What is Surfing Fitness
Many people inquire about surf lessons and wonder if they are in adequate shape and want to know What is Surfing Fitness. Surfing is on so many bucket lists.
When people visit Oceanside and when new people arrive to live in Oceanside, they want to learn to surf. Surfing is one of the most physical sports one can easily access. It is so available that people don’t assess whether they are surf fit.
Weight, Strength and Flexibility
One main criteria is weight. It is a sport of the lean and at least normal weighted persons. The reason is two fold. A person that is normal weight has probably been exercising. A person that is normal weight has an easier time lifting their body off the surfboard to stand up.
Flexibility is an issue for most people. It is not just touching the floor with your palms and not bending your knees although that is a good sign. It is loose hamstrings, buttock, and lower back muscles. These are easily addressed with squats and dead lifts. You don’t have to use weights.
Upper body and core strength as well as lower body strength are all important. Upper body strength for surfing can be solved mostly with pushups. Lower body strength is not a problem for most people if they are not overweight. Core strength is important for the pop up, but once again can be addressed with squats and dead lifts.
Burpies are a great simulator of the popup. They sort of grease the wheel for the motion that is needed to pop up on the surfboard. Practicing the correct pop up in the living room conditions the surf specific muscles.
How to Do the Pop Up
The beginner pop up is best achieved by following a count out loud in the water while going through the motions. The count is paddle, stop, push up, back foot, stand up, and front foot. What it means is you paddle 3 times to catch the foam wave just as it hits the board. Stop is putting your hands in a man’s push up position next to your chest.
As you then push up, you bring a foot under your butt and place it flat on the board. This is where flexibility is a problem for most. Then you stand up on the flat foot. You can’t stand if the foot is not flat. As you raise your hands off the board, you bring the other foot under the body and place it near the nose.
The proper stance has feet shoulder width apart with the body square to the front and hands in front where they can be seen. A trailing arm like in snowboarding will cause the surfer to fall over their butt side of the board. The body must be squared to the front looking up at the beach with upright torso.
Let Go of the Board
Too many beginners want to hang onto the board thinking it is safer, but his alone will cause the surfer to fly off the front. If the head is in front of the feet while holding onto the board, the surfer goes over the nose of the surfboard.
This is the process and surfing fitness is being able to execute each of the moves smoothly. Any particular body impairments like bad knees or bad back will make it difficult. Work a little to get in surfing fitness before lessons and continue the same exercises to accelerate progress.
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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