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Surfing Sciences 2021 Dates – updated!

Surfing Sciences Program Dates 2021

1️⃣  June 27th to July 11th

2️⃣  July 11th to 25th (6 spots available)

3️⃣  July 25th to August 8th

4️⃣  August 8th to 22nd

5️⃣  August 22nd to September 5th

6️⃣  September 5th to October 3rd

7️⃣  October 3rd to 17th

8️⃣  October 17th to 31st

3 Benefits of Surfing

3 Benefits of Surfing

🧠 It promotes mental health 🧠

Surfing contributes to psychological well-being, as it helps you deal with stress, pressure, increases your confidence and helps you meet new people.

 

❤️ Improves cardiovascular health ❤️

It is one of the most complete sports, as it requires the effort of almost every muscle, bone, and tendon. In addition, the decrease in body temperature forces a greater energy expenditure to keep you warm.

 

🏄‍♀️ Improves balance and motor coordination 🏄‍♀️

Standing on your board requires a lot of balance and strength to be able to fight against the force of the waves and their constant motion. You also have to think and perform different movements simultaneously and coordinate the different parts of your body.

 

Would you like to try it?

Send us a message to learn more about our classes! 📩  📩

 3 Values that we insist on spreading on to our students

 3 Values that we insist on spreading on to our students

There are a number of rules and values that we start to go over from the very first lesson, but today we will just highlight 3:

🌊  Loose boards, thrown or badly cared for – one of the appreciations that everyone who has attended other schools will immediately mention is that our equipment is all new. Actually, it isn’t. Some of our boards are already in their 3rd or 4th season. But it is a principle of ours, out of respect for the greatest artists in this love story – the shapers. These artisans are responsible for simple details that further refine our emotions when riding the waves. As such, even if they are sponge boards, they are not meant to have cuts, dings, or bumping into anything or anyone. Of course, this behavior starts with us – Surfers who teach, Monitors, Instructors, Coaches, or Teachers.

🌊  Disturb the leisure of others – ⛔️  NEVER! You know, no wave sharing. None of that weird new party waves stuff. Waves are not shared, not stolen, not disturbed.

🌊  Not respecting your turn in the “queue” for the waves! – Priorities demand knowledge. Sometimes, even on the most unruly peak and full of new practitioners with little knowledge and many doubts, there can be order, rule, and respect.

Ah!! and the rules of priority, that normally everyone knows, are those of the athletes that use them with knowledge and strategic wisdom. While they have little experience, it is normal to take the leftovers from the good surfers, and when in the middle of equals, the rule of every man in his turn should reign, like in the supermarket line.👌

Borg Scale

How to Measure Training Intensity: Relation Between Heart Rate and Training

Sports performance, improving general fitness, weight control, or developing surf-specific fitness. If you have one of these goals, it is important to monitor your Heart Rate during training. 😉

🔹 Heart Rate (HR) control and monitoring is an excellent tool, to manage training intensity intervals more precisely.

🔹 Even without a heart rate monitor, it is relatively easy to do this same monitoring, although less accurately. To do this monitoring you can use the Borg Scale.

What is the Borg Scale?

The Borg Scale, or Borg Table, from Swedish physiologist Gunnar Borg, is a list of sensations, which allow the subjective classification of an individual’s effort.

🔹 Subjective Perception of Effort (PSE) is a valid method in monitoring intensity in cardiovascular training.

🔹 The reliability of intensity ratings in strength training has a margin of error. However, it is a good tool.

How it can help you?

By using the chart, you can also transfer the sensations you have during your surfing sessions. Then try to characterize your effort, for example when you paddle out to the peak, when you finish riding the wave, or when you paddle out more vigorously to catch the wave.

If you identify the sensations, you will be able to understand what kind of intensity you are using. By understanding the intensity areas, you’ll have information about what intensities you can train on land, when you can’t do it in the sea.

Whether you have a heart rate monitor or not, you can now train more assertively.

For more information, please also check this article where you will find another tool to measure your training HR.

Fill in your data: Age and Resting Heart Rate and the tool will automatically give you your training Heart Rates for different intensity intervals. Depending on your goals, you can now monitor your HR training interval. 🤩

Relationship of harmony between the individual – sea – surfboard = Surf Flow

Harmony between the individual – sea – surfboard

I often hear among my students and other surfers, regardless of levels, the following remark:

❓ “I would like to try a different or smaller board. This one is already too easy?

