surfers over 50

General Discussion
21

Surfing is so much about feelings, and what we feel/want to feel can change day-to-day, even hour-to-hour.  Add at least a couple of boards to your quiver--what gets you feelin' it one day won't necessarily cut it another day or at a different spot.  I'm 63 and have been surfing pretty much non-stop for 47 years, but just had an enforced lay-off of 7 months due to several cancer surgeries and the aftermath.  Just prior to that, I had been feeling that the 7'5" quad egg that I was using as a reaction to the loss of quickness due to my age wasn't letting me get all that I wanted to out of the waves I was riding.  I had been also using a 9'0" high-performance longboard on the smaller and/or more crowded waves, but it didn't really give much advantage since there are a whole bunch of kids and 100-lb. women riding 9'6" logs and paddling right past me.  So I made myself a couple of 6'8"s and kept the rockers at a minimum to help with entry and started having a blast with them after a short period of adjustment.  Now, after the hospitalizations and treatments, with my weight down by 20 pounds,  I'm a bunch weaker but still stubbornly trying to ride the shorter boards.  I'm catching fewer waves, and the crowds seem more intimidating,  but that zippy feeling is still in my head,  and longboarding just won't cut it.  That said, yesterday was tiny but only two guys were out in front of my house,  and I took the longboard out for a casual but thoroughly enjoyable session.  A different feeling, but one that fit the day.  

Quiver up, and just have fun.

Aloha, Chuck

 

22

Huckleberry,

To paraphrase myself, ''It's far easier to put pounds on, than to take them off!''     Don't even ask how I know.    You may find a board in the 7' 10'' x 21'' or 22'' range to be quite a surprise.   At that size you will catch waves easily, and I have found boards in that size range (that are properly designed) are highly maneuverable.   I've ridden many different size boards, and found that size to be the ''does it all'' size board for me.    Just a thought for you to consider.

23

grey hair rules!!!I love my gray hair,and I am only 55.There is NOTHING that substitutes for surfing,if you want to get back in surfing shape,whether after a 23 year hiatus or a medical condition,you just plain have to put the time in,and it WILL pay off.Going to the gym and hitting the weights is also highly recommended, for your bones,to keep them dense,but it won’t improve your surfing,IMO,you gotta surf,surf,surf,nothing duplicates it,and bring a few boards to the beach,surf different ones.The one in the pic looks FINE to me.Aloha

24

Ha - this has been a great thread for me.  So much wisdom here - I love it!  Maybe I didn't use the right word for it, but I've just always (23 years ago) ridden boards in the 6-7' range.  I tend to surf pretty much off my back foot.  I love to put all my weight on a turn into my back foot, and that works really well with my retro fish design.  But I've gotta respect, and work within, my limitations.  I guess that's all part of the (ugh!) ageing process.   I'm working on the quiver angle - but man, this sport is kinda expensive to get back into, esp. in these times when my remodeling business is almost dead! 

25

I’m with Onelua.  ride the smallest board you can and still have fun.   I’m 59.  Don’t know how much longer I can do this, but I swim 10 to 12 thousand yards a week and do popup drills on land every chance I get (pushup to a standing position).  Maybe 5 sets of 10 couple times a week.  Mike Daniel convinced me to go short and I am hanging in there at 6-0 to 6-2 fishes.  I have a LB too, and ride it when I get too tired to paddle the short ones.

hang in there, huck.

26

Hi

Really enjoyed reading this thread...thankyou...I`m 54 and only started surfing 6 years ago but since then I have surfed 3- 4 times per week. I currently surf a 7`6 mini mal and about to experiment with a 7ft fish and a 7ft pin tail. I have never ridden a shortboard.  I agree that weight definitely makes an inpact on your agility and fitness. I am 6ft and 77kg in weight...have just lost 6 kg in the past 2 mths and its made a huge difference.

