The How to of Surfing Waves for Beginners: Paddling

One of the most important things to learn to be most effective in surfing waves out in the ocean is how to paddle. Unless you are on a paddleboard and have a paddle you will be using two very good resources-your hands. Lay your board on the sand, position yourself on the board and expand your arms out to your side, your elbows will be bent; then one after the other reach your hands out on the side of the board till they are fully extended towards the top of the board, pulling your hand back towards your feet palms facing towards your feet, pull each hand bank one after the other, like doing the freestyle stroke, just on top of a board. Dig down as if you were going to scoop out a big handful of sand and push towards the back of the board. Now, hop in the water and do the same, your fingers should be closed, you do not want to be paddling with your fingers spread, no leverage. It helps if you have big paddling hands but if not squeezing your fingers together like a scooper helps. You also want to dig deep enough so you can have enough water resistance to propel you forward. If you paddle too shallow, you wont get that resistance, and if you paddle too deep the process of paddling, scooping deep than bringing your hands up will take too long and tire you out.
The best form for paddling would be to use your abs and back to slightly lift your chest away from the board.
For some people, paddling for waves will come naturally, but for others it will be the first time using certain muscles, even football players or weight lifters will feel muscles being used that have never been used before. Surfing for those first months or years will be a painful experience; for a couple of days after the your first surf session, you will be sore. Don't let this detract you from surfing, just think gorgeous arms and back because that is what you will get. Once you get the paddling down you will be able to paddle into any wave, or paddle out to catch the first wave. Happy surfing waves!