Editor’s Note: The following post comes to you from the good people at Ocean Spray PACt.
Erica Hosseini is surfing quite often lately. Not that she didn’t surf all the time before, but it’s different now. You see, for a solid decade after graduating high school, she was a full-time WQS competitor. But a string of injuries and the roller coaster that comes with recovery led her to a decision to stop competing.
So that means surfing is no longer about training for a contest, or looking at a wave for its potential score. She can miss a turn without getting stressed, which she says is just one of the things that’s made it all more fun these days. I’m hearing all this, and I feel the need to ask now that she’s living a completely different lifestyle: What are 5 things that help you get in the water every day? She fires back with these quick pointers:
1. Wake up and look for waves.
“My lifestyle is still exactly the same outside of jet setting around the world. I still wake up and have a passion to want to surf. I live right across the street from the beach so I wake up and check the cams while I’m still in bed. I take my dog for a walk and that’s my morning surf check to see what the winds are doing. And if it looks good I’ll run straight in so I can start my day off right.”
2. Stay in surfing shape.
“When I come in it’s still early enough (8:30 – 9 o’clock) to make a plan for the rest of my day and what I want to accomplish. When the waves aren’t great that can be yoga or a spin class, some kind of workout (running is not the go to exercise anymore because of my knee). I always try to eat as healthy as possible. And I think it’s important to stay healthy and active. Even if it’s just a bike ride on the boardwalk. With me being injured, I’m trying not to push myself so hard on the fitness level that I’m used to, but I do allow myself to do exercises that will maintain my surfing ability.”
3. Get that second surf when you have the chance.
“Depending on the day, I’ll always try to get in the water again, especially because the water’s been so warm this year. Not having to put on a wetsuit makes it that much more appealing when the waves are bad because you can go out in your bikini – no suiting up, no booties and the whole debacle. That’s a treat in itself.”
4. A significant other who surfs will keep you frothing.
“My boyfriend is a shaper. So I get a level of frothing from him. He’s from Australia and he loves to surf too. Let’s say I’ve been surfing a lot the last couple days, and now it’s not that great today so I’m not as motivated. Meanwhile, he’s been working and hasn’t been able to surf, so now he has to. He pushes me and gets me out there on those days that maybe I’m just not as excited about it. On those days, when you have the push, you always end up happy when you come in from surfing. You never end up regretting it.”
5. Stay active when work gets crazy.
“Usually I don’t have to work weeks at a time. It’s a day here and a day there, so fitting in a surf when I have a super busy work schedule I’m not so crucial about it like when I was competing. But if the waves are good, just like everybody else, I’m going to surf. If I miss a session because of a busy work day I still try to fit something active into my day. If the waves are fun, you surf. If they’re not so fun, go exercise or go for a paddle and get out of the house so you’re ready to go when there are waves.”
