Body boarding is an exciting sport that involves riding waves while lying on the stomach on a special kind of board, known as a body board. The body boards are made of special kind of foam, known as hydrodynamic foam. This foam can glide on water, making riding the waves a breeze even for amateurs. Body boarding should not be considered to be the same as surfboarding, although both of these activities involve riding waves on a board. Body boards are significantly larger and wider than surfboards, and the rider can lie down comfortably on these.

Body boards come in various sizes in order to meet the requirements of people of different heights and weights. There are 37” long boards for people who are around 123 cm in height and somewhere around 55 kg in weight. There are also 46” long, giant sized boards for people who are more than 196 cm tall and weigh more than 100 kg. So, whatever your body type may be, do not worry. If you are dexterous enough, you can enjoy body boarding to your heart’s content.

Body boarders need good boards for riding the waves safely. Riding waves is dangerous, and a good body board can make the difference between life and death in case something goes wrong. If you are looking to buy or rent a body board, look for the following qualities in it before you make your decision:

Take a close look at the board. Inexpensive body boards often have a porous surface. These can get waterlogged fairly quickly, and increase in weight. A heavy board has a greater chance of sinking, so make sure the body is solid foam, with not much porosity.

Make sure the board is of the right size for you. Hold the body board in an upright position with the tail end touching the floor. The top end should come up to within 2 cm above or below your navel.

The surface of the board should be smooth. There should be no jagged edges, cracks, splinters, or gouges on the top surface of the board.

Check the underside of the board. If you are a beginner, it is best to choose a board that has its tail curving inward and sloping downward. This kind of boards can glide easily on the water surface, and make steering the board significantly easy.

Lay down the body board on the floor. The board should lie perfectly flat on the floor, and should not tilt, or wobble. Perfectly flat boards float better on water than bent boards.

Make sure the board is flexible. One way of testing this is to hold the board upright, leaning against your stomach. Gently pull the snout of the board downward. If it bends very easily, or not at all, it is not a good board. It should bend to some extent and then resist any further bending after a while. Flexible boards are good for body boarding, but too much flexibility shows a lack in craftsmanship.

Body boarding is a very enjoyable adventure sport. Make sure you choose the right kind of body board so that you can enjoy riding waves on it safely, and for a long time.

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Some people think that surfing is a glamour lifestyle that will allow a surfer to be exposed to members of the opposite sex on a daily basis. Since most women think that surfers are very alluring, most surfers will tend to get very prepared to surf because one wrong move could make them unattractive to women who sit in the sand and watch them perform tricks all day.

Most surfers put a lot of thought into the type of surfboard that they will use. The length of the board should fit the length of their bodies and any other size will not work right or look right when the surfer is under scrutiny by spectators on the shore. Most surfers will learn about surfboards from friends, and some surf shop owners will share interesting surfing anecdotes with them if business is slow.

After a short time in the water, a surfer should become very comfortable with using surfing terms around friends such as the type of surfboard they plan to purchase after the art of surfing has been engrained in their memory. Surfers enjoy having choices and using a longboard or a shortboard is one of the personal choices in surfing that a person can make. he other choices that a surfer can make will be in the stylish gear that they wear while surfing and those choices will no doubt be very colorful ones that are based on comfort.

Some surfers do not care if they are thoroughly prepared for the sport because they are solely interested in making their way to the water to surf. They will often try to find the cheapest surfboard and realize after they are in the water that the board is not suitable for surfing anymore. Perhaps it is because the surfboard has been damaged in some way while surfing and is showing signs that it retains water. If they had done some research through the internet, they could have learned to recognize the warning signs for a surfboard that should not be used anymore.

Some surfboards are unfit for use in the water simply because a previous owner has not cared for the surfboard properly. One of the important factors that every surfer learns is that a surfboard needs to be waxed on a regular basis. This preparation technique is necessary because wax allows the surfer to grip the surfboard with the soles of their feet. By using the proper preparations, the surfer will be assured of maintaining a good grip on the board at all times.

As the surfer prepares to enter the water for the first time with their surfboard, they will be very conscious of what other surfers do. New surfers will spend many hours in the water learning to sit and stand on the board. After they have perfected these techniques, they will be ready to try out some waves and they will be less worried about the stares that they are getting from the crowd that has formed on the beach.

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www.wellensurf.com
Wellen surfboards are now being hand shaped by the amazing Michael Andrews!

video by Spencer Simpkins
board shaped by Matt Jung

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I own and run a surf travel company on Australia's Gold Coast. My business basically pulls together all the services offered on the Gold Coast that a travelling surfer needs. We then go the extra step of renting our surfboards to our clients, for the duration of their holiday. The idea is simple, we want to ensure our clients have the surfing holiday of their life, without the hassle of sorting out the logistics when they arrive.

One of the great things about this business is I deliver the surfboards myself. This gives me the opportunity to have a brief chat with every surfer coming through the Gold Coast using my services. I really enjoy this part of the business as being a surfer myself, I enjoy the contact with people who have a similar passion to mine. Also, it gives me the opportunity to get into the heads of my clients, so I can understand what their expectations are for their surfing holiday and can continually improve my services based on their desires.

