In the UK, a wetsuit is essential.  Consider if you will be surfing in winter or summer, because this will affect the amount of time you will be able to spend in the water.  A wetsuit is made from neoprene, and works by trapping a layer of water between the suit and your body, which gets warm.  If you go under water, the warm water is flushed out, and the warming process begins again.

Hence you need a wetsuit that fits snugly, with tight fitting wrists, ankles and neck.  Ensure your suit is comfortable and you can move quite freely.  Do not get it so snug that you cannot move.  The thickness of the neoprene determines how warm the suit is.  A summer suit will often be a 2/3, i.e. the suit has some parts 2mm, e.g. arms for better movement, and some parts 3mm, e.g. torso for more warmth.  A winter suit can be a 5/4/3.  5mm for the chest, 4mm for the arms and legs, and 3 for joints. Spend as much as you can afford, thicker suits are more expensive than summer suits, think about whether you will be surfing in winter. Tthe water is at its coldest in the UK in March, so even if you duck out of the water in December and Janaury, the water is April will probably be colder! You will regret buying a thinner suit if you have to leave the water because your ** are freezing and all your mates are still in the waves.

When you get to the shop, try on several makes, choose the suit most comfortable which allows you freedom to move, pay attention to the neck, wrists and ankles - ensure they are tight enough to keep water out, whilst still comfortable.

There are two styles of suit available; the full suit - long arms and legs, or the shortie - short arms and legs.  Combine this will the thickness of the neoprene, and you will see there are a few factors to consider.  Your best bet is to go to a surf shop with a decent range of suits, and ask for some help in choosing one.

If you are a man buy a man's suit, if you are a woman buy a womans suit. The former statement is quite obvious, but many women end up with men's suits because the surf shop doesn't stock enough womens suits. As we all know men and women are different shapes! If you are an odd shape, consider a custom suit.

I personally own a 5/4/3 suit for winter, along with boots, gloves and hat for October to May surfing, and a 2/3 for the summer with boots only.

When wearing your wetsuit, you may get a rash.  To combat this, you can by a rash vest.  This is a short or long sleeved lycra vest to wear under your wetsuit. (This can also give you an extra layer of warmth).  Or you can use vaseline in the tender spots.  I tend to smear my neck with vaseline to protect from rash and to improve the seal with the suit, which cuts down on cold water flush-outs.

And finally do look after your suit. When you get back from a session, rinse it out well in fresh water and hang it up to dry out of direct sunlight. Every now and again you may consider putting a suit in the washing machine - use a very low temperature and a tiny bit of a washing liquid (something along the lines of Woolite, or Soft and Gentle). This will help to stop the suit from smelling! Make sure suits are completely dry before storing. Check over your suits before you put them away for the season and get any torn or worn seams or patches professionally mended ready for the return of that season next year.

Regular swimming is always going to help.  Do a few lengths with a float between your legs, forcing you to use the upper body only.  This will give you good paddling fitness.  Front crawl is the stroke most similar to anything you will be doing on your board.  Remember that to catch a wave, you will need to match it's speed for a period of time.  The more powerful the wave, the greater the strength and stamina required.

Press-ups and squat thrusts are good exercises that can be done at home.  Try normal press-ups, to build stamina for jumping up.  Try explosive press-ups (push up as fast as possible, clap your hands, and go back down) to improve the fast movement of your muscles.

Balance practice can be a good idea.  Try standing on one leg for a length of time.  Try it while doing things like putting on or taking off a shoe.

You will need to establish whether you are goofy footed or not, i.e. which leg is your leading one.  (You will then attach the leash to the leg at the back).

One way of doing this, is to take a quick run, and skid to a stop as if you were sliding on a frozen puddle.  The leg you automatically put forward will be your front leg.

back to getting started surfing page 1