I WANT TO SURF FOREVER... 

By forever I mean what ever that means. Thats the goal. Nothing else. For me surfing is one of the purest forms of joy.

There is a moment as a surfer where you realise that you need to stretch beforehand. As a grom you live with with boundless energy and scoff at the old crew stretching in the sand as you burn past. But old father time aye. You start to catch yourself making noises when you need to bend down and retrieve something off the ground, memories of you grandparents come to mind. Welcome back to earth young squire this is just the start! 

Yeah ok, so we get old and we stiffen up and can't do what we used to. Wrong. Well sort of. We can't eat red skins all day, not drink any water and surf for 8 hours, wake up and do it all again. But that was never going to last forever, nor should it. I wish I started doing yoga when I was 3 and I could get pretzel but I didn't so I work on it now. 

I met the crew at Stoke Physio at the 2017 King of Point at Trigg Island. They are surfing focused physiotherapists and some of the nicest people I've ever met. They have different sporting and fitness backgrounds but there is clear surf focus. Whilst receiving a complimentary massage I used the moment to have a whinge to someone that couldn't escape. The classics. My back hurts, tight hamstrings, knees hurt. Basically "I'm getting old, I'm off it, fix me I want to be a grom again".

Long story short, I went to them for a few treatments they taught me some stretching and strengthening routine, stuck me with needles. I feel much better for it, have a better knowledge about my body and how it all connected. Yeah I stretch on the sand now before a surf so what. I stretch on the sand now even when Im not going for surf. In fact I'm stretching right now. Like I said, I want to surf forever. To do that I need a limber body that doesn't seize up. I aint going out like that.

Now let Stoke Physio's own Cara-Lee and Clay take us through a of Stoke Physio's recommended pre-surf stretches. 

Exercise 1 – Back Rolls (Tight Back from Paddling Heaps)

Start by lying on your back and hugging your knees in to your chest.

Open your arms out wide and drop both knees to your left. Turn your head to look to your right. Breathe in. Breath out. Relax your entire body. 

Repeat with legs rotated to your right and head looking to your left.

Exercise 2 - Kneeling Book Openings (Keeping that Pop-Up Sharp)

Move onto your knees, placing your left foot forward so that you feel a stretch in the front of your right hip/thigh. Some of you may even feel it in the left hamstring (back of your leg) – if so, I’d add on some basic hamstring stretches for you lot. 

Place your right hand on the floor and rotate your trunk so that your left hand reaches toward the sky.

Repeat with right foot forward and rotating to your right, left hand on the floor.

Exercise 3 – Pigeon Stretch (My Favourite - Let the Booty Do The Work)

Take your right foot across your body and place it on the floorin line with your left armpit (or thereabouts depending on how tight you are). Keep your right knee under your right shoulder. Your back leg is out straight behind you.

Prop yourself up on your hands (you may already feel a stretch in your right buttock). If you don’t feel a stretch yet, lower yourself on to your forearms.

Hold this stretch for at least 1 minute then switch sides.

Words by Steele Walster
Stretches by Snr Physio Cara-Lee Goullee - Modelled by Clay Hoffman, Physio
Stoke Physio are located in North Beach in Western Australia. 
Visit their website for more information.
www.stokephysio.com.au