I want to share another insight....I have just come from a family trip overseas and could not surf for over a month....did I miss it !....nearly sent me crazy...came as a shock just how much surfing is part of my life now. As soon as the plane landed in Sydney (Aus) I went straight to my local break. It was a very average wave and windblown but the simple joy I felt to be back in the water was  iincredible. After a few waves I just sat on the beach and saw the beach as if for the first time.

We are just so lucky to have been given this gift of surfing and way of life....so my take on this thread is realise the mind/body/spirit connections that go on when we surf......I agree the older you get the more you appreciate it regardless of ability/board length/fitness or amount of grey hair (or no hair at all)!  As Nathan Oldfield said in his Seaworthy Film "the surfer is on a journey to simply be worthy of the sea....seaworthy.

 

Thanks again

27

Ha!  Can you believe the number of posts in just one day?  There must be a bunch of us old geezers here!

So… I"m 61, began surfing in ‘64’ on a 10’ Hobie noserider.  In the 70’s moved to 6’8" and then 7’2".  In the 80’s began doing Triathlons so only surfed 1 to 2 times per year… until 2003.  I backed off the triathlons and began surfing 3 times per week after making a longboard.  I was hooked again on, not a log as I began on but, a lightweight balsa composite.  I now have them tuned in so that they turn (almost) as fast as a short board and I can walk to the nose and back!

To your question…

Ride the board that you love!  As we get older, as others have said, we HAVE TO keep fit.  If not our surfing suffers!  So how to do that?  Swimming is good for your paddling efficiency but not for your weight, something about the temp. difference.  Lift weights!  And, not high reps with light weights.  Weight lifting develops strength!  But you don’t want the bulk so gradually progress so that you will eventually (1 to 2 months) be lifting the max weight you can handle for 10 reps of one set.  Hit all the major muscle groups.  Cardiovascular fitness?  RUN!

If you need any help with any of the fitness stuff let me know… in the past I have been a pro triathlete, specialty sport store owner and now a chiropractor.  I have handouts that I give my patients that I’ll e-mail yo if you like.   I coached my daughter… she has been a pro triathlete for 10 years has raced ALL over the world and qualified for the Olympic trials.

When I started back surfing regular my lack of style was very evident, ha!  I was also intimidated in the line-up.  As I improved I still sat out on the shoulder but noticed who were the better surfers and who kept going for waves but couldn’t catch them, then just kept moving in.  As you improve it doesn’t matter how old you are if your good the others will allow you to catch the waves you want… just make sure you share!

Les

PS - When I started back surfing I noticed that on ‘good’ waves I surfed pretty good!  On crappy days I just couldn’t stay up very long… Hum…to be ‘good’ at surfing I decided that I needed to learn how to surf ALL conditions.  It’s a challenge I work at.  So… If it’s REALLY crowded at your favorite spot go to a less crowded spot that you can get a LOT of waves…

PRACTICE MAKES YOU PERFECT!

28

I’m 51 going on 52. I ride boards between 5-10 and 8’. Usually either a 5-10 to 6’ or an 8’ board. I’ve been surfing regularly since the 5th grade with long periods where I surfed everyday and sometimes more than once a day.

I only surf on weekends these days and I don’t get out every weekend. I have a pretty active job, but I don’t do anything to exercise, so if I don’t surf I don’t exercise. I would say that I’m about 15 to 20 pounds over my optimum weight.

I don’t think about wave count, but when I catch a wave I ride it until the board won’t go any further, or until it gets too shallow. That way I get a lot of exercise paddling back out. Good days mean longer than 100 yards and lots of turns. Here in Hawaii, you can stay out for hours and hours and not worry about the cold. There are always crowds where I surf. I’ve had 3 hour sessions and only caught a handful of waves, and I’ve had sessions where you have to stop and rest because the waves just keep coming.

I usually have a lot of friends wherever I surf, so we enjoy the time between waves talking and laughing. If we just catch waves, we don’t get to talk story. It’s all about enjoying the time, either riding waves or having a good laugh. Just stay safe. If you go to a long board it will be harder to control and you may become a safety problem for others. I use long boards when the waves are small, and short boards when they are head high or bigger.

