Fit To Surf
Years of research & development to get to this point, months of practice, testing and refinement, now it’s ready and time to start getting you fit to surf!
3-monthly training cycles, monthly blocks in a ‘sports team’ gym setting,
developing:
1) strength/stability,
2) power
3) power endurance & speed
“The most important elements are paddling endurance and multi-directional strength and mobility.” – Rocky Snyder
Mobility is continually worked, also forming part of the warm up.
As we move through blocks 2 and 3 energy systems are also worked.
We ensure that the trunk is actively supporting us through athletic movements, so is being trained throughout. ‘All training is core training’
These two facets help support our paddling endurance.
Testing at start and end of each phase. Results guaranteed!
4 surfers maximum
Maximum bang for the buck land training for surfing – in terms of time, and cash! You are paying for performance training, with education you might want along with it.
A long-term training program generates the best results.
Elevate your physical performance for your surfing !
Scheduled sessions weekly in small group personal training
Want to know more? Read on or Contact me for my principles of training pdf.
Some training misconceptions
‘I just need to get more flexible’
Sure, we all appreciate the importance of flexibility in surfing, and for example how useful various yoga moves can be.
We include key stretches for surfing.
Flexibility alone is not enough.
More strength makes things feel easier. If we want to get stronger we can utilise bodyweight but we also need to add some load, (it doesn’t have to be much!) Bodyweight can only take us so far.
Improved flexibility can also come by using other muscles better, utilising load, reducing restrictive and unwanted tension elsewhere.
Also joint mobility is not the same. Learn the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ of a quality surf specific warm up, and how to make one your own.
Strength and Conditioning is about minimising or reducing the risk of injury,
as well as maximising performance.
If you are very mobile and flexible, strength training is even more crucial to you to reduce the risk of injury.
‘Technique of paddling or swimming is easy, this wont make much difference for me, I get all the paddle fitness I need surfing’
Getting in the pool regularly is important. I’m working on a session to host this and include coaching. There are technical elements we can run through in the land session that will make a difference!
If you get surf daily, you may well have stacks of paddle fitness. Due to the dysfunctional nature of the required mechanical positions for paddling, even more reason to ensure we are doing work that balances out overused muscles, and works underused muscles, and builds in protection for the back.
NDM Fit to Surf
The key to getting any benefit from the most surf-specific exercises is first to master general movement patterns, a crucial foundation, which should form the majority of training.This also feeds into injury prevention and being robust for surfing. We want to progressively overload and the most value and long-term progression is made by ‘minimal dose response’, and by mastering an exercise before embarking on the next one of greater challenge. We need to understand the notion that strength is a skill… Occasional testing is a great way to see one’s progression and readiness to overload into a next phase of training!
The 4 week phases are mapped out in the 3-monthly cycle, each with a certain training emphasis. During these we utilise some exercises to maintain earlier adaptations. Progressions or regressions from the programmed exercises can be tailored to the individual!
Nick can give you examples from his sport analysis and research of Surfing , as well his own personal experience. We can all appreciate that it’s majority paddling, we know how technical the pop-up is, and how great those precious few seconds wave at a time are on our feet!
Adding light load makes the body fire up more: more neuromuscular activity, gives stability and something to work against, causing force generation.
Learning to absorb force is the foundation of then being able to generate it.
Training with greater load causes the body to adapt and get stronger. A stronger muscle can apply the same force for less effort.
Resistance training has been evidenced to also support bone , ligament and tendon strength, so doing some long term is a must.
It’s also a fantastic way to get a cardiovascular effect which can increase our ‘fitness’ levels
Deep postural muscles in the trunk key in surfing have to engage constantly to maintain balance and form, during these 3 aspects of surfing mentioned.
With many exercises it is more demanding on these or easier to feel these activated and working, with load (light) than just body weight.
Technique is paramount (otherwise one strengthens a dysfunction, rather than a quality movement
Strength is a skill -the force we generate is the result of firing neural pathways, and co-ordinating the timing of firing of muscle groups.
Strength work can be carried out to ‘tune’ antagonistic muscle pairs, optimising our ‘residual’ muscle tension. This is what tone is!
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Also do check out Nick’s blog post on Stretching and the RAMP warm up here: