Changing my dietary to bulk up?

[BaNZ]

Surfing is now part of my daily life again so I figure I should start eating healthier. Plus I'm getting close to 40 so I really should sort out my McDonald's and diet. I've always been the perfect bmi range but I'm a little skinny. This was all great until I had a blood test, the nurse said everything looks great apart from my high cholesterol. She said this is not normal and unhealthy for my age. She was surprised when I told her about my junk food habit and she said if I don't want to die from a stroke or arteries getting clogged, I need to change the diet.

My question is, does being bulkier help with surfing? Most surfers I met are similar like me where they are skinny but they are like swimmers with bigger upper body mass. Occasionally I see some who are definitely doing weight lifting as they have a huge body. I'm assuming this means they have more muscles hence they paddle faster and have much more stamina? I'm thinking if I bulk up a little, this will help me to surf better with the extra muscles and just generally being healthier.

I've started to change my diet a little. I find chicken breast too boring so I have grill thighs and leg with white rice. Started ordering almond nuts and eat more vegetables but I really hate them. I boil the crap out of the veges so it doesn't feel like I'm eating raw food. I put on a lot of seasoning to help mask the taste. Last night I had a steak, some chicken, carrots and potatoes + a bottle of beer. Didn't feel too bad this morning but still sore from the surf session.

[Lebowski]

I always found that when I was skinnier I was colder in the surf. When I'm surfing a lot I have to almost force myself to eat loads of food to maintain mass. There was a stage in my life where I was surfing about 2-4hrs a day for months on end (hopefully there will be again), and I ate absolutely loads, although mostly healthy stuff but plenty of fats, otherwise it's just impossible to get enough calories for me.

[BaNZ]

Few years ago when I was 10% heavier. I feel like I got tired easily. Like I can feel the fat slowing me down when I'm running. Whereas now I'm skinny and more toned, I don't feel that way. I'm colder in surf now but I thought that was just part of metabolism slowing down and getting old.

[oldmansurfer]

The heavier you are the more weight you have to pull in the water with your arms which means with the stronger your arms need to be. Some excessive fat does help me to stay warm but I surf in Hawaii only and no wet suit. When I was younger and thinner and in better shape I got cold much easier however I could wear a wetsuit top and that would take care of it. The pros all beef up the lower body too because it's protective to keep them from being injured but not too much. Back in the longboard days the typical surfer had well proportioned upper body and skinny legs (with big bumps on the knees and top of the feet. ) Riding a longboard doing moderate turns and nose riding doesn't require much leg strength but if you want to do more then both weight and leg muscles help. A balanced diet is the key and you might look up what it takes to make a balanced diet. When I was young and surfing a lot I weighed 165 pounds at 6'2" tall (now I am 220 lbs and probably shorter than 6'2") and I wanted to put on weight. I tried doing weights and got a lot stronger but my weight didn't change. Finally I lived by myself and ate 8 chicken thighs and 4 cups of rice with some veggies and salad every night. I made it to 170 pounds yay! Had to get extra large shirts as it was mostly upper body, then entered college and dropped right back to 165 and all my new extra large shirts were a little baggy on me but what the heck. Now I just need to look at food and I gain a pound LOL

[OlegLupusov]

The bigger you are, the harder it is to surf!
Especially on a smaller surfboard.

Not sure whether you could gain weight/ develop muscles while surfing on a regular basis.

Just check pros! All skinny and sort of short.

[waikikikichan]

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Some of the best surfers I know are on the "big" side. So Banz, you may have a point about bulking up.

But say you do bulk up and gain more muscles/strength, will that have an effect on your fear of heights / taking on bigger steeper waves ? Will being "bigger" help your lack of Turtle Roll prowess ?

Instead of working on Power, work on your Timing and Technique.

[IB_Surfer]

No, practice makes for better surfing. My arms get a little bigger when I surf more frequently, but I find that the leaner I am the easier I catch waves

[BaNZ]

I feel weak though, like I don't have enough muscle to hold down a longboard when I get in the water or do a turtle roll. My arm is probably 1/2 the size of waikikikichan. Heck, it's actually even smaller than my wife.

[krustyburger]

Surfing is now part of my daily life again so I figure I should start eating healthier. Plus I'm getting close to 40 so I really should sort out my McDonald's and diet. I've always been the perfect bmi range but I'm a little skinny. This was all great until I had a blood test, the nurse said everything looks great apart from my high cholesterol. She said this is not normal and unhealthy for my age. She was surprised when I told her about my junk food habit and she said if I don't want to die from a stroke or arteries getting clogged, I need to change the diet.

