Surfing Waves

Paddling is critical part of surfing and my ability to do it well determines the outcome of every session. When my arms are strong, I can power around or through the impact zone and feel stoked when I arrive at the lineup. When my arms are strong I can make it to the takeoff spot on peaks that are a distance away from where I'm waiting. And when my arms are strong, I can catch fast waves and pop to my feet like a boss.

Of course the reverse is also true. When there is no gas in the tank, I get slammed going out, I settle for the closest peaks, I miss more waves than I catch and I wobble the popups. In the last 3 months, this has been the norm because I could only get to the break once a month and my swimming pool was closed. Now that it's open and I've started training again, I'm looking for a big improvement.

My "surf swimming" workout covers about a mile and repeats twice a week. Do you have suggestions to make it better? Thanks!

200 free (warm up)
100 kick (1 lap each stroke to loosen up)
8 x 50 butterfly
200 free
8 x 50 butterfly
4 x 100 IM
200 free
8 x 25 free sprint
100 brest stroke (cool down)

Have a beer after the swim? It sounds good to me. If you stick with it you should be ready any time.

When I was on the swim team we would sometimes isolate the arms and legs and work them separately. For the arm workout we would put a small circular inflated rubber tube (inner tube) or circular inflatable children's flotation device which we stuck our legs through to add traction and keep from kicking. That might help to build arm muscles that you need.

I do a 'surf paddle' exercise too in the pool... Do a front crawl, but keep your head way out the water and your back arched (just like you were on a surfboard), and do no more with your feet than enough to keep you horizontal. Paddle as fast as you can.

It's a hopelessly inefficient way to swim, but that's what makes it good exercise, and it targets more or less exactly your paddling muscles, including your lower back.

drowningbitbybit wrote:I do a 'surf paddle' exercise too in the pool... Do a front crawl, but keep your head way out the water and your back arched (just like you were on a surfboard), and do no more with your feet than enough to keep you horizontal. Paddle as fast as you can..

That sounds brutal...and I'll try it. Soon you will have to call ME Drowningbitbybit.

oldmansurfer wrote:When I was on the swim team we would sometimes isolate the arms and legs and work them separately.

I can see the surfing value in doing "pulls" for the arm workout (Gawd knows my butt has enough drag!) but I need convincing to doing the kicks. I ride a longboard and never use my feet. What do you think?

You can get a pool buoy to do what old man suggests, but they can actually reduce workload by floating your mid section and making you more streamlined...

Why do you do so much butterfly? If you are swimming for surf, then focus on freestyle. I know butterfly is tough on the muscles but they aren't exactly the right muscles

Are your short laps (50m etc) as fast as you can (sprints) or just swim then rest? What is your rest time between laps? Do you time your laps?

While sprints are good, every now and then do a 1000m continuous freestyle block. Build the foundation before putting in the fancy stuff

(Then again, was told today that my 13yr old cousin can beat me in a 100m race by 13 seconds! Stupid kids nowadays )

BoMan wrote:My "surf swimming" workout covers about a mile and repeats twice a week. Do you have suggestions to make it better? Thanks!

200 free (warm up)
100 kick (1 lap each stroke to loosen up)
8 x 50 butterfly
200 free
8 x 50 butterfly
4 x 100 IM
200 free
8 x 25 free sprint
100 breast stroke (cool down)

One thing I have learned since I started working out consistently (3-4 surf sessions a week + workouts at home when there is no surf) over a long period time (about 3 months now), is that I have aches and pains that I have to manage. I used to think the aches were a result of doing things incorrectly (that was true in the beginning), but now I realize that aches and pains are inevitable if you're exercising regularly. I figured out that over-training leads to zero gains, eventual injury, and a huge loss of skill-building time. Even when I'm training intelligently, though, I still have to manage muscle tension and problem spots (for me it's my rotator cuffs). There is a point when I'm surfing where I can actually feel that I'm past simple muscle fatigue and into a phase where the joint in my shoulder starts grinding. It's like a point where my muscle has stopped fully supporting the carriage/structure of my shoulder and so the bone starts grinding in the joint socket. That's how I imagine it at least. When I get to that point I go in and tell myself I'll surf another day.

Anyway, I have found that stretching is essential for me. I hated stretching at first, but now I love it for the extra flexibility and the way it diminishes the aches and pains. The other is deep tissue therapy. Try applying pressure to your sore muscle fibers. I'm amazed at how effective it is. I read about John Florence using a Tiger Tail massage roller so I decided to try one. The results are amazing. I use a foam roller, lacrosse ball, and a massage roller now so I can get pressure to the areas I need it. My favorite tool, however, is the Theracane. It let's me get to the trigger points in my back that need releasing. I recommend it. Anyway, those are some of things that have helped me improve my paddling and surfing.

This guy has some great vids on using a Theracane.

Paddling is critical part of surfing and my ability to do it well determines the outcome of every session. When my arms are strong, I can power around or through the impact zone and feel stoked when I arrive at the lineup. When my arms are strong I can make it to the takeoff spot on peaks that are a distance away from where I'm waiting. And when my arms are strong, I can catch fast waves and pop to my feet like a boss.

Of course the reverse is also true. When there is no gas in the tank, I get slammed going out, I settle for the closest peaks, I miss more waves than I catch and I wobble the popups. In the last 3 months, this has been the norm because I could only get to the break once a month and my swimming pool was closed. Now that it's open and I've started training again, I'm looking for a big improvement.

My "surf swimming" workout covers about a mile and repeats twice a week. Do you have suggestions to make it better? Thanks!