And I ask, “What do you mean you’re having so much fun you can’t take it anymore!?” 😂  🤷

I know many other reasons for not choosing the right board, but this is one of the most recurring ones.

Once and for all: The board should help us because we already have the sea which is unrepeatable and requires many “flying hours” to learn to feel and read it. Ah, and us, our physical condition and abilities to manage too, getting in our way. Are you sure you want a board that “robs” you of the best part of surfing, the fun, that “feeling” that real surfers know.

🤷. What I’m going to say maybe shocking, but most of the people who are already independent in the sea, still don’t know this “feeling” of sliding in harmony on the board and in the most interesting part of the wave. I don’t care if he is a great surfer, the best on the beach or on his street.

Sometimes the great surfers impose maneuvers on the sea that it doesn’t ask for, and for me, this is not surfing. But I can also see an individual with very little experience of practice, gliding with the harmony that I speak to you, and without knowing anything, there he goes in complete pleasure of slide with the board at sea, in full harmony.

🤔  As I’ve heard it said: “Without knowing how to read or write, that one made a big wave”!

Then there are also those who forget about the sea, either when they paddle out to try to catch the wave and they don’t have enough experience to feel or guess it, who know enough about the sea when they watch others on the beach, but then when they are in their session they “turn their back” on the sea and don’t communicate with the waves, don’t read it, don’t listen to it, and so don’t know what the sea wants to tell them.

🎖 For these I have a tip: You will feel the sea, no board. Just you and the waves. Do little reels, cut the green waves, make contests with friends, to see who goes longer in the wave! Indispensable condition, to move on to Level 1, at Good Surf Good Love.

Seriously, the real feeling, the reason why we miss social and family events, wake up at the crack of dawn, drive miles and miles behind perfect waves, is more than the contact with nature. It is more than the good that the sea does us.

The greatest good is to feel that HARMONY, the full control of sliding with the right board, in the right place of the wave, without using our strength before we have explored the energetic potential of the wave.

😉  And you, have you felt that full harmony? 😁

💬 How would you describe the feeling when running the wave?

 

16 most common mistakes of base position 

16 most common mistakes of base position 

Previously I have already given you our very general description of the Surf Base Position, the one we advocate in our teaching method. Today we will describe to you some of the most common mistakes.

    1. Very open base – This gives you much less range of motion in the hip, and also causes your body weight to be projected backwards from the centre of the board, which will cause you to brake. The so-called ‘foot on the nose, foot on tail’ position will also take away balance, stability and leg strength, which you will need later on when you start manoeuvring.
    2. Very closed base – Very closed base will also take away balance and stability. In fact, a mistake that is not listed here and that you should know is that the feet should not remain fixed, but should be adjusted. Even when you are still only moving forward, you should train your dancing feet, light on the board, so that you can adjust them when it becomes more necessary.
    3.  Front foot points to the nose – This one I have unfortunately seen taught on the beach. Serious, as it also doesn’t allow you to have balance on the board and will also make turning difficult. If you make this mistake you should correct it by over-correcting and placing it perpendicular to the stringer of the board – that wooden line that runs across the whole board from the back to the front edge.
    4. Thinking that the back foot must be on top of the keels at this early stage – so if the feet/handles should be shoulder-width apart, more or less, and if the front foot should be in the centre/middle of the board, just do the maths. Of course, we will need to put the back foot there on the fins to turn. But for now, the turns, while the turning angle is still small, can be done with a slight bending movement, looking and turning/tilting on the way up. Later we will move both feet if it is a big board or just the back foot if you are a shortboarder, to make a more radical turn.
    5. Thinking that the position of the feet is fixed – It isn’t. Whether you ride a big board or a small board, you’re going to have to adjust your feet a lot depending on the manoeuvres you want to do.
    6. Knees apart and pointed in opposite directions – The back knee should also point forward to allow for greater hip-femoral functionality.
    7. Legs/ Knees too bent – I have said before in other posts that this is one of the reasons many of the riders are condemning the evolution. This exaggerated strength in the legs is not necessary when the ride on the wave is controlled. On the contrary, it will make you unable to use them to make a change of direction or absorb instability along the wave.
    8. High tension legs – I reinforce the previous description. To understand how serious this error is.
    9. Lateral pelvis and shoulders – Over-correcting, in order for the brain to process the information about the required position, we should try to turn the shoulders aligning with the perpendicular of the stringer of the board and the pelvis should make an angle of at least 45º, never less, so that in the future, it will not be almost impossible to correct this functional constraint.
    10. Arms aligned with the board stringer – Again, overcorrection, both perpendicular to the length of the board.
    11. Arms hang both on the same side of the board – Always, one on each side of the Rail or board edge.
    12. Back foot does not support the heel – Recurring error, often due to lack of mobility in the ankle, often, because if your Trainer, does not identify you the error. If the reason for this mistake is lack of mobility, a coach who is also trained in Physical exercise and health can help, if there is pain, you should seek a therapist.
    13. Look directed at the feet or down – Apart from not knowing where you are going, if you make this mistake, you are also a great danger!!! Look directed where you want to go, ALWAYS!
    14. Very marked “ninja” style – This not at all flexible approach, needs to let in more and new information. Try it and you will see the difference.
    15. Center of mass designed on the back support – Have you noticed, for sure, that sometimes when you miss the wave, after standing up the board points upwards?
    16. Center of mass projected on the 2 supports– It’s due to your ninja position, or lateralized position. The consequence is again, the loss of waves,…

