This activity can not only be extremely fun, it can also make you more disciplined.
Surfing can be called one of the varieties of yoga or meditation, since it is also capable of pumping not only your body, but also your mind.
Doing this sport you are in a natural environment, exchanging mental messages with nature and thus establishing a special mental connection with it. But if the mental side of this process is very interesting to research, then we will deal with it some other time.
Today I want to show you a few exercises which will keep your body in good shape and pump the necessary muscles we often use to row.
Remember that preparing your body is a very important aspect, especially during periods when you are taking a break from exercising on the water.
Few people know thet in water exposure not only the volume of your muscles is important, but also their stretching.
In the list below, we’ve also collected a few exercises which will stretch your muscles during workout.
To endure a long session, you need to prepare physically to it with the help of special fitness for those who walk on the board.
Our complex below is just aimed at ensuring you always stay in shape and do not get any injuries or sprains on your next trip.
Be sure to start any workout with a warm-up. English Warm Up in this sense correctly reflects the essence: the body must be warmed up.
Cold muscles and joints have a narrower range of motion than warm ones, and therefore more likely to be injured.
I recommend starting the warm-up by twisting all the joints: twist the wrists, elbows, shoulders, then twist the spine (do not bend the back, namely, twist, standing straight, and look behind your back), then twist the joints of the legs: shins, knees, draw eights pelvis.
For muscles, the best warm-up is dynamic stretching.
For example, to engage the back of the thigh in the work, we swing the foot forward. Keep the knee straight and raise the foot not as much as it is comfortable, gradually increasing the amplitude with each swing.
Static stretching, when you freeze in one position and stretch, should only be performed on warm muscles, so we do it at the end of the session. In the beginning – dynamics, movement.
If we are talking about a warm-up before surfing, then jumping on the spot or shuttle running should be added to the above to speed up the pulse. After that, you can safely go into the water.
If you warmed up for a surf-oriented workout, then move on to the next part.
Until you try to get on the wave, you don’t understand how important surfing training is, so that you can ride without much strain and enjoy it.
For surfing well, you need to be able to row on the board for a long time, and to catch waves and get on the board, you need to have good balance.
A quality surfing workout will help raise your level of surfing, help you catch more waves and enjoy the activity. In addition, surfing fitness will reduce the likelihood of injury.
Your surfing workout should include fast, jerky movements similar to those you do when surfing. Slow and long stretches actually turn off your muscles and slow them down.
The key to a good warm-up before surfing is to use movements that will raise your heart rate, warm up your muscles, and stretch your joints:
- Squats with breath control: squatting – exhale when we get up, inhale, while stretching our arms up.
- Twisting the torso, standing on one foot : lift one leg, slightly bending it at the knee, pulling the hip back a little; The arms should be in front of your body. Begin unhurried twisting of the body, in the process, controlling movement and maintaining balance, standing on one foot .
- Twist push-ups: While lying down, raise one arm up while expanding your entire body. You should now balance while standing on one hand. Repeat the same while standing on the other hand.
- Warrior Pose: From a straight stance, lunge forward and stretch your upper torso, then return to the position you were in at the beginning. Repeat with the other foot . You can add side bends.
- Deep squats: stretch up well, now bend over so that your hands touch the toes of your feet. Lower your butt towards your heels at the same time as you raise your upper body. Sit as low as you can and keep your chest as high as possible. Elbows between the legs, pushing the knees out. Hold this pose for one inhalation / exhalation, and then lift your butt upward while lowering your chest downward. Straighten your legs and then straighten completely.
- Turns with your hands together with the body: you need to align your back and fix it in this form, your feet at the knees should be bent, bend your body forward. Find an angle where you can feel your outer muscles begin to stretch. Extend your arms to the side and begin to rotate them along a small radius. Do 30 reps each way.
- Star Jumps: From a standing position, jump so you land with your feet apart and your arms extended to the side. Then jump back to the position from which you started the movement. Repeat several times.
- Standing Knee Girths: Stand with a straight, extended back. Pull your knee to your chest, wrap your arms around it and press it against your stomach / chest. Try to pull your knee as high as possible while keeping your back straight.
In fact, there are no exercises which can completely replicate how our body works in the water while surfing. But, nevertheless, you can improve the fitness of your body, taking into account the requirements of surfing.
Even if you only do the exercises a few times a month, the effect can increase your strength, speed, endurance while surfing, and also significantly reduce the likelihood of injury.
Table of Contents
Ups with hands off the floor
Push-ups are for anyone looking to surf. This staff is for the muscles in your arms, back, and abs that you will need to row.
If you add a little element to the classic push-ups – you start lifting your hands off the floor, you will go to the next level.
When jumping onto the board, you will need to push your body out of the prone position with your hands. And for this you need to be able to make a strong, sharp push with your hands.
Then you say “thank you” to this thing.
Execution technique. Starting position – lying down, palms wider than shoulders, fingers pointing straight ahead, elbows bent at an angle of 90 degrees.
From this position, you need to push your body so your arms are straightened and off the floor.
When landing, your arms need to be slightly bent at the elbows. Do this 10 times.
Jumping lunges
Every surfer should have strong muscles, the best workouts for developing them are squats and lunges. These basic workouts are essential for every athlete.
