One thing to prepare for going into your first surfing lesson is how much energy you will expend. I tell many of my students that a surfing lesson is similar to track practice in that it will greatly test your endurance.
If you hope to take a surfing lesson, know that being in shape is not a requirement to enjoy the experience, but it will make the activity significantly less challenging. Below are three examples of several exercises that will help beginner surfers prepare for a lesson.
Indo-Board: There is no doubt that an individual’s legs undergo an intense workout while learning to surf. Battling currents alone takes a lot of energy, but also balancing and remaining stabilized atop the surfboard burns up the muscles throughout a surfer’s lower body. Indo-board training prepares the lower body and core for that burning, focusing on the stabilizer muscles that we infrequently target while working out at the gym.
Yoga: A strong core, flexibility, and proper balance are all needed to achieve success when surfing. Yoga provides the opportunity to work on each. Many surfers commit to incorporate the exercises into their surfing routine. Several yoga poses and techniques are synonymous with surfing movements. The cobra pose, for example, prepares a surfer to pop to their feet after catching a wave.
Strength Training: Surfing is by no means a sport that requires a tremendous amount of muscle. It does, however, require a solid foundation, and strength training will help build one. Bodyweight exercises are often most beneficial to one’s surfing. Push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, really anything ending in ups will help the upper body and core. Body squats and lunges will solidify the leg muscles to assist with the strain they will endure during a surfing lesson.
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