29

    Howzit sharkcountry, I'm 61 and surfed for 55 years until last year when the cancer thing happened, my biggest problem is the radiation turned a lot of my throat tissue into scar tissue and I still can't raise my head enough to see what's in front of me when in the prone paddle position. I am working on getting the tissue stretched enough to fix that problem. I know I will be in Az but there is a lake to paddle in and I have a nephew who lives near Pronemans place in Ca. So I will be taking a longboard with me and will try to get in the water when I visit him. I have had so much on my plate this last year that surfing has not been a priority but hopefully there are a few waves yet for me to ride.Aloha Kokua

30

For surfers who have primarily ridden shortboards I think the wide noses and flater rockers of longboards can be a real deterrent when comparing them to the sleek lines of shortboards. I’ve been having a lot of fun riding a malibu (longboard) gun lately. Don’t see my self as a longboarder as I’ll ride all sorts of boards of all sorts of dimensions.

It’s 9’3" X  22&1/2" X 3&1/8" with 14&3/4" 1’ from nose and 13&1/8" up from tail. Has a 2+1 fin set up. Made by American expat Michael Cundith.

http://imgcash5.imageshack.us/img26/7625/img1344n.th.jpg?0.7003367166986615

Different way to skin a cat. Ride it from ankle snappers to big and it works. With its nose and tail rocker it inspires confidence in steeper drops.

Really don’t enjoy the feel of high performance longboards and because I don’t live a stones throw from my local anymore have sometimes rolled up to the beach with a log when its requiring something more responsive.

I’m not interested in nose riding so the pulled in nose of the gun is no short coming for me. Do like the glide, paddle power, section making ability of the longer rail line.

Just glad more longboarders who never use the noses of their longboards haven’t twigged as to how versatile this type of shape is.

Search Longboard gun http://www2.swaylocks.com/node/1027080and you’ll see a pic of what I’m describing. Hopefully my mate will email some pics he took of me surfing it yesterday so see it in action.

I’m also a fan of mid range boards as Bill suggested. Great 8’ thread in the archives and a one board quiver too.

31

I hit 50 6 months ago and still ride short boards. I learned on short boards and have never consistently ridden anything over about 6'8".

I'm pretty small stature, 5'5" and about 140lb/65kg. Always been active doing something, and do some sort of regime 5-6 days per week for half an hour or more. This includes yoga style stretching but mainly aimed at surfing muscles. The other days I'll be doing stuff, but use them as more like rest days, just as important. A small run every now and again, but runnings no fun.

If I'm training for a surf trip I'll work mainly on stamina, the paddling muscles, the push-up muscles, and squats. Quite few sit-ups really help for getting to your feet quickly.

Just doing this alsmost every day you can feel everything come back to life. It may take a while, but each week there feels like improvement, or at least it's maintaining general fitness for surfing.

 

Keep at it. Catching waves is too much fun. It's worth the effort because you'll catch more waves and hopefully have more fun.

32

I’m 57 and started surfing in 1972.  I’ve come full circle on boards by starting on long ones, then short and now longboards.  I have (4) fish ranging from 7’-8’ lenghts that I keep for friends to borrow.  My favorite board is my 9’8" HWS that’s 23-1/2" wide.  I don’t ride big waves anymore, but like to get out when time permits.

Huck, I lost 10 lbs. of body fat by giving up anything that has sugar.  That includes anything that has fake sugar as well.  It’s also made a big difference in how I feel.  I only drink water or green tea.  Things are much better now.

You should build yourself a longboard.  I think your wave count would increase.

 

33

Hey Huck

I’m 52. Been surfing since the late 70s. This summer I grabed my daughters 7’4" minimal just to try something different on a small day. I’ve now been using it for the last 3 months! . . . It may not be as fast and responsive as a shorter board but ease of catching waves (more waves!), the stability and forgivenness really makes up for it. I’m having fun!

