The 32-year-old was forced to withdraw from the current men’s tour event in Puerto Rico. His family has confirmed he was found dead in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday after being too ill to board a connecting flight home to Kauai. There are reports he died from dengue fever.

Irons claimed three consecutive world titles from 2002 to 2004. ASP international media manager Dave Prodan says Irons’s death is a massive blow to the world sporting community.

“This is in my opinion one of the most devastating losses, not just to the surfing world, but to the international sporting community in general,” he said from Puerto Rico. ”Obviously Andy was more than just a three-time ASP world champion. He was a hero to literally millions of kids who surfed and who didn’t surf around the world, and to grown-ups as well.

“I can’t imagine the impact this is going to have but it’s certainly something that we will feel the world over for many years to come.”

Mr Prodan says ASP extends its thoughts and sympathies to Irons’s family. ”It’s a massive blow here to everyone in Puerto Rico just finding out in the last hour, so we’re all sorting through the feelings at the moment … it’s an incredible shock,” he said.

“Andy has been a staple in the professional sporting world for over a decade and this year marked a rebuilding year for him and he’s been winning events and surfing incredibly well.

“I think throughout his career people would say that he is one of the healthiest, strongest individuals you’ve ever met.” Irons is the only professional surfer to win at every location on the world tour, racking up 19 victories in a terrific career.

He was one of the few surfers to consistently match nine-time world champion and fellow American Kelly Slater. Irons’s last event win came in Tahiti in early September.

You never know what Mother Nature

The joy of surfing is that I am my own coach and student at the same time. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey … If you fall, it’s just water … If you aren’t falling, you aren’t learning. These simple rules sit in the forefront of  every surf session like a code, a mantra. They remind me to remain light-hearted and self-aware during every surf session. Surfing can be unique, spiritual, educational, and always a classroom in session from Mother Ocean.

I push myself to try new things or motivate myself to grow. When my surfer’s motivation starts to wane, I regain direction by creating a surf plan that contains two positive actions. The first one is a small task or surf move that I have been meaning to try or work on, and the second is a resulting long-term goal. I immediately do the smaller task … like taking an extra step towards the nose, or focusing on the positioning of my feet as I carve a turn. This creates positive momentum. After that I take the first step towards achieving the long-term goal … in this example it would be hanging ten (toes on the nose!) or whipping a wicked backside!  Doing this periodically is great for getting out of a slump, creating positive reinforcement, and getting long-term plans moving.

I get that some of us like a slow and steady day, but this isn’t about type a and type b personalities … it’s about surfing and creating a more enjoyable session as inspired by Ali Hale’s article.

Get Up Earlier : This particular one is a personal favorite since I surf dawn patrol most of the time … where the line ups are less crowded, more friendly, and enjoyable. Just when the crowds (especially over the weekends) are pulling in at the parking stalls, I have already logged two to three hours of water time. As a bonus, I get to watch the sun rise as I am stretching on the beach. Even better, if you’re out early enough, you have a 30 minute window where you’re the only one in the water and the line up … empty waves!

Create a Plan : I get the most grief over this one, often being accused of being ‘type a’ … but it’s about prepping everything the night before so that I don’t have to rush around early in the morning when I am getting up early to surf. I already checked the board for dings and damage, rewaxed the board if it needed wax (so I don’t have to beg for wax at the lineup), packed my gear and towel – fin key, leash, sun block, plus snacks and water – AND placed everything near the front door so I don’t have to go looking for it in the morning. This is especially helpful if you have to go to school or work directly after surfing!

Batch Tasks Together : Constantly jumping from one task to another often causes confusion and chaos at work, and although you may feel ‘buzzed’ by all the activity, you often don’t get much done. What can you batch together while surfing? The ‘planning’ part helps here … I can get up early, go for a 30 minute run or a quick yoga session, stretch, surf like a king, and stop by the supermarket for milk and eggs … you get the gist!

Block Out Chunks of Time :  This is where most weekend surfers fail … and newbie surfer succeed. You MUST take the time to go and surf. Yes, we all have chores, homework, to-do lists, and jobs … but you have to block out a chunk of time of your day to go and enjoy the surf. Your body will thank you for it, your family and friends will love you more for not being so grouchy or tense!

Don’t Multitask : You know this one! You sacrifice one task at the cost of another … and although you may think you are doing 2 things at once, you are actually doing two things at 50% efficiency and concentration. With that in mind, once you paddle out into the water (hopefully even as you wake up and get into the routine of going to surf) LEAVE everything behind. The shoreline becomes an invisible barrier for all things not surf-related. Surfing is all about surf … it needs your full focus and attention at the present moment … once you lose focus, you ruin your session and end up not getting either your surfing or whatever was occupying your mind completed with any satisfaction.

