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Leg Exercises For Surfing

Leg Exercises For Surfing

There are lots of great exercises surfers can do to strengthen their legs and improve their performance on the wave. In this article we are just looking at a particular movement pattern which surfers use like the one shown in the picture above, and that is a lateral squat or lateral lunge.

For this movement pattern you need to have reasonable mobility through your hips and a good amount of strength in your glutes, quads and hamstrings.

Below are a few different variations of the lateral squat or lateral lunge exercise which you can do at home or at the gym. For each of the exercises, start  with either your legs already apart or from a standing position for a more advanced version.

Make sure you lunge over to the side by pushing your hips back and keeping your heels on the ground.

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Variation #1 – Goblet Lateral Squat

Hold a dumbbell in front of your chest for this variation. Start fairly light and increase the weight once you are familiar with the movement.

Variation #2 – Balance Lateral Squat

For this version you will put your foot on a balance pod, balance board or BOSU to increase the stability challenge.

Variation #3 – Barbell Lateral Squat

This final version is for building even greater strength by using a barbell to increase the weight. Make sure you are competent using dumbbells before attempting this version.

The above exercises will help improve your lower body strength for surfing more powerfully and reducing your risk of leg and knee injuries.

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Surf Workout

Best Surf Workout

Q – What makes the ideal surf workout to help you increase your surfing fitness and improve your performance in the waves?

A – The ideal workout for surfing will involve a number of important factors to make sure you are maximizing your surf training time. Here is the best format in my opinion for the perfect surf workout…

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Surf Workout Part 1 – Dynamic Warm-up

The first part of your surf workout should involve a comprehensive warm-up routine where you aim to do a lot more than just warmup your body. The dynamic warm-up should involve exercises that can help improve mobility, activate muscles, correct imbalances and get you ready for the main part of your surf workout.

Mobility exercises are important because in surfing it’s not just about having good flexibility, you also need to be strong and stable throughout your range of motion. Mobility exercises help with this by training your body to actively move through a range of motion.

Also you need to be doing exercises that will activate under-active muscles (like glutes) and correct imbalances like improving thoracic mobility and scapular stability which are both often lacking. Doing all these exercises in your surf workout dynamic warm-up will help you get the most benefit from your training.

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Surf Workout Part 2 – Functional Strength Training

The main part of your surf workout should consist of functional strength exercises that build total body strength in all 3 planes of movement. Isolated body building or machine exercises should not be the focus, instead you will benefit from training using multiple muscle groups training major movement patterns such as pushing, pulling, squatting, lunging, lifting and rotating.

You don’t need any fancy equipment to get started with your surf workouts, I recommend beginning with a swiss ball and a set of adjustable dumbbells. You can do lots of different exercises that will help improve your core stability/strength, balance and upper and lower body strength and endurance.

Normally I like to structure my surf workouts into supersets where you complete between 2 and 4 exercises in succession with minimal rest before resting and repeating 2-3 times. This allows you to get through more exercises than just doing one exercise, resting, then repeating, etc. In my opinion it is also a lot more fun to train like this.
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Surf Workout Part 3 – Energy System Training

Energy system training refers to the cardiovascular component of your surf workout. I call it energy system training because you need to be training both your aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. Aerobic is for longer duration fitness, and anaerobic is for short burst of fitness such as paddling into a wave. Both are important for improving your surfing fitness.

The best way to train your energy systems is doing interval workouts with high intensity intervals broken up with recovery periods. You can do running, swimming, riding, skipping or basically any cardio activity that you like. An example would be 20 seconds hard followed by 40 seconds active recovery. Do this for 15 minutes. This part of your workout can be done after the functional strength exercises, or on alternate days if that suits your schedule better.

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Surf Workout Part 4 – Stretching & Flexibility

The last part of your surf workout should involve some stretching to help improve flexibility and aid in muscle recovery. You should be stretching all of your major muscle groups with a focus on the areas of your body that are especially tight. Hold stretches for 20-30 seconds and only to the point of tension not pain.

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Lower Body Exercises for Balance

Today I just want to demonstrate a couple of lower body exercises that will help keep your body in balance.

 

Most people will focus more on quad dominant lower body exercises, but often neglect the posterior muscles of the glutes and hamstrings.

 

If you don't incorporate exercises to improve both sides of your lower body, then things can get out of balance and this can lead to inefficient movement and potential injuries.

 

Doing exercises like deadlift variations, dumbbell/kettlebell swings and glute bridges will all help improve your posterior leg muscles.

 

Here are a couple of other exercises you can try for variety in your workouts...

 

 

1. BOSU Bodyweight Single Leg Straight Leg Deadlift

 

• If you don't have a BOSU, try doing it on the ground with your eyes closed.
• Stand on one leg and then bend forward from your hips and extend your other leg out behind
• Squeeze your glutes to pull yourself back up to the start position.
• Do 8-12 reps on each leg.

 

 

 

2. TRX Leg Curl

• If you don't have a TRX or suspension trainer, you can do this exercise with your feet on a swiss ball.
• Hook your heels into the TRX then lift your butt off the ground.
• Curl your heels towards your butt, lifting your hips as you do.
• Slowly return to the start position.
• Do 8-12 reps. 