Re fitness. I personally can’t do a lot of exercise but I surf as often as I can, try and keep active out of the water, keep flexible and eat clean.

All the best.

 

 

34

at 67, i'm already a bit further down the road that we are all traveling, than most of the posters to this thread.  surfing since '63.

 

a lot of good advice on here.  and as different things have worked for different people, you have a menu of alternatives to select from, all of which work to keep us individually fit.  so you should select the regimen that most naturally reflects your own nature, and utilize that scheme.  you may wish to blend several different regimes into your own personal fitness scheme.

so.  here's what works for me.  east coast of florida.  surf as much as possible.  then, as we often have week long flat spells, training.  1 day of weight training followed by 3 days of cardio, then a day of rest, followed by a day of weight training, etc...i consider a day of surfing to be a day of cardio. i advise anyone over 50 doing weight training to join a gym, and use the weight machines instead of training with free weights. the machines support you, force correct technique, and prevent injuries.i used to run 5k's, but my knee ligaments aren't too happy with that now, so i also use cardio machines like crosstrainers, steppers, rowing machines, exercycles, etc.  if you are inland and there is a lake or such near, you might want to paddle a couple of times a week for say half an hour or so.

my usual surf session is 3 - 4 hours. i get a lot of waves.  i'm 5'4 168 lbs.  short but not small.

my boards are a 9'2, a7'6 interpretation of a "transition era"board , a 6'6 fish and a 5'11 fish. i ride what i build.

most of the time i'm on the 9'2 or the 7'6.  depends on the crowds and the waves. not much fun fighting for a 2' wave in a pack of fit 15 to 30 year olds, on my 5'11.  so i wait till the conditions are right and i also feel like riding a shorter board to take either of the fish out.  as i get older, i take them out less frequently. 

one of the things i see frequently are guys who refuse to own up to the changes that ageing and lack of conditioning due to the constraints of "adult" life force on them.  guys anywhere from early 30's to their 50's.  sitting in the water on their shortboards, mini fish and funshapes.  sitting with the water up to their necks, and a real pissed off look on their faces.  unable to catch the waves they want, or, catching others leftovers and  eating it or riding poorly on what they do get.  you've probably seen them too.

my suggestion is that you get a modern hi performance longboard weighing in at 18 to 22 lbs. i won't get any more specific than that.  easy to carry, good acceleration, plenty of turns and noseriding, catch a lot of waves and ride them well.  ride your other boards too.  see what you like to ride each of them in.  select the right board for the conditions.  keep surfing.

 

 

 

 

35

Wow, lots of nice posts above!  I'm over 50 as well, and can put in as long of a session as time allows, and often have to mentally back off because I think I might be acting like a wave hog.  After surf, I can go for a bike ride, take the dog for a long walk on the beach, whatever.

Five years ago, after more than an hour in the water I spent the rest of the day in the lounge chair.  I was about 15 pounds heavier, still in decent condition, but was generally lacking in pep.  What changed?

1.  We got a labrador.  Every day she needs excercise, so we go running or walking, 3.5 - 5 miles.  This became a necessity because if the dog has too much energy, she lets us know in annoying ways.

2.  Due to #1, I had to arrange my life schedule to accommodate.  Some say the hardest part of an excercise regimen is making it part of your routine.  Now, have to set aside one hour every day after work and on weekends for activity.  I find that if for some reason I don't do this, I get a bid edgy and feel slothful...regular exercise seems to keep my energy level up.

3.  I realized the metabolism ain't what it was, so I considered my diet.  I figured either beer, cakes/cookies, or meat had to go.  I chose meat, over 6 months gradually went full on vegetarian, dropped all of my body fat, and feel great.

 

All of which leads to equipment.  I surf shortboards and longboards, and don't really have a preference, I'll go with what looks like the most fun on a particular day.  However, for my ability, I can handle a much larger range of wave types on the longboards, so that's what I'm on more often than not.

