The "I Quit" Update

Remember a few weeks back when I was whining about being coerced into hitting the gym? About "quitting" the denial thing I previously had about not having to cross train in order to surf? Well, here's the update.

I have some good news and bad news for you guys about working out twice a week. The bad news is that going to the gym twice a week for 45-60 minutes a pop has had zero net effect on my weight or my waistline. The good news is that I definitely have noticed a difference in how I feel, particularly my endurance and recovery when surfing.

To recap my "workout" if you could really call it that, the boy (he's 28) and I spend about 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer. I run it at a pace that according to the machine's computer says I'm burning about 400 calories so I reckon that's probably about equal to a 4-mile walk in an hour. I also do some ab work on two machines, one where I pull into the crunch and another where I push into it. Then we usually cap off with a set of pull ups and another set of dips - for that one I'm using a machine that subsidizes my effort by counterbalancing my weight so that instead of pulling my entire 195# I'm only pulling up 135# - that enables me to get more reps.

The abdominal machine that has me pulling into the crunch has another benefit for me - it's cut down into my usage of chiropractic care from once/month to zero/month. Because of the way the seatback on that machine is positioned against my back it provides a little bit of a fulcrum for "popping" one of the vertebrae in my middle back (right between my shoulder blades) back into place. If I work that weight in the full range of motion, after about the 5th rep that vertebra pops back into place where it's supposed to be. I've had trouble with that sucker for my entire adult life, and as most people know, when one part of your spine is out of sync it tends to pull other parts of the spine out of line and sets muscles working against each other in a negative way.

Another benefit is from the elliptical in that all that movement in my hips and lower back has that area loosened up quite nicely. So now when I do a 2-hr session in the surf I don't end up with a sore lower back like I do when I'm not walking a lot or doing this. Lastly, my endurance in paddling and my recovery time from one of those sessions have both improved quite a bit.

I started noticing the onset of these benefits almost immediately after I started "working out", within the first couple weeks. It surpassed the point of providing more benefit than hassle by the end of 4 weeks. I'm still only going twice a week, so I really can't even say I'm working at it hard or that the workout represents a lifestyle change.

My point for mentioning all this on a blog is in order to provide the datapoint - you don't have to put in a lot of extra effort or change your life in order to reap some noticeable benefits in short order.

We're starting to gradually add in some extra sets and reps and adding some additional resistance as we go but neither of us are actually pushing it. Word on the street is that the addage "no pain - no gain" is currently out of vogue with a lot of the fitness folks. They've swapped in the idea that we're supposed to push hard enough to feel like we worked out, but not hard enough to be sore after quitting. Maybe buying into that is wishful thinking on my part, but one upside to it is that I don't think I'm pushing hard enough to injure anything.

Obviously, I still have lots of room for improvement. If I added another gym session and maybe started walking with my wife after dinner that would work with my efforts on the elliptical to further build my cardio and endurance. Maybe I should try to surf more - what a concept, right? If I cut down on the starches I consume I could start dropping some weight. At any rate, I feel like I'm on a slightly better track right now so that's a little bit of all right.

Aloha from Cher (and Steve) Pendarvis

Hey, there! Here in PL, San Diego, we have a stoked crew of surfers over 50 who have been sharing waves and stoke for more than 40 years. Everyone enjoys sharing encouragement, recipes and tips for keeping flexible and in tune to ride the waves.

Steve and I began surfing in the mid-1960s (some friends began earlier), enjoyed the long boards of the day, the exciting transition to shorter boards and all of the creativity of the times. We're happy to see people expressing their creativity and riding a variety of crafts today. We love to ride everything, and enjoy making boards.

To keep in shape for surfing we enjoy a healthy lifestyle and keeping our bodies flexible. Some years ago, a friend said "Move it or lose it!" and we agree. We check the waves every day at sunrise and then enjoy a brisk one to two mile walk near the ocean. Steve is a surfboard shaper and glasser (and builder of Pendoflex), so he keeps moving at work.