"I wish I was a little bit fitter for this holiday", so many of my clients tell me when returning their surfboards. This is the number 1 desire of the travelling surfers who use my services. The want a higher level of surfing fitness for their holidays. It makes sense really. When you go on a surfing trip, you end up surfing 2 - 3 times a day, which will probably equates to 4 - 6 hours a day in th water. This you do consistently over a period of 5 - 10 days. It is a lot of surfing. No matter how much you surf at home, you will be surfing more when on holiday.

So what is the best way to get fit for a big surf holiday while you are busy back at home, with all the pressures and distraction every day living brings? We believe there are 3 things you should do. The first 2 should be part of your long term commitment to personal health and fitness and the last is aimed at giving you a real fitness boost before you go on holiday.

The first thing you need to take care of is your general level of endurance. You need to be fit enough to go hard for 10 - 15 minutes minimum as often this is the minimum paddling requirement for getting through the breakers and out the back. I believe this fitness requirement needs to be a little more specific than "general endurance". I believe you need to have a base level of "water endurance" or water fitness. Surfers and swimmers have an inate feel for the water. It is very different to exercising on land. It has a different type of co-ordination and efficiency. The fittest runner can be a disaster in the water, burning up all their energy and getting nowhere.

So to cover off this requirement, you should be swimming or surfing at least twice a week, every week of the year. Do not leave it till a month before your holidays, it is impossible to develop water fitness in such a small span of time. If you love surfing, you will love the water. Make it a part of your life. Then, in the month leading up to your holiday, increase you workload by 1 or 2 sessions a week and make your sessions much more intensive. This will give you a little fitness boost pre-arrival.

The second key to surfing fitness is flexibility, balance and core strength. Once again, this is not something you want to leave till the last minute, rather something you want to develop over time as part of your commitment to surfing, health and fitness. Yoga is the answer here. Yoga is so good for surfing fitness, it is almost as if it was invented purely with the surfer in mind. Not only does yoga help you improve your flexibility, balance and core strength, it also re-aligns and re-balances your body back into its natural and healthy position, away from the imbalanced position which surfing causes. For example, even the simple act of paddling requires you to over-arch your back, creating a distortion in the development of your back muscles. Yoga sorts all these types of issues out, as well as conditioning your body. My advice, get yourself a surf specific yoga DVD and do it 2 or 3 times a week.

The final thing you can do is a surf specific, functional training program. If you have taken care on the first and second items above, surf specific training is the ideal pre holiday fitness preparation. It should be short, (Ie a fitness program which runs from 4 - 12 weeks) it should gradually increase in intensity over those weeks and it should be designed specifically for the muscles you use in the water. The point with such a training program is to give your surf specific fitness a massive boost prior to arriving on your holiday. You've got your base level of fitness sorted out already by ensuring point 1 and 2 above are part of your lifestyle. This training program recognises though, that there will be a short period of time where you will need a higher level of fitness (Ie. For those long sessions while on holiday) and prepares you specifically with those higher needs in mind.

I hope this helps you prepare for your next surfing trip where ever it may be. We all know training can sometimes be a bit of a drag, just remember how much more fun those surfing days are when the waves, your skill and your body all come together at the same time, so you can catch that elusive perfect wave.

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Beginners looking to buy their first surfboard should buy it from a surfboard shop. The advantage of this is that beginners can get the advice of the owners of the surfboard shop in choosing their first board.

There are several surfboards out there that beginners can choose from. As each surfboard serves a different purpose and offers different experience beginners will do well to discuss the kind of surfboard that they want to buy with a surfboard shop owners. In San Diego there are several surf board stores. Most of the owners and managers of these stores are surfing pros.

Surfers who are looking to buy surf boards can search for surfboard shop through the Yellow Pages and on the Internet. However, most surf board shops become popular by word of mouth. So, it’s probably best to ask around and find out which surfboard shop is offering the best deals.

For surfing enthusiasts, a surf board shop is much more then a place to buy a board. The surf board shop is a community. Here surfers meet to discuss surfing conditions, surfing competitions and the latest in surf boards. Often, a surf board shop will organize an event so that surfers can meet and discuss the latest in surfing.

A surf board shop is also a great place to find surfing accessories. Every surfboard shop stocks wet suits and flippers as well as other surfing accessories such as T-shirts, pendants and posters. Some owners of surf board shops also create surfing videos.

As most owners at surf board shops are enthusiastic and experienced surfers they can offer good advise on the different designs of surf boards available. This is especially valuable to a beginner surfer who is not sure which surfboard design to choose.

Some surfers prefer to buy their boards from online stores because they offer better deals and discounts. However, this is most advantageous for experienced surfers who know what they are looking for.

The advantage of purchasing from an online surfboard shop is that sometimes the deals can be fantastic. In addition, most online surfboard shops deliver to all States at a flat rate. Some surf board shops offer guarantees on delivering the surf board damage free to the surfers door step.

Some online surfboard shops offer classes for beginning surfers. However, to reserve a place in the class, a surfboard shop may insist that a surfer make a reservation at least 24 hours before the scheduled start of the class.

A surfboard shop is the best place for beginner surfer to shop from. Experienced surfers managing the store can help surfers choose the best boards.

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