Fit to Be a Surfer

Well after my last visit to Durban I came to the conclusion that I need to work out my arm and shoulder muscles. Every morning (well...most mornings) I've been doing this work out tape that's about 50 minutes long. It's really tough. It works out your legs, stomach and most importantly, you arms.
I occasionally do some yoga too. It is good for your core and it keeps me calm.

Also to surf, you need to have very good balance. So I stand on this now and then to improve my balance.

In a surf shop in Gateway there is this balance board. It is very good for balance as well. It's not for sale, but even if it was, it would probably cost a small fortune...So I decided to make my own. It's very simple. I nailed stoppers onto the underside of the plank so that it wont slip off the pipe, and I have painted it.

 

Board Info

I'm back from Christmas in Joburg and since there's no sea there, I haven't been surfing. I thought I'd give you  some information about our "learner" boards. Mine is 6'6" tall and about 2" thick (surfboards are measured in feet and inches). They are thicker than short boards so they are more buoyant. Being longer and thicker makes it easy to stand on and easy to learn how to surf. Proper long boards are thinner and much longer.

That's mine (white) and Thaila's (yellow)

Steve (Our family friend who is the beach manager/lifeguard) came over today. He asked if he could buy Thaila's board when she's done with it. Apparently it is a 1980's Classic. Nice...and we always made fun of it for being yellow. Sorry Thai.