How to pop-up...
"10 pops a day will keep the flops at bay!" Practising your pops is one of the best things you can do to improve your surfing without even having to get wet. Not only does it help increase your upper body strength, but practising your pops on a regular basis is a great way to keep your eye in if you don't have the luxury of surfing every day.
Find a suitable surface for your ollypop like carpet, sand or grass, lie it down and follow the tips below:
1. lie on your front, body straight
2. hands by your side, thumbs in line with lower ribs
3. arch back, get ready to spring from toes
* Short board pop ups - don't spring from the toes! You need to use your upper body strength to launch forwards. It's a lot harder, but a necessity if you're a short boarder or want to increase your core upper body strength.
4. launch forward with a twist to get front foot between hands (ACCELERATOR BOX), back foot should land about a shoulder width from front foot (anywhere in BRAKE/TURN BOX)
5. push up into standing position, knees slightly bent
6. hands stretched out either side, eyes forward
7. lean on your back foot for control or to initiate a turn
8. lean on your front foot to go faster!
When in the standing position, make sure your knees are bent but your back is straight. Your feet should be angled as marked on the Ollypop and it is essential that they cross the central stringer line.
NB Your stance may be wider or narrower than the one marked on the Ollypop. The position for your back foot will therefore be different for different surfers, but your front foot should always land in the 'accelerator' box.
Ollypop bonus tip! - You may find it helpful to practice in front of a mirror to check your stance.
IMPROVE YOUR POP-UPS - BUY YOUR OLLYPOP HERE!
The real thing...
So how does all this relate to the real thing? The pics below should give you an idea...
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Size = 2MB, Windows Media Player required
Andrea McCloud, author of 'The Girl's Guide To Surfing' available on our online shop, gives her tips on the pop up in an extract from her brilliant book:
"Your living room floor is the perfect spot to learn how to pop up from the prone to standing position, as you will do when you’ve caught a wave.
The pop up should be done in one, smooth, fluid, quick motion. Think paddle, paddle, paddle, bang – you’re up. Start by lying down on your stomach, with your hands, palms down, on either side of your chest, and legs together. Now, as quickly as you can and in one movement, push yourself up and away from the floor, arching your back, as you simultaneously pull your feet and legs underneath you. You should end up in a crouched position, head up and eyes looking forward, feet slightly wider than your shoulders, relaxed, bent knees, hips low, chest up, with one foot in front of the other, back foot perpendicular to what would be the length of the board, front foot turned out ever so slightly; arms are just bent and out from your sides, slightly forward. As you are going through the motions say to yourself: snap. Try it again; snap. And again, snap. Snap. Be fast, be smooth, be explosive. Practice this until you are able to do it with grace, speed, and consistency."
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