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During surf contest it is inevitable that sometimes there are sharks circling in the waves as well. I love to surf. I love to travel. The great thing about these 2 loves is that they go han d in hand. I’ve gone a little bit further than most people though, and made these passions my life. I moved to Australia’s Gold Coast and set up a surfboard rental company that endeavours to bring together, all the services the travelling surfer needs.

The business is based around a long term surfboard rental concept which includes services such as delivery and pickup. This part is great. I make sure I deliver as many boards as I can as it affords me the luxury of chatting to my clients about the passions we share. Usually these conversations are packed with useful tips about the services they’d like to see next year. So I try to listen, improve my business and provide them with those services when they return.

“I wish I was a little bit fitter for this holiday”, so many of my clients tell me when returning their surfboards. This is the number 1 desire of the travelling surfers who use my services. The want a higher level of surfing fitness for their holidays. It makes sense really. When you go on a surfing trip, you end up surfing 2 – 3 times a day, which will probably equates to 4 – 6 hours a day in the water. This you do consistently over a period of 5 – 10 days. It is a lot of surfing. No matter how much you surf at home, you will be surfing more when on holiday.

So how can we condition ourselves for a surfing holiday. (Ie. When on holiday, you will spend much more time in the water paddling than you will at home, your fitness needs to be much higher) In this article we will look at a 3 point plan. The first 2 points should be part of your commitment to general fitness, the last will be to give your fitness a quick boost before your holiday.

The first thing you need to take care of is your general level of endurance. You need to be fit enough to go hard for 10 – 15 minutes minimum, as often this is the minimum paddling requirement for getting through the breakers and out the back.

This requirement needs to be specific to the water though. You need to be water fit. Endurance in the water is so different to endurance on land. Moving through the water is almost a feeling, an art. The worse your feel for the water is, the more energy you’ll burn up when you take to it.

So you really need to get into the water for some form of exercise at least twice a week. This could mean swimming with a swim squad at your local pool, surfing your local break, or do what I did and join the local surf lifesavers. Their training sessions have me in the water all the time. You need to view this as a life commitment (training in the water that is). Get into the water twice a week for the rest of your life, thats the only way you’ll build and maintain water specific endurance.

The second key is flexibility and core strength. These two facets can not be developed quickly, they must be developed over the long term. And by long term, I mean years. So don’t put this off. Start working on your flexibility and core strength today. I know, the exercises can be boring, but it all pays off on the waves.

There is one thing I do to take care of my core strength and flexibility. Yoga. Yoga is so good in this regard for surfers, its almost as if yoga was invented for surfing. My suggestion, get yourself a yoga for surfing dvd and do the program twice a week. Its a little bit cheaper than going to the yoga clinic twice a week anyway.

Also, even the simple act of paddling requires you to over-arch your back, creating a distortion in the development of your back muscles. Yoga sorts all these types of issues out, as well as conditioning your body. My advice, get yourself a surf specific yoga DVD and do it 2 or 3 times a week.

If you take care of the two items above (Ie water fitness and flexibility/core strength) you can give your surfing fitness a real booster by doing a functional training program specific to surfing. The point of functional training is it focuses in on the specific muscle and fitness requirements of a sport (in this case surfing) and trains those muscles in accordance with the needs of the sport.

To embellish, you’re reasonably fit and flexible because of the healthy outdoors lifestyle you lead. However, in recognising the additional load the surfing holiday is going to put on your body, you give it a short and sharp boost right where it needs it, so you can cope better and recover quicker from any session in the water. Which is exactly what you want on holiday as your next session is only hours away.

I hope this helps you prepare for your next surfing trip where ever it may be. We all know training can sometimes be a bit of a drag, just remember how much more fun those surfing days are when the waves, your skill and your body all come together at the same time, so you can catch that elusive perfect wave.

Damian Papworth is the owner of Gold Coast Surfboards, a company that finds services for travelling surfers’ requirements. From board hire to surfing fitness, they’ll sort it out for you.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Damian_Papworth/343700

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Choose from a wide selection of meats, fresh salads, tasty sides, sweets, condiments and spreads for your bbq catering Sydney menu. When a client comes to you for a catering job, the possibilities seem endless. Will they want fluted salads, ornate appetizer platters or a simple plated meal? Will you be serving food at a wedding, corporate retreat or anniversary party? How much food you’ll provide depends, of course, on several factors, including the type of event and how many people are attending.

Start With the People

Always start with a count of the number of people attending the event. To get the most accurate headcount possible, give a deadline to your client so you know the number of people will not change. Let the client know that having an accurate headcount will help to eliminate extra expenses and food waste. A deadline also ensures you have enough time to purchase and prepare the food.

Gather all the Details

You’ll also need to consider if the event is formal, like a wedding, or casual, like a retirement party. This may affect the type of food being served as well as the quantities and price. At formal events, guests typically eat one serving, but guests may graze or go back for seconds at a casual event.

You will also need to take into account how the food will be served, such as plated or buffet style. It is often a little more expensive to serve plated food because servers will need to attend to the tables and guests. The same is true if servers will be passing around hors d’oeuvres versus having them set at a table. Again, people are likely to help themselves to more food at a buffet than if it’s plated and served.

Specify a Budget Limit

Some clients want to keep costs very low while throwing a lavish party. For others, cost is not an issue. Knowing what money you have at your disposal will help you determine how to better plan the menu and figure out how much food to serve.