Stay Focused : I don’t even have to say much on this … just BE IN THE MOMENT!

Finish Work On Time : That’s right … if you say surf for an hour, you are done in an hour … so don’t cheat yourself by not doing any of the items that came before this one. All the tasks and advice above are the things that contribute to being able to enjoy a session fully, without having to feel rushed or cheated!

As I sat in what little shade I could find, desperately trying to shield any part of my body from the piercing rays of the mid-day sun, I saw her walking down the street. All of about five years old – pig-tails and all – dressed in her navy blue school girl uniform being led down the street by her mother.

It was a hot and busy day, with most people zooming around in a frenetic attempt to complete their mid-day tasks and then run for cover from the sun once again. I SPY: this woman, with her cell phone in hand glued to her ear in full volume conversation, and multiple shopping bags full of ‘must-have’ goodies, was rushing down the street with her daughter, in the same attempt to get out of the sun’s rays. People raced all around them, and as her mother continued to engage in conversation on her phone, her bags slung haphazardly through her right forearm, she clung tightly to her daughter’s left forearm to prevent her from wandering off or disappearing into the thick crowd.

The little girl knew that this act of public detainment was for her own safety. Mom MUST hold on to her, so that she does not get lost. I am quite sure that much like the rest of us at that age, the fear of strangers and the dangers that they pose was constantly drilled into her ever-impressionable mind. However, mom was almost three times taller than her beloved little girl, who at this point resembled a rag-doll being dragged down the street by a 6 foot dog by her arm than a mother and daughter on a casual walk. But try and keep up this little girl did … she was a little trooper. Besides, mom knew what was best for her.

And then it happened. She got an itch. Her right elbow began to tickle, then twitch, and then escalated to feeling more like a swarm of mosquitos had declared war on her funny bone. And if you have ever had an itch you couldn’t scratch, you may know how this little girl was starting to feel.

Must … not … try … (itchy) to … let … go (oh so very itchy). Mom may get mad at what she would perceive as an attempt to escape the grip, and voicing her slowly building discomfot at the ant hill of an itch would most definitely be considered as an untimely interruption upon her important phone conversation.

And so shackled by her mother’s kung-fu grip on her left forearm, and a raging firestorm of an itch on her right elbow … she did the only thing she could do. She started to bite and gnaw at her itch. With her teeth. Using her tiny little teeth like a squirrel on speed desperately trying to open a stubborn nut, she scratched that elbow with her teeth for everything she was worth. Gnaw, bite, scratch.

I began to laugh out loud at this scene, watching what looked like a little girl attempting to gnaw her arm off from the elbow. I laughed freely, without a care for who may have been around. And as mother and child walked directly in front of me – still hiding in the shade of a sad little canopy – she stopped biting, looked at me and smiled a smile that could have only been the relief brought about by scratching an itch that could not have been easily scratched. As I watched them move on, slowly disappearing from view, I noticed she began to skip tiny little steps … happy that the ordeal was over with.

There are no referees in the water. There are no cops, supervisors, principals or mommies to run to when things go wrong. Surfers conduct themselves by a loose set of principles, which get passed down through the generations the way a mother bird teaches its young to fly, by nudging them out of the nest.

I can only tell you enough so that you can venture into the water and begin learning for yourself. Feel the rules. In the line-up, the vibe will tell you what’s going on. The breeze will tell whether it is a day for sharing waves, or every-man-for-himself. Close your eyes and you will know whether it is a day for solemn silence, or a day to hoot and shout.

The vibe will tell you.You’ll know when you know. You will.

Your traditional gym workouts will take care of your strength and aerobic requirements, and your yoga class will be more than adequate for flexibility. However, for surf-specific coordination, agility, balance and proprioception, you will need a surf-specific workout.

What is Sport-Specific Training?

In the past decade, sport scientists have begun to reevaluate the way we get fit for a specific sport. Past sport training programs usually involved isolation exercises, which strengthened the muscles used for the sport. However, according to movement science research, traditional strength training does little to enhance sport-specific skill. As such, trainers are now using the dynamic pattern theory of motor learning, which states that the brain is more efficient at memorizing movement patterns than it is at muscular isolation. For example, consider the traditional leg extension machine. Its movements are in no way similar to those used in surfing. Now, imagine a squat, performed in a surfer’s stance on a Bosu or wobble board. The exercise now resembles the movements of surfing, and is therefore a better way to enhance surf-specific skills.

