard http://www.carveusa.com/index.php

They are a total blast and a great training aid for surfing and snowboarding.

One of the nicest things about them is that you can really crank a turn without any spinout.

thanks- i've seen them before. pretty cool.  i knew this guy who did it down mts.  maybe its a different type of board... IDK

looks fun.

If you have a Pilatos ball, try initilally to put your knees and after some time.... your feet...

 

Always use an handle bar !