Create the Menu

Once you have all of this information in hand, start planning the menu by asking your client if there are any specific food requests or any restrictions. Get a feel for what type of food he wants and how he wants it served. If he wants some higher-priced items like seafood served along with a simple salad, you’ll be able to let him know in advance how that will affect the budget. You and your client may have to hold several conversations as you finalize the menu.

Determine the Amount of Food

Now comes the fun part: purchasing the food. Think in terms of 1 ½ pounds of food per person as a starting place. In most situations this is more than enough food, so don’t worry if you end up actually making a little less. Divide this amount among the various dishes you will be making, and assess which menu items people are likely to eat in the largest quantities. People generally take more of the main dishes and less of the side dishes.

Figure at least two units per person for finger food items served as discrete units (such as stuffed grape leaves or canapes). Prepare more of a particular dish if there will be a limited number of appetizers and less if there will be a substantial variety.

For proteins, one chicken breast, three to four lamb cutlets or two lamb chops or about ½ pound of beef per person should be adequate. If you’re serving 50 people, for example, you’ll need something along the lines of 25 pounds of chicken breast, 20 pounds of pork or 15 pounds of fish. For 100 people, those numbers would double.

When serving large groups, it’s often easier to purchase by weight instead of individually. That way you err on the side of having extra just in case you need it. That includes condiments such as butter that you’ll need as well.

Catering to Special Dietary Restrictions

The reality in the catering world today is that a good number of your clients will ask for meals that incorporate special dietary restrictions. This will skew your numbers on a wide variety of food categories.

With vegetarian meals, of course, you’ll save money by eliminating meat, poultry and seafood courses, but that could be offset by an increased number of vegetable dishes. In addition, you’ll need to pay special attention to providing dishes that include vegetable protein such as beans, tofu and nuts.

The increasing number of people with diabetes can create a customer base looking for low-carb menus. In addition, the Keto low-carb lifestyle is one of the most popular weight-loss programs in the country. Catering to a low-carb crowd will mean additional meat servings as well as a larger variety of vegetable and dairy dishes while restricting or eliminating pasta, bread, potatoes, fruit and other catering staple items.

A picnic rug hire can be celebrated here at best picnic places in Central Park. One of the best things to do on a sunny spring or summer day is a picnic in the park.

Here are the 7 best picnic spots in Central Park, whether you bring your own food or purchase take-out at one of the local cafes. Just be sure to clean up after yourself and help keep the park clean.

Great Lawn

Everybody’s favorite picnic area, especially for the free annual concerts by the New York Philharmonic. The Great Lawn is 55-acres of wide open space, and it’s at the geographical center of Central Park.

Originally, the site was a reservoir, but in the 1930s it was filled in with excavation material from Rockefeller Center. Today, the Great Lawn is a great place to chill out.

• Mid-park between 79th St. and 85th St.

Sheep Meadow

This 15-acre pasture was home to a flock of sheep until 1934, and how it got its name.

Today, it is sprawling lawn that is one of the most popular places in Central Park to relax and sunbathe or enjoy a bite to eat.

Sheep Meadow also is one of Central Park’s eight designated “quiet zones,” which means that you cannot play any music while you are there (you must wear headphones), and dogs are not allowed.

In quiet zones, you are also not allowed to feed birds or other wildlife, so make sure to dispose of your crumbs rather than leaving them for the squirrels.

If you don’t want to bring your own picnic basket to Sheep Meadow, it is close to the Mineral Springs Pavilion and to Tavern on the Green, where you can buy food.

• Between W. 66th and W. 69th St., close to Central Park West

Belvedere Castle

Located on a hill, mid-park at 79th St., the castle area offers one of the best views of both the park and the city skyline.

Set up your picnic blanket in one of the lawns near the castle for a romantic meal and a great photo op at the same time.

• Mid-park at 79th st.

Great Hill

This is in the heavily wooded, northern part of the park. Surrounded by elms, it is both shady and the only part of the park where you can enjoy your meal at a picnic table.

There also  is a public restroom here.

• West side of the park, between 103rd and 107th Streets. Enter at Central Park West and 106th St.

Bow Bridge

The Bow Bridge is one of the most picturesque – and recognizable – spots in Central Park. It has been the setting for a many movies, including “You’ve Got Mail”, and it’s usually at the top of the list as one of the most romantic spots in the city. The bridge links Cherry Hill (with many flowers) to the Ramble (woodlands).

It’s best to picnic on the gentle slopes of Cherry Hill overlooking the bridge. 

The iconic Central Park Bow Bridge was repaired and refurbished in 2015 and is now more beautiful than ever.  It’s also the cover of my NYC guidebook, Peaceful Places in NYC.

• Mid-park around 72nd St.

Strawberry Fields

It is a living memorial to John Lennon, who lived near here, at the Dakota, at the corner of Central Park West and 72nd St. If you visit Strawberry Fields, make sure you keep your voice down, since it is one of the park’s designated quiet zones.

• West side of the park between W. 71st St. and W. 74th St.

The Pool in Central Park

Despite its name, this is not a swimming area, but rather a man-made lake created by damming up a natural stream in the park.

• Northwest area of the park between W. 100th and 103rd St. and provides an area of solitude in the hustle and bustle of the city.