 

 

 

Make sure with all of your workouts you are keeping a balanced approach in your training to help prevent muscle imbalances. 

 

This means upper body pushing and pulling exercises and lower body quad dominant and hip dominant exercises.

 

Do this will a good mix of core training and interval cardio training and you will be on your way to enhanced fitness and performance!

Improve Paddling Fitness

Step #1 – Improve Your Upper Body Strength & Stability

The first step is build a solid base of strength and stability in your upper body.

The key here is to keep your body and muscles in balance by targeting all of the major muscle groups, not just the ones you use the most when paddling. If you target certain muscles or movements more than others you increase the likelihood of creating a muscular imbalance which can lead to movement inefficiencies or musculoskeletal injuries.

So make sure you do exercises for each of the following 4 movements:

• Vertical Pushing (eg. Single Arm Dumbbell Press)
• Vertical Pulling (eg. Pull-ups)
• Horizontal Pushing (eg. BOSU Push-ups)
• Horizontal Pulling (eg. Dumbbell Plank Row)

You also need to keep your joints stable and for paddling this means stable shoulders. Exercises like YTW Raises are really good for helping to keep your shoulder joints stable and preventing shoulder issues.

Step #2 – Improve Your Muscular Endurance

The second step once you have a stable base of upper body strength is to improve your muscular endurance. If you improve the endurance in your paddling muscles, when you are out in the water you can paddle back out to the line up with more energy and it will take longer to fatigue.

There are several ways you can improve your muscular endurance for paddling. The obvious one is to get out on your surf board and paddle more.

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If this is not an option then here are two are options to try…

Swimming – Freestyle swimming uses similar muscles to paddling and is a great way to improve the endurance in your arms and shoulders. Doing intervals in the pool or ocean is a great way to train for surfing.  

Band Paddling – Paddling against resistance using a resistance band is another great way to improve your upper body endurance. Try and use a fairly light resistance and if you have a swiss ball that will make a great surfboard alternative to lie on. The great thing about band paddling is that you can do it at home without getting wet, so there are no excuses! 

Mix things up a bit with your workouts this week

Want to mix things up a bit with your workouts this week?

 

Try this idea - it's called an Ascending Workout Ladder, and it will be sure to push your limits :)

 

 

Here's how to do it

• Choose 5 exercises using your bodyweight or light dumbbells (push, pull, double leg, single leg and core)
• Do 1 rep of each exercise, then do 2 reps of each exercise, then do 3 reps, etc.
• Repeat this until you get to 10 reps taking rests breaks as you need. Time yourself to see how long it takes.

 

Here's an example

• Swiss Ball Pushups
• Inverted Towel Rows
• 180 Squat Jumps
• Dumbbell Reverse Lunge
• Swiss Ball Pike

 

You can also do Descending Workout Ladders by starting at 10 reps and working back down to 1 rep. This is probably easier as you are doing more reps at the start of the workout.

 

Once you have finished, do 10 minutes of interval cardio, followed by some stretches and you will have done a solid total body workout!

 

 For More info CLICK on the TOTAL SURFING FITNESS BANNER

I just came across a new way to explain core training which might help everyone understand the role your core muscles play in human movement.

 

The following concept I have borrowed from Mike Robertson who is a leader in corrective exercise.

 

The concept is this...

 

Our core is basically used to 2 specific purposes.

 

The first is Re-Distributing Force, and the second is Re-Directing Force.

 

 

Let me explain...

 

Re-distributing force applies to your ability to stabilize and transfer force away from your lumbar spine, hence protecting your lower back from injury.

 

Think about when you are surfing and get knocked off your centre of gravity - if you can't get stable by re-distributing the force and your core breaks down, you will generally wipe out.

 

If you can successfully re-distribute the force, then you will be able to maintain balance and stay on the wave.

 

To train re-distributing force you should focus on preventing movement through anti-flexion/extension and anti-rotation exercises.

 

Good examples would be Swiss Ball Planks and Band Core Presses.  

 

 

Re-directing force is more about using your body to create a change in movement with your core muscles acting as the point where the force transfers through your body.

 

A great example for surfing is performing a turn, which is where you generate the force yourself in order to execute the move.

 

You are effectively re-directing the force to where you want it to go to create the desired movement. 

 

To train re-directing force you should focus on creating movement through rotational exercises such as dumbbell chops or medicine ball throws.

 

 

Your core is the engine room of your body - Make sure you train it correctly to improve your surfing and decrease the risk of lower back injuries.

 

 

Total Surfing Fitness will not only help improve your core strength, but it can also help you lose body fat, increase muscle tone and help you surf for longer and catch more waves!

Want to build superior core strength and stability to enhance your surfing performance?

 

You know the benefit of having a strong core, so why not challenge yourself and try adding this core complex finisher onto the end of your next workout...

 

• Do each of the 3 exercises in succession without resting.
• Complete the complex twice through if you are up to the challenge!

 

Exercise #1 - Single Leg Swiss Ball Jackknife -10 reps / side

 

 

Exercise #2 - Feet Elevated Russian Twist - 10 reps / side

 

 

Exercise #3 - Swiss Ball Side Plank - Hold as long as possible each side

 

 

If you can complete that core complex finisher twice through then you are on your way to building a strong and stable mid-section!