Thinking of planning a surf trip in the next 6 months? If so, I highly recommend you take a look at ways to improve your core strength out of the water. For too long surfers have been under the illusion that the only way to improve your surf fitness is by surfing longer hours. Simply put, your surf body is more important than your board if you're trying to surf heavier waves and take more drops.
Actually, after a decade of hard surfing, my body was really feeling the ill effects of not bothering with stretching or developing my muscle groups outside of the surf, particularly after extended surf trips! When I did further research with a Physiotherapist friend, I was able to develop a routine to support the key muscle groups needed for surfing (on the days the surf was blown out or flat!).
The benefits of focused workouts outside of the surf are listed below:
1. Core Strength
2. Injury prevention
3. Flexibility
4. Suppleness
5. And most importantly, riding more waves for longer, and tackling heavier conditions with confidence!
Each sporting discipline or endeavor requires a type of fitness - surfing included. I needed to support my body to do what my mind wanted. Improving my surfing fitness made my surfing experience on surf trips so much better.
One of the best things I got out of it was the ability to tackle heavier conditions, hollower waves, with a much higher degree of skill and confidence as a result of my core strength foundation.