I'm currently making a board that will net out at 7'11" x 24.5" x 3.5".  Big wide singlefin pin with a pointy nose.  Hard to classify (wide gun? big guy shortboard? funboard?) but should be interesting to ride.

36

Hi Huck,

I can't add much to this. I'm creeping up on 52.  You're not supposed to weigh what you did in high school.  You add muscle mass and density as you mature and unfortunately start to lose it at our age.  Weight lifting is good for any sport. Not a replacement for time in the water.  If you don't go to a gym pick up a cheep set at a garage sell. Biking is easier on the joints than running at our age.  I like to walk the hills around my house at night with the dogs.

Mostly it's attitude.  What are your goals?  To catch as many waves as the young kids every session? Be realistic with your goals.  I'll look at a wave and the time I have and might tell myself 'I'm gonna go get 5 really good waves' then go do something else.  I might get 15, but feel damn good if I got only 5 good waves.

I surf mostly home made fishes under 6 feet, but have a 7-4 round pin for long period swells when I need more paddling speed.

23 year layoff is a long fricken time to be out of the water, brother. Be realistic, don't get frustrated, keep moving forward, and enjoy it.  Mike

37

time spent in the water is crucial for all the above reasons. I’m 54,  and get in the water 4-5 days a week conditions permitting. This allows me to stay in shape and most of my boards are 6’0 to 7-0, on a 6’2 fish this winter.  My take is a lot of guys ride longboards because they want to take as many waves as they can and don’t mind just standing still on their boards or at the other extreme hog waves and try to ride it like a shortboard.  

38

Well I turned 60 although I don’t feel it.  My buddy told me I need to ride longer boards to compete with all the younger guys out there so I bought a 7’4" Rusty big cat.  Wave count has tripled and I get almost any wave I’m in position for now.  The maneuverabilty  still bothers me a bit and I’m planning to get the same board as a 7’0 this summer.  I mostly ride boards from a 6’4" fish to 7’0 quads but getting waves has been an issue until the new board.  Im 6’3" and 185 to 190 lbs depending on what I eat and how often I train.  I’ve had days on one of the short boards where it is a struggle to get waves and that I tell myself that enough is enough and this board is going on craigslist, then I get a great wave and the board stays.  And so on.  The 7’4" has been something of a revelation.

39

61, here. 5’10", 170 pounds. 

I still have a 7’4", pintail thruster in the garage rafters, but never ride it anymore.  No matter how much I surf and work out, I’ll never match the strength and stamina (not to mention the reflexes) of the hordes of kids and 20-somethings that infest the lineup.  So why put myself at a competitive, wave-catching disadvantage on a shortboard?  Besides, I started in 1961, so longboarding is pure nostalgia for me.

 

Shortest board I ride now is a 9’0", 2+1,  performance longboard.  Also a 9’6" version of that same board, a 9’6" single and a 9’8" retro noserider. 

Use one of those Total Gym gizmos that Chuck Norris shills for on TV to help keep the paddling muscles in shape and improve stamina.

My 2¢.

40

E Kokua,

I had 2 bad discs in my neck and in 2002 I had C4-5-6 fused. I’ve had to deal with a stiffer neck and pain after surfing longer sessions. Some days it’s much harder to get my head up, so I just keep it down and look up only once in a while. I tried knee paddling, but my opu stay too beeg, to do that all the time.

My friends are using my neck problems as a way to get me to SUP, but so far I’ve stayed away from getting into that. I was toying with making a surf ski and trying that. I watched Pacific Vibrations and I was amazed at Merv Larson’s control on the surf ski. I started making an outrigger canoe several years ago, but I stopped but before I had to glass it. The shaped hull is sitting in my back yard slowly rotting away. I figure it’s more cost effective to do an SUP or a surf ski.

Take care and I hope we meet again before too long.

Aloha, Harry