Since having my Hernia op i've been going to physio and pilates. I have learnt so much about stretching and as much i keep myself reasonably fit. I still have only learnt the degree of stretching i need. Hopefully this will improve my surfing aswell. The only stretch i can't really find is one for my arms/shoulders before a surf. Anyone got any tips????
I try and really get my lower back and groin to streach out before a surf, my mate did his groin and he was out for ages 
I stretched slowly over and hour this morning before heading down for a surf. Can't believe the difference, was still a bit rusty not surfed much lately but body felt so much better on the first wave.
Stretching as a pre-sport warm-up does not actually prevent injury. If you do it regularly on it's own, it promotes flexibility and that's what helps reduce chances of doing something. It's more of a psychological thing.
What you want to do before any hard exercise is warm up you body and get the blood flowing. This is what warm-ups are for. A little jog up the beach is better than the couple minutes stretch staring at the waves.
In saying that, you also don't want to stretch your shoulders too much. It's held in place predominantly by ligaments susupending it in it's capsule. Stretching too much may even loosen the joint and you'll end up with shoulders that may 'pop' out a lot or increase your chances of that.
I agree newguy, i was always taught that you should do joint and muscle "movements", rather than stretches before a surf. get the blood flowing
and stretching/yoga sessions on their own to improve your flexibility.
Awesome advice guys, thanks heaps. Its all food for thought for me. Am big on self improvement and gonna do what it takes to get right.
yes I agree. Read a paper on this recently. If you want to stretch you should do static (still) stretches first then do movements such as a run, moving yoga
I am a big advocate for the connection between yoga and surfing.
updog - when your on a steep wave stops nose dive
warrior - getting your foot inbetween your hands helps the lower abs which are so important for the jump up
If your weak in the core - pilates, if you need flexibilty and strength - yoga
also my old housemate goes for male:female ratio
My front foot ends up under my back knee not between my hands (if that makes any sense)
it you do a sun salutation sequence there is a part where you go from a down dog to putting your foot inbetween your hands. That is something which really helped me going from arching back just after paddling to jump up.
put the foot your about to bring towards your hands straight up and back behind you first (http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/2338), then bring through to hands. It should come further This is a trick I was taught which really helps me on those still days.
Also with down dog try 1/2 down dog on a wall. Focus on bringing heart down
www.ehow.com/video_4944898_yoga-downward-facing-dog-wall.html
that will help you feel what a down dog should feel like. Then when you go to do a full down dog bend your knees a lot to get a better shape in the upper back. It's first about the shoulders and back opening then you can start to pedal your feet up and down (lift and raise heels) to slowly stretch out the hamstrings.
It takes me 10 sun salutations to get to my normal state of flexibility.
the most important thing too is to breathe.....sounds simple but everyone holds their breath when the first start yoga (I still do it at times)