To correct these mistakes? Hummmm, I have a tip: Come and meet us!

How do I know it’s time to leave the white water and go on adventure on the green waves?

How do you know it’s time to leave the white water and go Surf on the green waves?

Read more

Beginner Surfer’s Mistakes

Beginner Surfer’s Mistakes

1️⃣  Mixing social leisure with a real desire to learn how to surf. 

💎  In surfing, you make friends for life. That’s a fact!

However, we have to consider what the real goal we want from surfing is. What kind of surfer we want to be. For some years I made the mistake of going with people who surfed much more than I did, so I ended up in a peak that didn’t allow me to evolve, even though it’s great to go with surfers who are better than us because they end up pushing our level. But if the level is completely broken, it only slows you down!

Nowadays, I often surf with less skilled surfers than myself, so I end up not seeing an evolution in my surfing. Although our evolution doesn’t depend on that, but it helps!

So friends, but waves aside.

One thing is an experience, another thing is wanting to be a surfer or even a surfer. If your ambition is to become a regular surfer, choose your company for the surf sessions and or the school for the Coaches training and organization in general.

Friends, fun, and leisure are naturally inherent!

Surfing is one of the best things we can do in life, without a doubt! Invest wisely! 😉

 

2️⃣  Use the wrong board for your level!

💸   Don’t rush into switching to smaller boards, and even less into “plastic” boards, which are not for school or learning, and in our opinion, not for evolution.

Explore all the softboard sizes in your school, and only then, buy your own fiberboard with some performance.

3️⃣  Surfing the wrong spot/peak/lineup for your level!

😉   We have covered this subject before, in other posts. There is no reason for you to want to surf the best peaks of the beach if your surfing is not yet the best on the beach either. Those spots are conquered with a lot of struggle, resilience, investment, and dedication.

That way, one day you will be welcome in those peaks/lineups/spots or surf spots/zones. 😜👌

12 Sinais que o colega ao teu lado, no linup,  é um KOOK, pápáruco, ninja

12 Sinais que o colega ao teu lado, no linup,  é um KOOK, pápáruco, Ninja 😜

  1. A prancha é um resto de lixo. Está toda amassada e toda partida. – FU-GIR!
  2. Rema aleatoriamente.
  3. Interfere nas ondas dos surfistas.
  4. Atrapalha outros que até sabem mais ou menos o que estão a tentar fazer, apesar de também estarem a aprender.
  5. Quando vêm as ondas maiores, larga a prancha, porque não sabe como a controlar, ou não consegue, ou alguém lhe ensinou assim.
  6. Segura a prancha com os calcanhares
  7. Rema de pernas abertas
  8. Deita-se muito atrás na prancha. 
  9. O nariz da prancha aponta para cima.
  10. A remada… 🤦‍♀️ toda uma matéria só… 🙊
  11. Quando rema para uma onda, só olha em frente
  12. Rema tanto, e a mais, que a onda tem dificuldade em correr atrás dele

Squat

Squat 

The squat is one of the most basic movement patterns of the human body.

Despite being an essential movement pattern, many children and adults lack the ability to perform a proper squat.

But this movement, can and should be trained, not only by athletes but by all types of people, regardless of whether they are part of a special population group or a seemingly healthy individual.