Feeding your body nourishing food is critical, for health and surfing. Tasty as it may be, McDonald's is crap. Take the time to make healthy home-cooked meals and learn to enjoy making food. You are what you eat.

I feel weak though, like I don't have enough muscle to hold down a longboard when I get in the water or do a turtle roll.

I don't quite get what you mean by "holding down a longboard". If you are talking about submerging / duck diving a longboard, then its understandable that you can't do that... as they are not meant for that. If what you mean is trying to "press up" on the longboard to push through whitewater and getting pushed back instead, then that simply may be a matter of poor technique or too powerful whitewater to do an effective press up. This also applies to turtle rolling; technique and timing are everything.

I don't think bulking up is the solution either. As a few other posters have mentioned, the best surfers tend to be small and skinny. If you are eating well and surfing consistently, your fitness and stamina will improve over time, and so will your technique. Be patient with yourself and let your body adjust to your new surfing routine.

[jimsmiths]

No, practice makes for better surfing. My arms get a little bigger lil peep's when I surf frequently, but I find that the leaner I am the easier I catch waves

Bulking Foods for Hard Gainers
EGGS. Eggs are considered a gold standard when it comes to protein. ...
NUTS AND SEEDS. Nuts and seeds are nature's perfect portable snack, especially when you're trying to gain. ...
BEEF. Beef gets a bad wrap for being fatty and leading to cardiovascular disease. ...
BEANS. ...
YOGURT. ...
MILK. ...
CHEESE. ...
OIL.

[IanCaio]

Revived topic, but since it showed up:

From what you said it's not a matter of body shape but of being healthy. There are bigger people with low cholesterol and skinny people with high cholesterol. You should change your diet (which I believe you already started because of the date of this topic), but not to get in a better shape for surfing. But because your exams shows your current diet isn't healthy for your body. Healthier food will help your body function better and you might feel more stamina or less tiredness from the lack of proper nutrients.

As for being muscular or not, I've seen very muscular people surfing and getting tired on the inside faster than me (a kind of skinny person). I'm not an specialist, but I heard there are two types of muscle tissues: One is more about strength and less about endurance, the other type is more about endurance and less about strength. It doesn't really matter that you can paddle 3 times stronger than the next guy if you can do it for 5 seconds before you're exhausted. Again, not a specialist, but from my experience I wouldn't associate being muscular to performing better at surfing.

As for your diet, consulting a nutritionist is the best way to go, be careful with internet advice as there are lots of crappy ones and some crazy diets that might turn out unhealthy as well. Some things are more obvious, as including vegetables on your diet, avoiding fat, being balanced, eating less in small intervals rather than a lot in bigger ones. And to get used to the new "boring" food, there's no other way than forcing yourself to eat it until you stop disliking or even start liking it. There's no shortcut. Changing habits is hard, I hope it's going well for you so far!

[BaNZ]

I haven't completely changed my diet but it is getting better. Less of those fried food and fast food. I suppose it helps that my skills have increased a little so that I'm able to surf better, paddle out easier. I no longer fight against the wave to get out to the line up. I would paddle or walk far just to find an easier opening to get out.

Sometimes I see these body builders in the lineup and I wonder if it's much easier for them. There are times where I see shortboards that paddles out faster than me on a longboard. They make it look so easy even when the waves are gnarly. When it gets overhead, I start to worry and my heart race. Yet I see other surfers so used to the heavy conditions as if it's just another small day.

As I look myself at the mirror every day, I don't really notice the change. My wife said I've definitely got a lot of tan and the muscles around my shoulder and arms are a lot bulkier than when we first moved here.

[IanCaio]

I'm glad you managed to improve it! The change is gradual, just make sure you keep working on it

I've seen body builders get tired fast and I've seen chubby surfers that performed great. I'd say aim for fitness not body shape. Every person has a different metabolism, and if your goal is to surf better than just do exercises that will improve things you need for surfing. That is cardio, core and shoulder endurance and strength, balance, etc. Even if you don't get all ripped and muscular, you'll see it helping you surf better.

As for big days, there's more into that. I think fitness plays a big role there, but also does your psychological and very importantly: ocean experience. The best swimmer can still be in danger if he's in the middle of DOH waves, heavy currents and don't know how to deal with it. Those surfers you see surfing OH like it was nothing are probably used to this kind of conditions. You'll also notice some times you'll surf the same conditions, and one day it will feel more punishing than the other, because you felt less confident (the psychological factor). I'm maybe not the best to talk about it, as I'm on my own struggle to improve my wave size boundaries, but those are some things I kind of observe on others and my own experiences. Just take your time and be safe while trying to go bigger!

[Stanislas]

I think you need to learn more recipes that include food that you like. Do not force yourself to eat healthy food if you are not used to eating it usually.

