With Spring in sight, It’s time to get back in the water! People from all over the country will be contemplating returning to ‘The Green Room’, however, how do you know that you are in good shape? Lucy Johnson our expert surfer will tell you how…
Surfers across the UK will be crawling out of winter hibernation or fresh off planes from exotic locations. The waters here are still Baltic so this article will be about focussing on a decent warm up you can do at the beach before jumping in and also signs of hypothermia.
Should you be concerned about a dodgy shoulder, either book in to see any of the expert physiotherapists, or click here to see an article by Tony Gill on Shoulder Injuries.
A Dynamic warm up is great for improving functional range of motion, mobility and coordination pre surf which is essential. It gets the blood flowing to the skeletal muscles and gets the body ready for producing greater amounts of force for paddling, pop-ups and manoeuvres.
The video below shows Dynamic stretches you can do on the beach to get you ready for your session:
And a side note…
Hypothermia; the signs to be aware of.
90% of heat loss occurs through the skin and 10% through the lungs. In Theory, Hypothermia begins when your body temperature goes below 35°C.
There are four levels of hypothermia: mild, moderate, severe and profound.
Signs of moderate Hypothermia suggest that you need to urgently get out of the water, get warm and tell someone you’re struggling:
– Tiredness/drowsiness. This can be subtle at first and gets more and more severe. Don’t just put it down to the surf and outdoor exercise.
– Delayed thoughts/ dazed consciousness.
– Slurred speech.
– Extreme dizziness
– Pale face and purple extremities.
– Bad surfing! You start to lose your fine motor control e.g. in the hands and feet.
– Pauses between shivering. A good test is if you can stop yourself shivering you only have mild hypothermia. Pauses between shivers means things are getting more serious.
– Irrational behaviour. If someone is acting unusual be suspicious!
Severe hypothermia can cause paradoxical undressing, in which a person removes their clothing as they feel very hot but this will lose more body heat. Heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure all decrease, and there’s a risk of the heart stopping, it is possible to lose consciousness. With Profound Hypothermia vital organs will begin to shut down as the body tries to protect essential function i.e blood supply to the heart and brain.
So don’t forget that extra neoprene and if in doubt get out.
If the surf is flat or you want to work on things at the gym that will help your body prepare for the rough and tumble, see the following videos.
Functional exercises for surfing video
Happy Surfing!!!
Lucy J
