Surf Fitness Training
24 commentsWe hate to say it, but for you to surf to your full capabilities, you'll have to put in a little work before you hit the surf. Of course, we're talking about exercise! Surfing is meant to be fun and it is, but if you want to maximise your enjoyment and increase the speed that you improve—and escalate the time that you can spend in the water—then you are going to need to do a little work.
Here are main areas that you'll need to work on, it's a good idea to assess your surfing fitness before you start, and keep track of your progress as you work out regularly.
Warm up and down
A warm up should prepare you for the strenuous activity of surfing. By warming up with dynamic mobility exercises, you can improve your performance and guard against muscle injury. Warming down with some static stretching can leave you refreshed and ready for another session the following day.
Core
Core stability training will play an important part in your overall fitness program. Core muscles are the foundation for the body's movements, will aid overall performance, improve balance, and will prevent against injury.
The groups of muscles that make up the core are: Transverse Abdominals, Rectus Abdominis, Abdominal Internal Obliques and Abdominal External Obliques.
There are many exercises that can be done to improve core strength, many are simple to do, and do not require any equipment. More advanced core exercises do involve the use of exercise equipment such as medicine balls or swiss balls.
Upper Body
You need to have good upper body strength to even paddle out to get a wave—no mean feat on a day when you might have to spend at least 10 minutes paddling against walls of white water. You then need the strength to paddle into the waves and the strength to push up onto your feet, then the strength to... You get the idea; surfing can be damn hard work.
Lower Body
You'll need decent lower body strength when you are up and riding. If you ever hope to pull critical maneuvers, big turns and huge airs (or even just surf a decent length wave), you'll need to strengthen and condition your lower body. We're talking anything below the waist!
Simple exercises like squats and lunges are a great place to start. There are also some great tools that are really effective for this type of exercise. Balance boards and bosu boards are superb, and will combine well with balance training programs.
Flexibility
To perform well at any sport, good flexibility is essential. Surfing is a very physical sport, making flexibility all the more important. Touch your toes, do a bit of yoga, or do anything else that will help. Being flexible—and warming up before a surf—will reduce the chance of sustaining a muscle injury during your surfing.
There are several different types of stretching that will benefit your surfing, and can be used for warming up before exercise, cooling down, preparing for a surf, and improving your range of movement.
Static:
If someone hears "stretching", this is the form most people would picture. Static stretching involves easing into a stretch position and holding it for a set length of time.
Passive:
Also known as static-passive, or relaxed stretching. It involves assuming a stretch position and holding it with some other part of your body, or with assistance from a third party such as a personal trainer.
Ballistic:
Using the momentum of the body or a limb and moving beyond the normal range of movement. Great for the pre surf warm up, but must be done with care.
Plyometrics
Plyometrics is the term used to describe the type of exercise that will increase speed and power of movement and muscle contractions, and provide the explosive power to perform big surf moves. A plyometric exercise is one that will enhance your explosive movements, examples include jumping, bouncing and multi-directional drills.
Swim Training
Swimming is a superb exercise for a surfer, not just because a surfer is participating in a water sport. It's well know to target all the main muscle groups and is also a fantastic aerobic exercise (see below). It's great for upper body, lower body, core and toning. If you had to choose only one thing to keep you in shape, swimming would be a great choice. It's also very low impact, so ideal for those new to exercise.
Aerobic
Aerobic (or cardiovascular) exercise includes such activities as swimming, cycling and jogging. It conditions the heart and lungs, and will help improve overall fitness, muscle tone, can lower blood pressure, strengthen bones and even lessen depression (during those flat spells!). If there's not enough reason there to do some, perhaps we should mention that it will make you a more dynamic surfer.
Effective aerobic activity involves exercising with your heart rate between 60-80 percent of your maximum heart rate, for 40-60 minutes, 2-4 times a week. Use a heart rate monitor to ensure you get the best results.
Balance training
If you've ever surfed, you'll realise that balance is an essential part of the process. Fortunately, it's something that you can work on between sessions. It can be tricky, as some of the equipment you need to use is unstable by design. The exercises involved in this type of training will also strengthen your quadriceps, hamstrings, joints, and improve paddling. That's on top of your balancing skills!