It is imperative that this gesture be easy for everyone to perform so that they can do the simplest functions of everyday life, like going from sitting to standing, for example.

At first glance, the execution of the squat may seem to require only mobility in the joints of the lower limbs – legs: ankle, knee, and hip, but this movement requires motor control and more muscles in the entire body.

And what is motor control?

It is the ability of an individual to efficiently use the available range of motion, through muscle activation, in a close relationship between the order of contraction and the order of relaxation.

So, it is in the relationship between mobility and motor control of these movements that lies the correct execution, in this case, of the squat.

When the performers, athletes or the general population, and coaches understand this relationship, then they can choose exercises for progression, correction, or optimization and strengthening of this basic movement of the human body.

Execution – Description

  1. Stand with feet about shoulder-width apart.
  2. Toes point slightly outward – 5 to 20 degrees.
  3. Look straight ahead.
  4. Chest open.
  5. Spine well-aligned vertically.
  6. Weight distributed over the entire foot. Imagine a triangle connecting the two points of the plantar and heel area.
  7. Start squatting,
  8. Arms in front elevation, (raised in front of the face, parallel to the floor).
  9. Let the pelvis recede and only then the knees begin to bend, moving forward slightly.
  10. All the way down and up, keep contracting the core (abdominals and back). All well contracted as if we were going to “take a punch”.
  11. The weight should keep the whole foot supported, but the toes “loose”.
  12. Heel always on the ground throughout.
  13. Continue to descend by pushing the pelvis back and at the same time flexing the knees more.
  14. As the knees flex, make sure they point toward the tip of the foot, pushing outward.
  15. Lifting the arms should help allow the torso to remain almost vertical (between 80 and 60 degrees maximum.
  16. Always share the weight between levers.
  17. On the way down breathe in and on the way up breathe out.
  18. When the hip joint is below the knee (when you break parallel) or lower still, come back up.
  19. Keep all involved muscle groups contracted, pushing off the ground, keeping the whole foot well rooted in the ground, focusing on pressure on the heels.
  20. Push off the ground and extend the knees, until the head is well up at the highest point, lowering the arms, in a synchronized manner, this time focusing on the strength of the glutes, to accomplish the ascent.

Note: Very important!

If there is a pain in the knee, ankle, thighs, or back during execution, you should seek a specialist – a physical therapist!

 

Myths:

A myth is an idea that has been passed down through generations, but which has no validity.

In the case of the squat, some come from my university days, when if you did a full squat in the Fitness assessment, you failed the course. 🤦‍♀️ 

But the squat is a basic, natural movement of the human body.

So never go on these talks:

“When doing leg press, don’t go lower than halfway.”

“When squatting, don’t go below parallel.”

“Don’t let your knee go beyond your foot during repetitions.”

 

What is the importance for Surfing?

If this standard movement is not easy to execute, then it is guaranteed that there will be limitations at a certain stage of the surfers’ progression.

In fact, if the person has difficulty getting up from the ground, imagine sliding.

That is why the total squat, is one of the exercises we evaluate in the battery of evaluation tests at the Good Surf Good Love Academy.

On the day of the baptism we evaluate the execution:

  1. Executes with ease;
  2. Performs with difficulty;
  3. Presents pain.

With this data, we adjust the instruction in order to be successful.

If there is difficulty in execution, although we provide a solution for this first experience, we immediately give a sense of the impact that this gap will have on the next sessions and the eventual continuation of the progression.

In case of pain, we evaluate the possibility of continuing or not, but we always recommend a consultation with the specialist – the physical therapist.

If there is normal execution, we evaluate the strength, through comfort in repetition. This “test” will help us measure the possibility of progression to levels 1 and 2 of the Good Surf Good Love Academy.

With the practitioners of the Academy, who are doing our Sports Training Program, we try to support the evolution of this and other basic movements and skills.

We are not always successful at this level 😅. The adults, because they have little time, and the children, because both they and their parents often see surfing as a pastime game.

But whenever our surfers have strength in their gills and can follow our sport values, we are here to give everything.

As I usually say, if the Good Surf Good Love team is ready to give everything, from those who demand from us I won’t admit a drop of sweat less!

Conclusion 

Squatting is a fundamental human movement pattern that involves almost every muscle in the body. It is useful for picking things up off the floor, going to the bathroom, sitting, and improving general physical condition. Oh, and for surfing! It is essential for surfing!

Performing this movement makes us more athletic, improves our physical condition and our life in general.