I own and run a surf travel company on Australia's Gold Coast. My business basically pulls together all the services offered on the Gold Coast that a travelling surfer needs. We then go the extra step of renting our surfboards to our clients, for the duration of their holiday. The idea is simple, we want to ensure our clients have the surfing holiday of their life, without the hassle of sorting out the logistics when they arrive.
One of the great things about this business is I deliver the surfboards myself. This gives me the opportunity to have a brief chat with every surfer coming through the Gold Coast using my services. I really enjoy this part of the business as being a surfer myself, I enjoy the contact with people who have a similar passion to mine. Also, it gives me the opportunity to get into the heads of my clients, so I can understand what their expectations are for their surfing holiday and can continually improve my services based on their desires.
During these chats, the number 1 thing my clients desire is that little bit of additional surfing fitness. This makes sense. Nothing can really prepare you for the rigors of a surfing holiday, other than lots and lots of surfing. No matter how much you surf at home, the chances are you'll surf more on your holiday for no reason other than the fact that you'll have more time to play with.
So what is the best way to get that extra bit of fitness for a surfing holiday. I believe there are 3 things you should do. The first two should be part of your healthy lifestyle, the last should be a pre travel booster. Here they are:
The first thing you need to take care of is your general level of endurance. You need to be fit enough to go hard for 10 - 15 minutes minimum, as often this is the minimum paddling requirement for getting through the breakers and out the back.
You need a little more than basic endurance though, you need water endurance. Have a look at the best surfers and swimmers in the world. They glide through the water, seemingly effortlessly. This is because they have a great feel for the water. They know how to move their body so it is moving efficiently. This is so important in the water as we are inately inefficient in what is really an alien environment.
So you really need to get into the water for some form of exercise at least twice a week. This could mean swimming with a swim squad at your local pool, surfing your local break, or do what I did and join the local surf lifesavers. Their training sessions have me in the water all the time. You need to view this as a life commitment (training in the water that is). Get into the water twice a week for the rest of your life, thats the only way you'll build and maintain water specific endurance.
The second thing you need to think about is your core strength, balance and flexibility. People don't understand how important this is, especially when you increase your level of involvement. When you have a good core fitness and level of flexibility, your body holds together better and recovers quicker. That leaves you better prepared for your next session.
There is one thing I do to take care of my core strength and flexibility. Yoga. Yoga is so good in this regard for surfers, its almost as if yoga was invented for surfing. My suggestion, get yourself a yoga for surfing dvd and do the program twice a week. Its a little bit cheaper than going to the yoga clinic twice a week anyway.
Also, even the simple act of paddling requires you to over-arch your back, creating a distortion in the development of your back muscles. Yoga sorts all these types of issues out, as well as conditioning your body. My advice, get yourself a surf specific yoga DVD and do it 2 or 3 times a week.
That takes care of your day to day fitness programming, keeping your body in reasonable shape for the waves any day of the week. Once you have that sorted out, all you need to do in the weeks leading up to your holiday, is some functional surf specific training. Functional training is training which has been designed to cater for a specific function. In our case the function is the fitness requirements of surfing. So you need a fitness program that focuses on strengthening the specific muscles you use in the water and on your surfboard.
You've got your base level of fitness sorted out already by ensuring point 1 and 2 above are part of your lifestyle. This training program recognises though, that there will be a short period of time where you will need a higher level of fitness (Ie. For those long sessions while on holiday) and prepares you specifically with those higher needs in mind.
I hope this helps you prepare for your next surfing trip where ever it may be. We all know training can sometimes be a bit of a drag, just remember how much more fun those surfing days are when the waves, your skill and your body all come together at the same time, so you can catch that elusive perfect wave. - 16650
One of the great things about this business is I deliver the surfboards myself. This gives me the opportunity to have a brief chat with every surfer coming through the Gold Coast using my services. I really enjoy this part of the business as being a surfer myself, I enjoy the contact with people who have a similar passion to mine. Also, it gives me the opportunity to get into the heads of my clients, so I can understand what their expectations are for their surfing holiday and can continually improve my services based on their desires.
During these chats, the number 1 thing my clients desire is that little bit of additional surfing fitness. This makes sense. Nothing can really prepare you for the rigors of a surfing holiday, other than lots and lots of surfing. No matter how much you surf at home, the chances are you'll surf more on your holiday for no reason other than the fact that you'll have more time to play with.
So what is the best way to get that extra bit of fitness for a surfing holiday. I believe there are 3 things you should do. The first two should be part of your healthy lifestyle, the last should be a pre travel booster. Here they are:
The first thing you need to take care of is your general level of endurance. You need to be fit enough to go hard for 10 - 15 minutes minimum, as often this is the minimum paddling requirement for getting through the breakers and out the back.
You need a little more than basic endurance though, you need water endurance. Have a look at the best surfers and swimmers in the world. They glide through the water, seemingly effortlessly. This is because they have a great feel for the water. They know how to move their body so it is moving efficiently. This is so important in the water as we are inately inefficient in what is really an alien environment.
So you really need to get into the water for some form of exercise at least twice a week. This could mean swimming with a swim squad at your local pool, surfing your local break, or do what I did and join the local surf lifesavers. Their training sessions have me in the water all the time. You need to view this as a life commitment (training in the water that is). Get into the water twice a week for the rest of your life, thats the only way you'll build and maintain water specific endurance.
The second thing you need to think about is your core strength, balance and flexibility. People don't understand how important this is, especially when you increase your level of involvement. When you have a good core fitness and level of flexibility, your body holds together better and recovers quicker. That leaves you better prepared for your next session.
There is one thing I do to take care of my core strength and flexibility. Yoga. Yoga is so good in this regard for surfers, its almost as if yoga was invented for surfing. My suggestion, get yourself a yoga for surfing dvd and do the program twice a week. Its a little bit cheaper than going to the yoga clinic twice a week anyway.
Also, even the simple act of paddling requires you to over-arch your back, creating a distortion in the development of your back muscles. Yoga sorts all these types of issues out, as well as conditioning your body. My advice, get yourself a surf specific yoga DVD and do it 2 or 3 times a week.
That takes care of your day to day fitness programming, keeping your body in reasonable shape for the waves any day of the week. Once you have that sorted out, all you need to do in the weeks leading up to your holiday, is some functional surf specific training. Functional training is training which has been designed to cater for a specific function. In our case the function is the fitness requirements of surfing. So you need a fitness program that focuses on strengthening the specific muscles you use in the water and on your surfboard.
You've got your base level of fitness sorted out already by ensuring point 1 and 2 above are part of your lifestyle. This training program recognises though, that there will be a short period of time where you will need a higher level of fitness (Ie. For those long sessions while on holiday) and prepares you specifically with those higher needs in mind.
I hope this helps you prepare for your next surfing trip where ever it may be. We all know training can sometimes be a bit of a drag, just remember how much more fun those surfing days are when the waves, your skill and your body all come together at the same time, so you can catch that elusive perfect wave. - 16650
About the Author:
Before you organise your next surf trip, make sure you consider Damian Papworth's functional training program for surfers
