Put simply: Surfing itself is the best way to stay fit for the sport. And let’s face it, it’s the most fun way to do it as well. Unfortunately, sometimes we do find ourselves in moments and places without any waves, no matter how hard we try to avoid this.

And so, the next best thing to do is to attempt to maintain our surf muscles and physical fitness so that when we do go back in the water, we are ready to charge.

Below are the exercises that have helped me to stay fit for surfing over lay days, as well as over extended periods of time, and have kept me in shape to go straight back into a lifestyle of surfing all day, every day.

Exercises for Paddling

• Arch ups: This movement will help work out your back muscles for stability and weight distribution, as well as improve your posture and strength while paddling on your board.
• Actual paddling: If there are no waves but you still have access to bodies of water, take your board out and just go for a paddle. This will be the best way to maintain the paddle muscles and your endurance. Practice chunks of low and high intensity paddling for variation and to simulate a real surf session.
• Endurance building exercise routines: This will help you focus on your aerobic capacity. This can consist of 30 to 90 minutes of running, cycling, or swimming. Or also, shorter but higher intensity intervals on the rowing or ski machine if you have access to the equipment. This will help with your endurance and breathing in the water for long paddle distances, as well as short paddle bursts.

Exercises for Pop-ups

• Push ups, pull ups and chin ups: These exercises are useful for surfing as they engage many muscles in the body. Building up the arms and shoulders is helpful in making pop-ups easier, whilst strengthening the abdominal muscles is beneficial for stability on the board.
• Training the actual pop-up: Practicing the actual motion of the pop-up will help your body engage its muscle memory. Practice on the ground with an old surfboard, or use a yoga mat with an indicator of where your imaginary tail pad is, so as to help you train for having your feet in the right position on your board as soon as you get up. Additionally, you can also practice your turning motion when you pop-up, so as to add some rotational mobility training. This exercise is especially useful in weeding out and unlearning any bad pop-up habits.

Exercises for Turn Strength, Power and Burst

• Jump squats: This exercise is super good for increasing that burst energy in the legs when wanting to execute power turns.
• Bosu ball squats and surf crouches: Regular squats or twisting down and crouching into your pop up stance on a bosu ball can help improve balance on the surfboard by increasing stability in the leg muscles, whilst also increasing control in doing turns and other manoeuvres.
• Regular squats: With or without extra weights, this exercise will work your hip muscles, lower back, and improve overall leg strength and stability for surfing.
• Knee and hip strengthening exercises: Small movements that aim to strengthen these parts of your body will do wonders for increasing stability, power and precision in your surfing. Our knees and hips take a lot of impact in sport. It is important to maintain the strength and mobility of these joints if we want to keep surfing for years to come.
• Practice yoga: Doing this will reward your entire body with increased stability and strength. The stretching and flexibility of your muscles as a result will help you pre and post surf. Yoga makes sure your body is ready to move, and also nurtures and heals the muscles after a session of action.

And finally, watch tons of surf videos and practice visualising yourself surfing when you’re about to go to sleep. Quite unconventional, but this actually tunes your subconscious into programming your body and mind into surfing the way that you want, and surfing better!

Everyone’s body is different. Try out these exercise tips, listen to your body, and find what makes you feel good in your own surfing workouts!

Written by Kayli Wouters

LinkedIn | Instagram