200 free (warm up)
100 kick (1 lap each stroke to loosen up)
8 x 50 butterfly
200 free
8 x 50 butterfly
4 x 100 IM
200 free
8 x 25 free sprint
100 brest stroke (cool down)[/quote]
Hahahaha....that sounds too much like work!!!

well I would say see how it goes. If you can keep motivated ti will be an improvement

dtc wrote:Why do you do so much butterfly? If you are swimming for surf, then focus on freestyle. I know butterfly is tough on the muscles but they aren't exactly the right muscles

I was doing the fly to build my aerobic fitness and to relieve the boredom of an all freestyle swim. Will butterfly hold me back?

dtc wrote:Are your short laps (50m etc) as fast as you can (sprints) or just swim then rest? What is your rest time between laps? Do you time your laps?

Right now the short laps are "swim then rest" because I'm still out of shape, but I'll switch to sprints when I can. If my best time for a 25 free is 14 seconds what should I shoot for in the repeats?

dtc wrote:Every now and then do a 1000m continuous freestyle block. Build the foundation before putting in the fancy stuff.

Great point! If you are coaching your cousin, I can see why he beats you.

Big H wrote:Hahahaha....that sounds too much like work!!!

I am so jealous of your life by the ocean. It's much better to get in shape by surfing!

Gassing out is an interesting phenomenon, I go surfing from 1.5 hours to 4 hours, but it depends on a bunch of factors. Good waves and good channels to get back after riding, long time. Pounding surf and a lot of duckdiving, shorter session. I don't think it depends too much on how you prepare, but just on your overall health. When I weighted 200lbs I surfed about the same as I do now at 170lbs, but it seems that now I have an easier time paddling for waves since I don't have to lug as much weight.

So, suggestion: If you are slightly or more than slightly overweight loose some weight, it makes a difference on how much a board will float you, and thus how much you have to paddle to catch waves and to make it back in the lineup

BoMan wrote:

Big H wrote:Hahahaha....that sounds too much like work!!!

I am so jealous of your life by the ocean. It's much better to get in shape by surfing!

I'm jealous of your willpower for a program like that......I used to go through hell when I was on the wrestling team and had long workouts playing soccer including 2 a days......but always with someone driving me and with the support/motivation of the team going through the same hell.

I really can't exercise for the sake of it....I need to be doing something (IE playing soccer rather than running to get in shape). Attention deficit, lack of willpower, boredom.....I have always admired those who could train well on their own. I would have been a lot better football player if I had been able to stick to the morning runs prescribed by my coaches.

One note on second winds....

....for me the first 20-30 min is a settling in time....then usually a second gear kicks in and I'm refreshed and can go for a good while longer. Somedays that doesn't happen and I'm done within the next half hour....usually due to lack of sleep. Regardless, I always go through that breaking in period...rarely am I firing on all cylinders anything close to quickly.

IB_Surfer wrote: If you are slightly or more than slightly overweight loose some weight, it makes a difference on how much a board will float you, and thus how much you have to paddle to catch waves and to make it back in the lineup

Well said...but my problem is AGE. I'm 65 and struggling to retain muscle and flexibility. It ticks me off that I have to work so hard to paddle and pop-up.

Perhaps the next regimen is a new diet. (without Oreos) I'll start searching the threads.

Jaffa is going to feel the weight and lack of fitness soon.
I'm currently searching out the Mysto Austrian point break , but in reality no meaningful surfs since las year.

My plimsoll's line has probably deepened and my match fitness declined so a major get fit program will be needed.

Needs to be thoughtfully planned , last year 26 weeks non surf a successful Indo trip then next to nothing.
The program has to be designed so that fitness no further injury and paddle power are all regained or I will be relegated to surf break flotsam.

Jaffa, I hope you can keep surfing. I was so worried that I could continue to do so even at the small pace I was doing it at. Age keeps creeping up on me but so far my fitness level has been creeping up in pace with my age. Lots of older surfers here also wishing to continue surfing but you are the guru of us all.

Since some years I'm feeling the age thing, 53 now. Also I'm dealing with some old injuries dating from times I thought my body was indestructible. Lessons learned, expensive ones, still paying for them, every day..

My method for fitness is finding a balance between surfing and rest, and trying to get some good sleep.

One of my problems is that I find it hard to sleep after a day with good surfing, even when the session was in the early morning. I think it has something to do with (too much) muscle activity and recovery, but I lack the discipline to stop when the waves are looking great.

Now I only need 1 or 2 days rest between surfs, depending on last sessions intensity (with some yoga). Only one year ago I needed 3 or 4 days between surfs, so I'm still slowly improving. But when I write this down I realise the next surf can be my last..

Tudeo wrote:My method for fitness is finding a balance between surfing and rest, and trying to get some good sleep...but I lack the discipline to stop when the waves are looking great.

That is spot on for me, too. After making the long drive to the coast, I feel compelled to "get my money's worth" and stay in the water for at least 3 hours. If the waves aren't happening I drag out the skim board and slide into the shore break. When it comes to surfing, I am NOT the sharpest tool in the shed.

Now you see why I have to "paddle train" for the ocean. I only hope that I can be like Bill 'Wiggy" Wingginton and George "Mysto" Carr who are still competing in their 70's!

oldmansurfer wrote:Jaffa, I hope you can keep surfing. I was so worried that I could continue to do so even at the small pace I was doing it at. Age keeps creeping up on me but so far my fitness level has been creeping up in pace with my age. Lots of older surfers here also wishing to continue surfing but you are the guru of us all.

I don't plan to stop just rebuild the body a bit for less injuries ( that's what has kept me out of the water, rugby knees revisited). The last 18 months have had a lot of required family doings which with the injuries has virtually evaporated surf time. Now El Niño promises lots of and prolonged flat spells hmmmmmmmmm! Still I'll be surfing!

Also getting back to shaping for a special kneeboard I had in mind, local shaper is interested so a collaboration is happening! My glass jobs were alway lousy!