Surfing is this incredible mix of flow, fun, difficulty, learning, athleticism, enjoyment, and physicality. It can test the limits of the human body, and it can enrich and nourish the lives of those who get into the ocean. Those individuals that have the surf itch truly cherish their time in the ocean, and what it brings to their lives. The importance of this “hobby” cannot be undermined.
For many, it comes down to keeping your body physically capable, so you can keep surfing, hopefully get a bit better, and have a body that isn’t limited by pain, fragility, or weakness. Hence the thought process of better body, better surfing. Invest some time and effort into maintaining your body, improving athletic performance, and simply moving better. The 3-dimensional dynamics of the sport, coupled with the need for strength, endurance, power, speed, healthy joints and mental acuity, place a lot of demands on the body. Again, this better body, better surfing adage rings true.
Invest some time and effort into moving better, so you can transfer this newly acquired athletic capacity to your time in the water, and improve the skill and art of surfing. This routine works on fundamentals of mobility. If you dial in these aspects and exercises, you’ll have plenty of room to grow with your training, and your surfing.
Mobility & Stretch Routine
The goal is to get your body moving, restore full range of motion through joints, and get you moving more dynamically. Integrate this four-step routine into your daily workout:
- Dynamic Spiderman Stretch x 5/side
- Inchworm x 8reps
- 90/90 Hip Stretch with Rotation
- Warrior Lunge x 5/side
Tip: Treat it as a mobility warm up, performed every time before you surf (do it every day if you can). Move through the circuit, performing each exercise and the required reps 3 to 4 times.
The key to all of these movements is that they focus on restoring range of motion through joints that should be moving well. The dynamic movements of the sport, the angle and vectors joints are placed in, it’s essential that they move well and fluidly.
An essential piece of training is performing exercise with perfect form. If you train with bad form, you’re setting yourself up for injury, and neglecting the benefit of quality training. Always adhere to the form principle, meaning if you can’t complete the movement with perfect form, regress the exercise, or stop the set.
This program trains fundamental movement aspects of the sport. You are not trying to replicate the exact movements found in surfing, as “functional fitness” often attempts, to no positive outcome. You’re developing strength, control, and awareness of basic movement patterns that have carryover to the sport.
Remember, you’re improving your athletic capacity, building durability and strength, so that you can transfer that to your time in the water.
Better Body, Better Surfing – Cris Mills @ SurfStrengthCoach.com
(If any movements are unclear watch this video for a visual demonstration)
Featured image: @surfstrengthcoach via Instagram