<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe src=\\\"\\/\\/www.youtube.com\\/embed\\/t0TZ7zR0cvU?rel=0&amp;enablejsapi=1\\\" width=\\\"640\\\" height=\\\"360\\\" frameborder=\\\"0\\\" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;\\/iframe&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;h1&gt;Top Tips from the Pros: Anthony Vela&lt;\\/h1&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Ask anyone in the SUP scene about &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/videos\\/made-in-taiwan-anthony-vela\\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;Anthony Vela&lt;\\/a&gt; and the words \\u201cnice guy\\u201d invariably come up. But behind his genial, friendly demeanor is a lion\\u2019s heart. As well as being a world-renowned lifesaver, prone paddleboarder and surfer, Vela has won premier &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/event-calendar\\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;SUP events&lt;\\/a&gt; worldwide, including the San Clemente Ocean Festival and the &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/photos\\/power-couple-wins-hobie-hennesseys-watermans-challenge\\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;2014 Hobie Hennessey\\u2019s Waterman\\u2019s Challenge&lt;\\/a&gt;, where his girlfriend, fellow pro Candice Appleby, also took top honors. If you haven\\u2019t been living in a barrel for the past few years, you\\u2019ll know that &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/videos\\/candice-appleby-and-anthony-vela-ripping\\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;Vela and Appleby&lt;\\/a&gt; make the most successful \\u2018power couple\\u2019 in the sport. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;In addition to their intensive racing calendar and a vigorous year-round &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/features\\/skills-drafting-with-anthony-vela\\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;training regime&lt;\\/a&gt;, Vela and Appleby run SUP racing clinics, personal coaching and water-based corporate events programs through their company, &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/performancepaddling.com\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;Performance Paddling&lt;\\/a&gt;. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Here, Vela catches up with &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/SUPtheMag.com\\\"&gt;SUPtheMag.com&lt;\\/a&gt;\\u2019s Brody Welte of &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.paddlefitpro.com\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;PaddleFit&lt;\\/a&gt; to share his top three tips for SUP:&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_56150\\\" style=\\\"width: 640px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption alignnone\\\"&gt;&lt;img src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2014\\/07\\/Top-Tips-from-Pros-Vela.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"Photo: Mike Muir\\\" width=\\\"640\\\" height=\\\"408\\\" class=\\\"size-full wp-image-56150\\\" srcset=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2014\\/07\\/Top-Tips-from-Pros-Vela.jpg 640w, http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2014\\/07\\/Top-Tips-from-Pros-Vela-300x191.jpg 300w\\\" sizes=\\\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;Photo: Mike Muir&lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n&lt;h2&gt;1. Practice with a Hydration Pack&lt;\\/h2&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Vela is often asked how he makes the most of his &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/features\\/paddle-healthy-electrolytes-part-i\\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;hydration&lt;\\/a&gt; pack during a race. The answer? He tested various options before settling on the one that works for him: an over-the-shoulder &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.hydrapak.com\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;Hydrapack&lt;\\/a&gt;. Then, he practiced using it while training in a variety of conditions so that he wouldn\\u2019t be fiddling with it come race day. \\u201cI found that having a &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.hydrapak.com\\/store-2\\/#!\\/~\\/category\\/id=6546096&amp;#038;offset=0&amp;#038;sort=normal\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;hydration pack&lt;\\/a&gt; around my waist didn\\u2019t work, because that\\u2019s where my life preserver is. I also found that I felt the weight of the fluid more when it was on my waist. The over-the-shoulder pack makes it easier for me to get the fluids I need without impeding my stroke.\\u201d The takeaway? Find out whether you prefer an over the shoulder pack like Vela, or a waist-mounted system. Then, use the heck out of it before your next &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/category\\/features\\/event-coverage\\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;race&lt;\\/a&gt;. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;h2&gt;2. Include Skill Drills in Your Training Program&lt;\\/h2&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;How does Vela gain a competitive advantage before getting to the &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/how-to-sup\\/paddle-healthy-race-starts-and-strategies\\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;start&lt;\\/a&gt; line of each event? \\u201cI don\\u2019t just paddle in training, but also work on perfecting elements of my stroke and practicing drills that help with starts, finishes, buoys, surf, and other things that will improve my race day &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/features\\/improving-your-stroke-with-dr-starrett\\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;performance&lt;\\/a&gt;,\\u201d he says. In the video above, you\\u2019ll see one of Vela\\u2019s favorite training day drills: switching from a parallel stance to a staggered surfing stance. How do you do it? \\u201cTake two or three strokes in your parallel stance, then get into your surf stance and take another few strokes. Brace, then go back to the parallel stance,\\u201d Vela says. The pro also told us that this helps him in sprints, &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/videos\\/skills-paddling-downwind\\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;downwinders&lt;\\/a&gt;, and transitioning from flat water to surf. If you work on such skills in training, Vela says, \\u201cthey\\u2019ll become automatic\\u201d during competition. &lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;h2&gt;3. Focus on Your Weak Side&lt;\\/h2&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Do you know what your weak side is? And what are you doing to improve your stroke on that side? \\u201c&lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/how-to-sup\\/sup-dictionary\\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;Goofy footers&lt;\\/a&gt;, like me, typically prefer paddling on their left, while regular footers favor their right side,\\u201d Vela said. By recognizing that in a race he prefers to generate power on his left, Vela knows that he needs to work hard to improve on his right side during training. \\u201cTo develop a fluid and powerful &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/videos\\/three-fundamental-standup-paddle-skills\\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;stroke&lt;\\/a&gt; on both sides, you\\u2019ve got to identify your weak side and then focus on it during paddles and drills,\\u201d Vela says. \\u201cThen, you\\u2019ll be that much better during competition.\\u201d   \\u2014&lt;em&gt;Phil White&lt;\\/em&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;span id=\\\"more-56137\\\"&gt;&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;!--more--&gt;&lt;br \\/&gt;\\nFor more information on Vela, visit: &lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/performancepaddling.com\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\"&gt;PerformancePaddling.com&lt;\\/a&gt;&lt;br \\/&gt;\\n&lt;a href=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/category\\/how-to-sup\\/\\\"&gt;Click here&lt;\\/a&gt; for more &lt;em&gt;Skills&lt;\\/em&gt;.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;span itemprop=\\\"video\\\" itemscope itemtype=\\\"http:\\/\\/schema.org\\/VideoObject\\\"&gt;&lt;meta itemprop=\\\"name\\\" content=\\\"Top Tips from the Pros: Anthony Vela\\\"&gt;&lt;meta itemprop=\\\"thumbnailURL\\\" content=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.supthemag.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2016\\/05\\/t0tz7zr0cvu.jpg\\\"&gt;&lt;meta itemprop=\\\"description\\\" content=\\\"Pro standup paddler Anthony Vela knows the keys to success in SUP. In our new series, Top Tips from the Pros, Vela shares his top three training tips for SUP.\\\"&gt;&lt;meta itemprop=\\\"uploadDate\\\" content=\\\"2014-07-07T13:11:23-07:00\\\"&gt;&lt;meta itemprop=\\\"embedURL\\\" content=\\\"https:\\/\\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\\/v\\/t0TZ7zR0cvU\\\"&gt;&lt;meta itemprop=\\\"duration\\\" content=\\\"PT2M58S\\\"&gt;&lt;\\/span&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.supthemag.com/videos/top-tips-from-pros-anthony-vela/>