Can Overweight People Surf?
Many who have surfing on their bucket list wonder can overweight people can surf. People also wonder about their age and their physical capabilities. What does it take to surf?
Surfing is physically demanding. One of the first things people not used to exercise say is it is very tiring. It requires hard paddling to catch waves and then the surfer has to pull their board through the waves and current to get back to the starting place. This is tiring.
Standing Up on the Surfboard
The major hindrance overweight people face is they can’t stand up on the board. This is for a few reasons. Surfers talk about power to weight ratio in which the surfer has the power in upper body and lower body to get their body upright on a seemingly unstable surface moving at 12 mph.
The overweight person usually doesn’t have the flexibility and too much fat in their legs to get their feet under their body so they can stand. In the beginner pop up, the surfer puts one foot on the board first and stands on it while lifting his hands off the board and bringing the other foot forward. This requires a little agility and flexibility.
Lose Weight and Build Strength
The solution is to lose weight and build strength at the same time. Start with pushups because the first challenge is lifting the upper body in the air with a push up to get the first foot under the butt flat on the board. I suggest beginners start with practicing on their living room floor.
The pop up begins with paddling, then placing hands next to the rib cage flat on the floor. The surfer pushes his body up and brings a foot under his butt and places it flat on the floor. This is where the trouble begins. The surfer has to stand on that foot to bring their body upright before while moving the front foot in front of their body. Overweight people have trouble standing and releasing their hands before moving their front foot. They can do it on dry land but not in the water. The board does not have the support of the living room floor.
What is the Correct Weight?
Surfers should aim for having “normal weight” on the Body Mass Index calculator. This is the measure for underweight to obscenely obese used by the fitness and medical professions. See the index calculator here. I recently had a woman who was 5’6″ and 190 pounds. She should work to get to 140 pounds. It may take a long time, but there are so many benefits along the way.
Stamina is an important part for surfing. Surfing requires strenuous physical exercise that is like intervals when paddling. This requires cardiovascular capability. Walking is a good start, then running, biking, swimming, treadmills, and hiking all contribute. The longer a surfer wants to stay in the water, the more muscle development is necessary to build the glucose stores stamina depends on. The body needs to build reserves of fuel and get used to burning and restoring it.
My books The 3 Week Plan and Get Fit to Surf cover a program to get into surf shape. The surfer needs daily discipline to train even if he only gets into the water once a week. Professionals train more out of the water than in the water. Getting fit to surf will not only help surfing but introduce a whole new lifestyle.
More Posts
Oceanside Surf Lessons for Beginners
Beginner Surfers Learn the Pop Up
How to Progress to Surfing the Short Board
For Surf Lessons in Oceanside, see the Home Page
To in surfing shape see my website Get Fit to Surf
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