I am an artist, writer and photographer, which requires sitting at a drawing board or computer, so I also swim at the local YMCA and in the ocean for overall fitness and flexibility. We enjoy the Surfers Over 50 blog and are stoked to contribute.

Below are pictures of Steve and I surfing in Mexico.

Our longtime friend Rick Geist is a well respected surfer, paddler and writer who is known for his good health habits that allow him to perform at his best both mentally and physically. Steve and I are grateful that he shared the recipe for this tasty salad with us. The Duke's Man-Sized Meal Salad includes raw green, yellow and purple vegetables that help you stay healthy for a lifetime. This salad is a treat for the palette and for the eye.

Good health practices include eating well and enjoying regular exercise. Buy organic vegetables when you can find them!

The Duke's Man-sized Meal Salad

Salad ingredients

Head of romaine
Purple cabbage (one of the top 10 super foods)
Carrot
Red bell pepper
Tomato
Avocado
Sunflower seeds
Celery

Utensils needed

Large poppa-sized salad bowl, plus three baby bowls
Knives
Cutting board
Grater
Garlic Press
Measuring cups
Spoons
Fork
Bowl for salad dressing, with fork to whisk ingredients

Process

Tear romaine into approximately 2 inch pieces. Slice purple cabbage thin into 2-3 inch strips. Grate the carrot. Dice the red pepper into small squares. Cut the tomato into thin wedges. Cut the celery length-wise and then cross-wise. Chop the kale thinly. Combine the romaine, carrot, red pepper, celery and kale into a bowl and toss. Cut the avocado into half, then peel and cut into length-wise slices. Slice the tomato into wedges. The tomato and avocado slices will be arranged on top after the salad is dressed and finally tossed.

Salad dressing

Purple Onion (1/4 cup)
Garlic (pressed in a garlic press)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
Bragg's Liquid Aminos all purpose, all natural seasoning
Cayenne pepper
Parmesan cheese

Finely slice, then chop 1/4 cup of the purple onion. Combine the oil and vinegar into a small bowl. Add a healthy shake of Bragg's seasoning, and a little shake of cayenne pepper. Grate a little parmesan cheese into the bowl. Then use a fork to whisk the ingredients.
Pour the finished dressing over the salad and then toss the salad to merge the flavors. Arrange the tomato wedges and avocado slices on top the salad. Sprinkle the sunflower seeds on the finished salad as a final touch.

Ideas for variety

If you'd like to add some protein, try adding chunks of fresh grilled salmon or mahi mahi. Canned albacore or canned salmon also make a nice addition to the Man-sized Meal Salad.

Enjoy!

Aloha, Cher and Steve Pendarvis

As we're all finding out, it's a hell of a thing to be getting older. Like a lot of people over 50, from time to time I idly scratch my crotch and vaguely contemplate where all the piss and vinegar that I took for granted just a few years ago has gone.

As a stand up board rider, my endurance, strength and agility have been the fundamental engine that drives my ability to have an enjoyable surf. In turn having a good surf is healthy fodder for the mind, and I suspect has been responsible for my naturally sunny disposition thats been in evidence ever since I first took to the ocean.

However I now find that in order to be properly tuned up to surf decent waves, I need to spend around a solid 30 to 40 minutes each day doing yoga exercises and stretches to maintain flexibility, agility and to build and maintain core body strength, especially in the abdominal area where the spring that gets you quickly to your feet resides. I try to back up these exercises with a trip to the local gym between two or three times a week, where I do weights and aerobic exercise.

But I'm no paragon of virtue in keeping to this schedule. I have to continually remind myself that a failure to exercise will simply translate into a failure to have fun in the oceanic realm. In this regard I have to work hard to overcome the minds natural tendency to want to slack off the program. So it helps me to have an objective to work towards, such as a planned trip to more demanding waves or even the knowledge that a bigger swell is due soon.

So the equation for me is a simple one: Exercise + Yoga + Stretching (plus a few other things like a good board, ocean knowledge and good waves) = a good surf + a sunny disposition.

Now if I can just get my seriously demented mind under control I'm sure everything will be just fine!

I am used to ...................

a certain amount of pain and aches in the old bod after a surf, but sometimes, I seem to experience them more intensely than usual.