Surf Balance

Let’s start with balance training. Surfing requires three different types of balance:

• Dynamic Balance is balance in motion. This is in sharp contrast to the postures you perform in yoga class.
• Anticipatory Balance is related to agility. It means that you can anticipate the next pattern of the waves, and prepare accordingly.
• Transitional Balance is required for movement fluidity.

When choosing exercises for a surf-fitness program, it’s important to select workouts that enhance all three types of balance. Fortunately, with the excellent variety of balance-training tools on the market, it’s possible to cover all three aspects in one exercise. For example, the Stability Ball Toss and Catch is a superb exercise for developing core strength, agility and balance.

You will need a partner for this exercise:
Partners sit facing each other on the ball, about one foot away. One person sits upright. The other holds the ball from the “crunch” position. · The person holding the ball tosses it to her partner. This brings her to the upright position. · As the partner catches the ball, she goes into the crunch position. Only do as many repetitions as you can perform using good form. Stop if either partner feels the exercise in their neck or lower back.

Bosu for Surfers:
The Bosu is another fantastic piece of surf-fitness training equipment. There are two sides to a Bosu; the dome side and the platform side. The dome side exercises are similar to those performed on a stability ball, while the platform side is similar to a balance or wobble board. As such, the Bosu is an excellent investment for anyone who does not have the funds and/or the room for a stability ball and a balance board. The Bosu is an excellent tool for developing proprioception, which is your body’s awareness of its position, posture and alignment in space. Since water environments are not similar to the typical concrete on which we walk, proprioception is extremely important for surfers.

Proprioceptive skills also enhance dynamic, anticipatory and transitional balance skills.

Try this Bosu Proprioception Exercise: Start by simply standing on the Bosu. Now close your eyes. You will probably feel an exaggeration of the body’s mechanisms for adjusting to balance challenges. Open your eyes and raise one arm. Follow it with your eyes. Keep following your hand as you bring it down, to the left and right, and back behind you. Repeat this using your opposite arm. When you become comfortable with the Bosu, turn it over and use it as a wobble board. Stand on the board and shift your weight forwards and backwards, and then side to side. Try a few squats. Can you keep the board centered? Surf-Agility Plyometric exercises on the Bosu are great for developing surf-specific strength, balance coordination and agility.

Check out the Bosu Jump, Toss and Squat v Stand on top of the Bosu. Feet are parallel, and open to the width of your average surf stance. v Inhale and jump. v As you exhale, land in this sequence: Toes first, then the ball of the foot, then the heels, then squat. If you body is in correct alignment, there will be minimal wobbling of the feet upon landing. However, don’t expect to be paralyzed! Remember, athletic balance is dynamic. There may be some small degree of motion occurring. You can add agility training to this exercise by tossing a medicine ball in the air as you jump up, and catching it when you land in the squat. Surf’s up! Are you ready? Get on board with a surf fitness plan!

…

I once read that the movements involved in the surfing pop-up is similar to that of an explosive push up. I also read somewhere that the pop-up should be broken down into simple steps in order to build muscle memory. I have read a great number of things about surfing’s elusive pop-up, and although all of them analyze one aspect or another of this critical maneuver, they do agree on one thing: The popup should be a single fluid motion!

And so, on this day of my return to surfing I am focusing on making my pop-ups one single fluid motion. A slight push up and an arched back (which always reminds me of yoga’s cobra pose), a quick look in either direction for good measure, and in one motion I swing my legs forward and a bit sideways as my arms create a slight pendulum for my body. The mechanics are always there in my head, but six months of land locked living needs a bit of a refresher to get back into the sing of things.

I tire way too quickly, an obvious lack of conditioning in my paddling … a far cry from surfing two to three hour sessions 5 days a week. And as I sat on the beach exhausted and elated, I began to list the surfing pop-up tips I have amassed over the years:

• Try not to end up on your knees. This is a tough habit to break!
• Grabbing the rails makes it easier to slip off and give yourself a fat lip!
• The popup should be a single fluid motion
• When you first start off on a longboard, you use your toes to prop yourself up and hop to a standing position … short board pop-ups are exactly the same except your knees take the place of your toes
• Hold the arched-back push-up position for a second or two to be sure you have caught the wave before completing the pop-up
• Practicing your pop-ups on dry land is one of the best things you can do to improve your surfing
• Think paddle, paddle, paddle, bang – you’re up!
• Be fast, be smooth, be explosive!
• When you push up on your board, you are also twisting your torso and jumping into a standing position

None of these are a good substitute for getting out on a moving wave and practicing your pop-ups, but they do have merit. In the end, it is all about your on personal style and preference that dictates what works for you.