We offer another variation of lunges, which will help develop not only muscle strength, but also speed, which will help you get on the surfboard in a split second from a prone to a standing pose.
These are lunges with a jump, or more precisely, the change of legs during lunges should occur in a jump.
Execution technique. Assume a lunge position, right foot in front, 90 degree knee angle, left leg back.
In order to change the position of the legs, you need to push the body up and already in the jump, change the position of the legs.
Make sure the knee of the front foot is always directly above the foot, does not go forward. Do at least 10 reps.
Burpee
This CrossFit workout was originally used for the physical training of the US military.
We recommend that you definitely include it in your training program, as it powerfully works out several muscle groups, develops the strength, endurance and speed necessary for a surfer. The muscles of the legs, torso and arms work here.
Execution technique. Starting position – standing straight, legs together.
Sit down and touch the floor with your hands, in a jump, go to the prone position and perform one push-up, then also with the help of a jump go to a full squat position and jump, raising your arms up.
So, if you add these three workouts to your training program, you can work not only the right muscle groups, but also the necessary skills in order to learn how to jump on the board like a pro. You can do these exercises at home, even if you are not in the gym.
Pop-up (surf-burpee)
This workout simulates the situation where a surfer catches a wave and stands on a board.
I use a regular yoga mat for it, on which the outline of my board is drawn with room for the back and front legs. If there is no board, you can simply focus on the longitudinal line of the rug.
Execution: lie on the mat with your stomach down, resting your hands a little narrower than the width of the mat, stand in a surfer stance (one leg in front, the other in the back) and be sure to smile, you catch a wave!
It is important that your feet are level with the longitudinal line of the mat.
Complicated version: turning your gaze up, jump to the maximum height and return to the starting position, your legs should, after the jump, stand in the same places where they were.
Start with 10-20 repetitions and work up to 30-40.
At the time of the rise, surfers should immediately accustom themselves to look sideways where you plan to go, and not down onto the mat.
Benefit: Surfers use workout to train their pop-up, and everyone else trains strength, endurance and balance.
Rowing on a fitball
Lie on the fitball with your chest, put your legs at close range, hands in front of you, do the correct long stroke with your right hand, leaving your left hand extended.
Then, when the right hand returns, we begin the stroke with the left hand, leaving the right extended.
Complicated version: you can use a weighting agent – a dumbbell of 0.5-2.5 kg, I use a pancake from a barbell of 2.5 kg.
Do the same, transfer the weight from one hand to the other during the workout, when the hand returns to its original position.
The rule “the more the better” works here, start with 20-40 times, pick up your load and gradually increase the quantity. When you start doing this workout with a weighting agent, it is not the weight that is important, but more repetitions.
This is an endurance rowing workouts. Due to the fact that the workout is performed on a fitball, the stabilizing muscles of the whole body are activated, and the correct deflection of the body is created as on a surfboard.
This will allow the surfer and everyone else to paddle longer and more efficiently.
“Duckdive”
Execution: yoga pose “dog face down”, smoothly move to the upward dog position, trying to bring the chest in the maximum arc as close to the floor as possible.
This workout mimics the movement of the body during the dakdaiva when the surfer dives the wave. Try to bend more each time.
Simplified: lower your knees to the floor.
Advanced: do the workout with the leg raised up, when you return to the starting position, change the leg.
Do it 8-10 times, depending on your preparedness, in this workout it is not quantity that is important, but quality.
The workout mimics the duckdive (diving) that is necessary in surfing when you are surfing a short board, and for others it will be a good stretching workout.
Nutrition
It is important to eat well in order to spend more time in the water, get less injury, maintain energy levels and stay healthy.
A balanced diet is ideal for surfers. Plus, without proper nutrition, your surfing workout will be harder and more breathless.
The following are some nutritional tips to help you stay healthy and energized for your hours of surfing session:
- Eat whole foods: fruits, vegetables, meat. Eliminate processed foods from your diet.
- Drink plenty of clean water (at least 2 liters per day).
- Soda, sports drinks and other chemicals will not replace water. If you are very thirsty, squeeze some lemon, lime or orange juice into the water, adding a pinch of salt.
- Every meal should be balanced and include protein, carbohydrates, and fat.
- Surfing and alcohol don’t go well together. Do not overdo it.
- You can replenish energy after surfing with fruits. A protein shake will help your muscles recover faster.
- Eat fewer foods made from white flour.
- Buy fresh vegetables and fruits from local farmers, not the supermarket. This way you can be sure they have less chemistry.
- Eat something for breakfast. Before surfing in the morning – eat some fruit and some nuts or something else. Most people feel uncomfortable surfing with a full stomach, but even a very small breakfast will add energy to you before surfing.
- Eat quality fats and limit your intake of refined vegetable oil. Foods that include quality fats include organic olive oil, avocados, and coconuts. Saturated fats are important for the nervous system, vitamin absorption, immunity, and overall health.
- Learn to Cook – Get a couple of recipe books and learn how to cook really healthy food.
- It should always be remembered that the quality of food directly affects the surfing workout, and the surfing workout directly affects the quality of your skiing. Together, it affects how you look and how you feel. Love yourself, respect your body and be healthy!
