Whether its being landlocked, drydocked, recovering from an injury, or just wanting to be prepared, I'm curious what training or conditioning methods, equipment, ideas, etc. people here are using to stay in shape for surfing. Specifically interested in balance boards, breath holding, muscle strength, flexibility, edurance, cardio type stuff (I'm too old and brittle for skateboarding anymore, gave it up a few years back).
1) Went to largish high school in mid-late '60's so pretty big surf crew. Almost 100% of the best were on water polo and swim teams. So swimming tops and of course crawl and butterfly. If no pool or ocean easily available,
2) Nordic walking (with poles). I found if really push hard on the poles, strong carry over to paddling
3) Balance, leg strength, serios coditioning...ride a unicycle. (Lot of fun as fringe benefit)
OK, thanks for the response! I have been doing standard strength stuff at the gym, nothing too strenuous, but trying to make it regular. Bit of bike riding and elliptical, swimming too, but the gym pool is heavily chlorinated. I've got the standard balance board pretty wired, the go-fit wobble board is a 360 degrees balancer, a lot tougher than the balance board, but it just pivots around a stationery foot in the middle. What I'm looking at is the Si-Boards model, its kinda expensive, but I could probably build something for a lot less, just depends what I value my time at I guess.
I'm not working at the coast amymore, retired now, and recovering from hip surgery. If traffic is good I'm only 90 minutes away from some good waves (Malibu, Ventura, or Kelly's Wave Pool, depending on my mood), but still finding it hard to get out more than once every week or two.
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Ish, I hate that chlorine. First time swimming in a pool after MANY years away...no googles. Got out of the water and thought the fog had rolled in very dense fog. Not unusual for where I was living. Then when I got in my car to drive home, the fog was in there too. WHAT??? Finally figured out that the chlorine had etched my corneas. Fortunately full recovery and no long term effects. Nordic walking might be good for hip rehab, I don't know. But I have always found that after time away, or when surfing infrequently, my most limiting factor was paddle power and wave chasing/catching ability. So the swimming and pole walking were my go-to's for maintenance.
Yeah goggles for sure
https://youtu.be/VwxgbWXAVbw
I can smell the chlorine from here!
Being landlocked, I have to be ready to paddle out when I get a chance to get to the coast. Last June I thought my paddling simulation exercise would be enough. (I used to swim but also disliked the scent and feel of chlorine on my body for the rest of the day). When I got to the coast, I discovered there is no substitute for swimming -- the crawl. Paddling a longboard on flat water helps too.
* I've gone back to swimming 0.75 miles three times/week -- half the laps, arms only; the other half, legs only (body surf fins and a modified kick board).
* squat thrusts
* martial arts twice/week (balance, reflex, timing)
* chin-ups, pull-ups, dips twice/week
* push-ups, sit-ups twice/week
The greatest loss that takes me at least 2 weeks to recover is timing.
(BTW they make chlorine neutralizing soap and shampoo -- works fairly well.)
Swaylocks Surfboard Design Forum: thoughts & theories ... practical & theoretical
RAIL PROFILE http://bgboard.blogspot.com/2014/03/march-82014-afterr-seeing-recent.html
For overall fitness I use a rowing machine regularly, but to work especially for paddling muscles indoor, you can use a gymnastic ball. I did some indoor paddling computer lessons by Rob Case and I can recomment it (Google or Youtube Rob Case Surfing Paddling Academy). Finally it comes down to paddling on the gym ball. Just lay down on one big sized ball and start the paddling movement. It helps for strength, and even for board balance. If you place a chair behind the ball, you may be able to fix your legs (and body) horizontally, then it is like lying on a surfboard. And even 5 consecutive minutes just daily paddling does help a lot. Sounds ackward, but it really helps
abs and more abs
core strength is key
A fair bit of high speed, high rep, low weight PT for the old ticker, arms and legs.
Cool thread for me to see what others are doing, and I've learned a few things. Was surprised to see unicycle show up, and surprised at no mention of balance boards. I also thought slacklining might be mentioned, but I haven't tried it.
I love my balance boards. Was looking into Si-Boards, when I found CoolBoards for much less. This will be my next step in the progression.
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Never had to specifically exercise for surfing until after 70 years old. First sign of a problem was the pop-up, especially on larger waves/late take-offs. My body seemed to know instinctively that what I was about to ask it to do, in the moment, was probably not going to happen. I developed some ways to cheat on the pop-up that would work, but probably looked funky. Now, I do a simple routine of exercises including; push-ups, squats, burpees, sit-up, curls, jerks, lunges, planks, etc. (some with light barbells). I rotate thru 2-3 of these on subsequent days. As for paddling, there is really no substitute other than paddling itself. When I end a session, I always do a paddle-sprint to make sure I have nothing left in the tank. Once up and riding, my balance and skills do not seem to be a problem. But, there is nothing worse than doubting yourself on the take-off, and blowing a good wave. Hence, the exercise.
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