[IanCaio]

Change of habits isn't always comfortable. Balance is everything for sure, and I think radical diet changes are more commonly given up than gradual ones. But if you don't usually eat healthy food you will have to force yourself to eating it until you get used to it. Just do it in small steps, not saying that healthy food will taste like chocolate cheesecake but it will be less of an effort to eat it with time.

[jaffa1949]

Haha, the man who stands right reminds me of Sadhguru. Sorry, just couldn’t stop myself from saying that. Anyway, truth be told, it’s harder to surf if you’re a big man. I used to have some 40 pounds of extra weight, and, man, you can only imagine how happy I was when I finally got rid of it. I even bought myself smart scales to track my progress, To surf, you should be like water: calm, light, and fast. If you’re big, you can accidentally cause a tsunami. So, actually, it’s up to you. It’s all personal.

[one0one]

I think power to weight ratio matters a bit. some skinny dudes are strong. they can paddle fast during the take off stage of their paddle. thats the most important thing i think, its real aggressive and explosive, especially in critical surf. turns and all that, you can manage being on the weaker side through technique. Thats what i love about surfing, you can see lil fat fullas smashing in waves, because they are alert and read the wave well, and have a board that floats them good.

I think something equally important regarding physical attributes are stamina, and cardio fitness when getting caught on the inside or having a hearty bail and having to get yourself away from inner rocks etc.. thats what i love about surfing.. the dangers.. i used to be a junky so now i need to live on the edge, and surfing is that for me.. especially on the big days at reefs lol.. but three hours deep on a critical wave, is when you see the fitness of the crew you paddled out with.. I can stay for a while because I train like a lifestyle in Crossfit, however it is detrimental when i get too into it, and have niggly injuries (hip) .. however the fitness keeps me ready for waves even when i'm not surfing often, because my bodies good to go.. as long as i have a rest day between training and surfing..

some good movements are burpees, clean and jerks, pull ups (kip) box jump overs (cardio) skipping, and perhaps the best one the ski erg. Targets lats, and tri's perfectly for surfing as well as cardio..

lean bulk would be better than straight bulk.. especially if it is functional movements to get the gains.. Good luck on the journey let us know how you get on with the gains !!

[Geezer]

I’m a mesomorph and put on muscle/bulk easily. I have never wanted that though and have spent my entire athletic life training in ways that develops leaner endurance type musculature. Higher reps, light weights, body weight exercises, resistance bands, cardio and more cardio. I wouldn’t personally recommend bulking up with the intention being to surf better. All for getting in shape….best way is to paddle and surf! Eating isn’t really too tricky. Stay away from processed foods, bottled drinks, any drink other than water, coffee or tea without sugar really, lots of vegetables, some fruits but not too much, a little bit of grains and carbs, more proteins. I eat alot of soups, especially miso with extra seaweed and tofu (daily). Stay away from sugars and too many carbs (complex sugars).

[one0one]

forgot to say meal prep. Make lots of meals for work lunches.. and have a protein shake for breakfast with oats and a few berries or mango frozen out of freezer. fast, not too bad for ya, and fills you up until you chuck your meal prep in the microwave at work. I usually do this when I am getting ready for a crossfit comp.. but lately it has been the norm. thankfully my wife makes the meals up. but i love them. she puts like sauces on the meat, with rice and mixed veges. compared to my usual burger and chips its great. and also i train a fair bit, so that type of meal is more than good enough. after work i snack on fruit, energy for the crossfit session, then have bcaa's before i train with half scoop of pre workout.. dinner after (whatever is cooked - varies) and depending on the difficulty of the workout another shake minus the grains.. just water and powder. this monday to friday. weekend i eat bad ish..

but that meal prep is the key to everything.. don't have it and i eat bad ish..

[Wewok]

Having more muscle mass can certainly help with paddling in surfing, as the extra muscle can help generate more power in each stroke. Additionally, having more muscle mass can help with overall stamina, allowing you to last longer in the water. However, it's worth noting that being too bulky can also be a hindrance in surfing as it can slow you down and make it harder to move your body in the water.
It's important to maintain a good balance of strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness to be a good surfer. Some surfers may find that weightlifting helps them build the strength they need to paddle and maneuver on their boards, while others may prefer to focus more on cardio and flexibility training. It's also worth noting that having a lean body and reducing body fat can also help a lot, this can enhance the power-to-weight ratio and that is important for the sport.
Ultimately, it will depend on your individual goals and preferences, but it's worth experimenting with different types of training to see what works best for you. I would suggest consulting a coach, trainer, or professional in the field of sports nutrition and physical preparation to help you develop a proper plan for yourself.