Breathing
You might be surprised that your surfing performance can be improved by undertaking some breathing exercises and techniques. With the right training you can increase your lung capacity, increase oxygen saturation to muscles and vital organs, and benefit from improved mental acuity and concentration. If you are considering big wave surfing, take a look at these:
General
Here are a range of exercises that target specific areas of your surfing, and can be used to assess how your surf training is progressing. If you are looking to improve one part of your surfing, check back here.
A good level of overall fitness is desirable for a healthy lifestyle anyway, so use surfing as an excuse to start getting into shape and living more healthily. You will feel and look better for it, you'll sleep more soundly, and you'll look a much better in your boardies, bikini or Speedos.
Before you undertake any exercise — read this:
- When taking up any new exercise programme, ensure you seek medical advice if you have any medical condition that may put you at risk of further injury.
- Ease yourself gently into any new exercise regime.
- Always stay within your comfort zone, and within your normal range of motion (when stretching).
- Warm up before you start, warm down at the end of the session.
- Avoid any exercise that causes you pain, or that you are unsure of.
thank you for the info
You're welcome shoannah. We'll be adding to this section regularly, providing more specific exercises to help you improve your surf fitness, so check back soon.
great job guys. this exercises helped me alot, especially the part of the different front crawl swim exercises. keep on!
We have another couple of articles ready to go, so check back soon.
Just discovered this site and wowsers, awesome, haven't stopped reading for the last 3 hours :-) Had my first lesson last weekend at the age of 38, I snowboard & have sailed all my life so thought NP, got up a couple of times but I am truely addicted, so much so Im gonna buy my winter suits etc (Ireland is feckin Freezing) and a board. I've learnt SOOOOO much this evening just by reading & I would encourage newbies to read loads too. I've set up a plank of sorts so that I don't use my toes, thankfully Im pretty fit and have really good core, so bring it on. Thank y'all sooooo much for all the info :-) Lena
How do you do moves?
hey guys i want to thank u for all of your help it is so help full but before i end my comment i have a question i have surfed in hawaii and soon going to in CA but i live in arizona is there any other way to get better at surfing out of water???
Hi Joe,
Fitness is about all you can do. Some people believe that using a balance board does help with your surfing balance, but I'm yet to be convinced.
Swim regularly, check out surfers on video and pay attention to their technique.
Improved fitness will result in being able to catch more waves when you are in the surf, meaning you'll improve more quickly.
thx so much. now i can rip it out there. luv ya
Hi: This info is really useful and thanks for being so thorough and explicit. I've been surfing on and off for about 40 years and at 66 still enjoy the surfing environment
thanks for the info i was so stoked that i could teach my little cousin
how to surf so thanks dudes!!!!!
I tried surfing for the first time on vaccation, now i would love to use some of the skills on this site to improve my surfing... too bad theres no Ocean in Saskatchewan. :(
Fun advice. I've treated myself to 5 weeks in Indo this summer...but the catch 22 is to save money for it, I can't surf! At uni i'm near good waves but at home getting I gotta travel abit. I'm just eating right, doing loads of exercise and watching endless DVD's hoping that i'm not going to be a floundering fish when I finally get to Bali :-s.
I am 61 and diet and exercise are mandatory for me to surf. The better shape that I am in, the better I surf.
Busy professionals do not get time to take out time for going for training on shore. But recently I have enrolled myself in an online surfing fitness course to enhance my surfing skills. I have got lots and lots of benefit and can feel the improvement.
Why isn't yoga included in the list?
Yoga teaches you to balance on one foot.
Yoga teaches you yogic breathing.
Yoga makes you stronger.
Yoga makes you flexible.
Yoga does a lot of things you need a want. Why is it not on the list? Kind of an oversight.
Hi there,
While yoga is not highlighted in a seperate section above it is featured in the list of actual exercises. (eg. Triangle Posture / Salute to the Sun)
You are spot on with your benefits though.
Cheers
Thank you so much for these valuable tips
Not only going to the gym can make us fit but also in our daily activities and we should always know that! Correct?
What is surfing like
thanks so much ,this has helped me improve my surfing!
any tips on improving my duckdiving?
Hey hi....
I'm new to surfing. Searching for surfing trainer near by San Jose , In how many days I can learn surfing . Do surfing is dangerous?
dudeee this site is amazing! As someone who has only just began surfing and doesnt live anywhere near a beach this is so helpful. So thankful for all this information that you've gathered here. thanks loads xx
Should I shift myself to surfboard from a longboard?