It has taken me awhile to realise that it is usually after a session where the conditions might not have been terribly good and I have wiped out a lot of times.

As our ageing, but still useful bodies, are not as flexible as they once were, I think that the contortions and distortions are bodies are forced through in a wipeout situation causes minor strains that we may otherwise not have experienced.

It is the next morning, as I am getting out of bed, that I really notice them and I hobble out of the room bent over like the old guy in the image below, until the stiffness eventually eases and I can straighten up again feeling like a surfer over 50 rather than a surfer over 90!

So, I have realised that I forgot to end this post, with the key element that I wanted to talk about, the forward bend.

I feel this is the most important regular activity I undertake to combat loss of flexibility.

This may sound strange but I generally do this in the shower as the hot water ensures my body is warm reducing the chance of injury.

Rather than a feet together yoga style bend, which I do occasionally, I am talking a feet shoulder width bend and just hanging there for a period whilst breathing gently. You will find that you are slowly able to breathe yourself further down and I can usually get the palms of my hands flat on the floor. This is the closest image I can find that matches what I am describing but with feet at shoulder width and allowing the arms to dangle or fold them up if you can get over enough to warrant it.

Doing this regularly ensures that my hamstrings are loose minimising the risk of back strain caused by tight hamstrings and releases tension in the spinal column, neck and shoulders as well as getting a bit of blood into the head.

Can you touch your toes?

Pray for surf. But first, pray for a surfboard!

I did it. I pulled the plug, and went for it. Here's how it went down: I wanted a longboard - plenty of people have been telling me that's the answer to my deprived wave count condition. I mean, I was frustrated to the point of exasperation.

My wave count, sitting downline from the crowded pack at the peak, has been like one per hour - and since I get out about twice a month, for about two hours each time, I'm getting like 4 waves a month. Can you see the problem? I'm trying to get my sea legs back after 23 years away, and 4 waves a month at typically crowded so. cal. surf breaks is not cutting it!

So I decided to build me a longboard. But that takes time. Furthermore, I felt a bit bumfuzzled trying to decide on a longboard shape, since I've never ridden one! So I wanted to start by buying a used longboard, and seeing what I could learn from it. But even used, they're expensive, money is tight, bla bla bla. You know the drill, we've all been there, or are there now. Tough times, etc.

I found a couple that were pretty cheap - that I didn't really like. Then I found a couple I really liked, but the price - ouch!

I didn't want to spend irresponsibly. We're struggling to pay our bills, and I'm gonna run out and spend a chunk of change on a new toy? My mrs. never complains about how I spend (I count my blessings for that!), but still, I have a conscience you know! So I said a little prayer. I said This is important to me, but I want to be balanced in this decision. Help me out here.

I was standing in the bathroom, in front of the vanity, with my eyes closed, saying my prayer. If you don't believe in the power of prayer, you can skip the rest. I opened my eyes, and I kid you not, there was a little wad of money staring me in the face!

It turns out the medicine cabinet door was open, and the money was partially hidden behind a bottle. It startled me! Took me awhile to figure out what happened - it turns out I had stashed a bit away when I sold my old pickup truck some time back, and had completely forgotten about it!

So with my newfound cash in pocket, I made the 2-hour drive to Paso Robles to look at one of the Craigslist boards I liked, and made an offer. For the amount I found - what I could afford. They said Yes, and that was that, I'm now the proud owner of a 9' Rockin' Fig longboard!

Mind you , I don't want to be a wave hog. I just want to up my wave count from 4 a month, and maybe, just maybe (dare I wish), begin to get my sea legs back!!

anybody out there?

Come on, all you blogwriters, I don't want to write this blog, I just want to read it LOL!!

I don't have any pics of late - maybe I can find something to add to this. Oh yeah, this is an Emilio Hernandez longboard I saw in Ventura - catches any wave in the vicinity!

I'm off to go look at a couple of boards for sale - maybe I'll be getting my first real longboard! (gettin' older, you know, guess its time I started riding the 'old guys' board hahaha!)