Top Tips for Surf Camp for Beginners

It is exciting attending a surf camp. You get to meet a whole lot of new people and to engage in exciting new activities at some nice beach. For a beginner, the experience can be overwhelming, especially not knowing what to expect. Here are a few tips to help beginners.

Gear and Equipment

The first thing you should have is a proper surfboard, closely followed by a comfortably fitting wetsuit or trunks. Never start with a short surfboard, only pros can handle that. A good size board for adults should be somewhere between 8ft 6in and 10ft. A loose wetsuit will be itchy and irritating and may result in you getting rushes or even bleeding. Plus it will make it harder for you to paddle or stand up. A fitting wet suit has the added advantage of keeping your body warm. Once you have picked out your surf board and wet suit, you will also require a surfboard leash and some surf wax. The surf wax is not necessary if you surfboard is built with a traction pad. You may not need to separately purchase other equipment like fins because they may come already attached to the surfboard.

Safety

The best safety tip for surfing beginners is to be prepared. Research a little about surfing, get into shape, practice on the beach outside the water, listen to you instructor, and when you finally venture into the water, choose a spot with gentle waves. One important thing, improve your swimming skills long before you start your surfing lessons. If you can get a patrolled spot, that would be best. Take care to avoid crowded spots. Most surf camps like the El Salvador Surf Camp ensure that they have patrols on the areas specially designated for beginners. Make sure you go with a friend, especially one with surfing experience.

Etiquette

For great enjoyment and safety while surfing the waves, there are a few unwritten rules that you should bear in mind. These rules include:

1. Don’t drop in: Always observe the right of way, do not drop in front of surfers who are already riding the waves.

2. No Snaking: Avoid paddling around other people looking for an opportunity to get into the inside position.

3. Show respect: You should respect your fellow surfers, especially the locals. Do not mob their favorite spots during their favorite surf hours. If those are the best spots, you could go there one or two at a time, leaving them enough space to do their thing.

4. Paddling out: You should never paddle into others’ paths or throw your board in front.

5. Share the waves: Even though you may be the fastest in catching the next wave each time, allow others to enjoy the fun. Otherwise it will irritate them and that will be less fun all around.

There are more unwritten rules and learning them is easy. When in doubt, just use your common sense. Treat other surfers like you would treat your neighbors when sharing a street back home.

Fitness

Surfing is fun, but it requires a lot of stamina. You should be physically fit to learn fast and to have fun longer. As mentioned before, being a good swimmer is critical for your safety. Apart from swimming, you should work on your whole body to provide you the much needed stamina and support to ride the waves.

Lessons

Once you are fully prepared then you can begin your lessons in the water. Here are some of the things you will learn from your trainer.

1. Catching the waves

2. Paddling your surfboard

3. Duck diving

4. Standing on your board

5. Bottom turns

6. Cutbacks

Have Fun
The primary objective of surfing is, and should always be, enjoying yourself to the fullest. Have fun in and out of the water.

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How to Choose the Best Baby Carrier for Your Child

Various baby transport techniques have been used across different cultures. Baby carriers are divided into two major types the wheeled devices and slings. The first wheeled baby carriers were referred to as prams. They were mainly designed of wood and were very light to push around. A well known garden architect Kent William coined their designed in the year 1733. From then, the prams have undergone progressive changes meant to improve their efficiency and to reduce their weight. Slings are the most favorite of all on-body baby carriers. They include backpack carriers and front carriers. They are generally used for very young children who lack the ability to seat or hold their backs up and straight. For those with young children, it is advisable that they know how to choose the best baby carrier for their children, below are the various ways on how to.

 1.  Consider The Baby’s Safety

When choosing the appropriate baby carrier for your child, it is important to consider the safety of the child. It is greatly advised that parents with very young children use baby slings. Baby sling backpacks are the most common and they allow the parent to work while carrying the baby around. However it is greatly advised not to do strenuous work when carrying the baby with a sling. This is because incase of a slight accident it is easy to harm the child when you fall on your back. As a precaution incase of an accident, modern sling designers have come up with the front slings. Front slings allow the parent to always be on the look out on whatever is happening to the child. Incase an accident happens and one falls on the front side, it is easy to protect the child from injury using the arms.

2.  Consider The Baby’s Age

It is very important to consider the baby’s age when purchasing a baby carrier. Parents with very young children are greatly advised to use slings instead of wheeled devices. This is because very young children lack the proper strength to hold their backs straight and also find it very hard to sit. Later on as the child’s age increases and their backs gain the strength to stay up straight and sit, the parent can consider purchasing other types of baby carriers.

3.  Price

Most wheeled baby carriers are expensive compared to baby slings. When purchasing a baby carrier for your child, it is important to consider the price before making the purchase. Most people rush and buy expensive baby carriers because of fashion or influence only to discover later on that the baby carrier serves them very little purpose yet they have spent a lot to buy them.

4.  Efficiency

It is greatly advocated that you try and find out the most efficient baby carrier for you. Baby carriers come with different efficiencies that make them the favorites among different classes of people in society.
For example, among the wheeled baby carriers, the tricycle is considered the most efficient among parents who like to go out jogging or walking with their babies. The baby carrier should be able to support the weight of the baby securely and comfortably for both baby and carer.

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Top 7 Ankle Sprain Symptoms

Ankle sprains are common injuries suffered by people from all walks of life. There are times when the initial pain may convince you that you have fractured or dislocated a bone because the pain can be agonizingly severe. The good news is that if you know how to heal an ankle, you will be back in good form before long. However, the first thing one should know is how to identify an ankle sprain. Here is a brief description of the 7 most common symptoms of ankle sprains.

1.     Trauma

The first thing the patient will notice is the spraining itself. The foot may get twisted, and the body may exert excessive pressure on the outer side of the ankle. A sharp pain may be felt and this may be accompanied by a popping sound. The imbalance may lead to a full body fall.

2.     Pain

The most obvious and persistent symptom of all, and most annoying, is the pain. From the moment you sprain your ankle, you will feel a sharp pain that may threaten to bring tears to the eyes of even the most hardened grown man. The pain is likely to persist in varying degrees for a few days, or even weeks and months, depending on your recovery time and how you handle the injury.

3.     Swelling

Quite often, a sprained ankle will result in swelling of the ankle area. Swelling is a natural part of the body’s Inflammatory Response and helps bring in immunity cells to eliminate cellular waste and debris caused by the injury.  It also brings in immunity cells responsible for repair and rebuilding of the ankle joint.

4.     Bruises

Spraining your ankle may result in some bruising around the ankle area. This is more likely if the sprain occurred while you were moving at high speeds. You can apply pain relieving ointments that may reduce the bruising and soreness around the area. Massage works great too.

5.     Tenderness

The area around your ankle is likely to be very tender to the touch after spraining. This is due to the frayed nerves and the increased fluid flow into the ankle tissue and to the bone tissues around the ankle area.

6.     Inflammation

As soon as the sprain occurs, the body will send signals that will result in increased blood flow to the ankle. This will also bring more white blood cells that aid in quick recovery. Of course, white blood cells are also responsible for inflammation. The injured tissues may also leak other fluids into the area. To counter the negative effects of such inflammation, the patient should rest with the foot up. The ankle should be raised above the waist level. This will reduce the increased blood flow to the ankle and increase the flow of blood and other fluids from the area.

7.     Redness and Warmth

Spraining your ankle will cause an increase in blood flow to the area. This will result in redness and sharp warmth in the ankle. Some massage and positioning yourself with your feet slightly raised will gradually reduce the redness and warmth.

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