How to improve surfing skills without water?

[danse]

Hey guys,

I'm looking for any and all advice on how to become a better surfer without actually being in the water.

In case it sounds like a stupid question, I should explain that I live in a place without surfable waves so I only get to go on surf-trips a few times/months a year. However, I don't want to have to start out from scratch everytime I get to go and stay a beginner forever.

So: How do you improve your surf skills on land? Any particular useful exercises for fitness, balance and is it possible to train other moves than the pop-up on land (or in a pool)? Can you practice turns or even duck-diving somehow?

All advice is appreciated
Nik

[Big H]

Skip rope...work up to 5 sets of three minutes with a 30 sec rest in between. Used to do that when I was doing another sport and I can't remember being more fit than at that time....that was our warm up before the training and it got to the point after doing it for a month every day that it was not that tough to get through, and it translated well to the activity we were training for and made a real difference. Stretch and do some push ups and pull ups and stretch some more. Do some abdominal stuff and those squat thrusts that Billie was talking about. Can do some dry land pop up practice too though I think I messed myself up with doing too much of that early on as I became focused on exploding up and off the board like a sprinter coming out of the blocks recklessly out of control rather than feeling the wave and the moment to set the fins and smoothly pull my legs under my body under control which you can't do on dry land because the floor doesn't fall away underneath you. Get a carver or smooth star skateboard and shred the streets imagining you are on a wave and throw cutbacks and bottom turns all over the asphalt.

Fitness never hurts but I've seen some oldies out at the break in their 60s with big fat guts and they surf like they've been doing it for their whole lives (haha....exactly what they've been doing). Fitness routine consists of a few 12oz curls a day and a nap it looks like.

Unfortunately there is nothing like the real thing....fitness and flexibility at least set the table.

[Lebowski]

Paddling fitness is everything in my opinion. If you lose that, you will always surf poorly.

Buy some bungee chords from somewhere like MagicSeaweed. There's a surf specific set which mimics the paddling movement. They are very good and definitely work, although they are also overpriced for what you get.

You basically hook them around a post or door handle about 7ft away, and replicate the paddle movement. I go one step further and have a large footstool which I lay on like a surfboard. That way, the exact same muscles get used. It's very boring, but definitely helps when I'm away from the water.

[Lebowski]

Paddling fitness is everything in my opinion. If you lose that, you will always surf poorly.

Buy some bungee chords from somewhere like MagicSeaweed. There's a surf specific set which mimics the paddling movement. They are very good and definitely work, although they are also overpriced for what you get.

You basically hook them around a post or door handle about 7ft away, and replicate the paddle movement. I go one step further and have a large footstool which I lay on like a surfboard. That way, the exact same muscles get used. It's very boring, but definitely helps when I'm away from the water.

[Lebowski]

It's so important that I've said it twice!!

[oldmansurfer]

You can paddle a board in flat water to keep your arms in shape, swimming would be a secondary choice. Practice popping up on dry land and duck diving in a pool or stream or lake or the ocean. You can do balance training and that would help somewhat. Or do a land based sport that requires balance and coordination like skateboarding. Better yet do SUP. However the best way is to find a way to surf more often. I am not sure if anything you do can replace getting in the ocean and surfing

[pmcaero]

You might be lucky enough to be by a suitable river:
http://riverbreak.com/

Or have a wave pool nearby:
http://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/5283 ... cial-waves

[waikikikichan]

The best on-land trainer for bottom turns, cutbacks, pumping, timing and flow is get a Carver skateboard.

[Big H]

Paddling fitness is everything in my opinion. If you lose that, you will always surf poorly.

Buy some bungee chords from somewhere like MagicSeaweed. There's a surf specific set which mimics the paddling movement. They are very good and definitely work, although they are also overpriced for what you get.

You basically hook them around a post or door handle about 7ft away, and replicate the paddle movement. I go one step further and have a large footstool which I lay on like a surfboard. That way, the exact same muscles get used. It's very boring, but definitely helps when I'm away from the water.

A friend of mine lays on a bench and does air paddles with a brick in each hand for 5min every day he can't get in the water. He also does a couple of sets of 10 pop ups right and left. He swears by it and says it keeps him sharp while he's away on business.......for a little background it isn't like he's a beginner.... Aussie born, he's been surfing since he was a kid (30 years give or take) and living here for the past several years. I haven't tried it; sounds too much like work. I'm a big believer in cardio....if your muscles keep getting O2 they can continue to perform.....training that involves swings between high and lower intensity but all the while keeping your heart rate up starts to show up pretty quickly in performance results.



So does quitting smoking..... (13 months now this time/final time!!!)

[Big H]

Paddling fitness is everything in my opinion. If you lose that, you will always surf poorly.

Buy some bungee chords from somewhere like MagicSeaweed. There's a surf specific set which mimics the paddling movement. They are very good and definitely work, although they are also overpriced for what you get.

You basically hook them around a post or door handle about 7ft away, and replicate the paddle movement. I go one step further and have a large footstool which I lay on like a surfboard. That way, the exact same muscles get used. It's very boring, but definitely helps when I'm away from the water.

A friend of mine lays on a bench and does air paddles with a brick in each hand for 5min every day he can't get in the water. He also does a couple of sets of 10 pop ups right and left. He swears by it and says it keeps him sharp while he's away on business.......for a little background it isn't like he's a beginner.... Aussie born, he's been surfing since he was a kid (30 years give or take) and living here for the past several years. I haven't tried it; sounds too much like work. I'm a big believer in cardio....if your muscles keep getting O2 they can continue to perform.....training that involves swings between high and lower intensity but all the while keeping your heart rate up starts to show up pretty quickly in performance results.



So does quitting smoking..... (13 months now this time/final time!!!)

[Big H]

Between me and Lebo, we should re-name this the deja vu thread....

[Gershon]

hey,

I would use some unstable surface as like bosu ball or indo board for the dry land workouts.
You can easily practice the pop up technique with it (simply take the push up position, from there try to jump on the bosu with both legs)
Bosu ball is also good for strengthen our shoulders and legs. (stand on it for a few minutes and try to do some one legged exercise for balance).

You can use the HIIT training for endurance and paddling power.