Surfing Waves

Paddling is really the big barrier in my ability to get waves earlier so I can be up before they break and turn and ride the line, so I decided to work on my paddling power/endurance. I know I should be paddling every day even if there is no swell but most days I just don't do that if there is no swell. And then between swells I find my arms get out of shape and I get the led arms the first day of a new swell.

So, I got an elastic band at Target with handles on the ends, and I started using it tonight in front of my house. I wrap it around a telephone poll, and then facing away from the pole I do a swimming motion pushing hard against the band. High reps, stop when I can't do any more of them. Then I turn around and do the same thing but pulling on the bands instead of pushing. Then I turn back around and do flys. Then I step on the rope and do lateral and front lifts for my shoulders. I should probably lay flat and do side lifts for the rear deltoid too.

Anyway, I know I should be paddling daily but I think if I add this nightly to my routine then my shoulder power/endurance will go up a lot. I can really feel the burn, and the bands really simulate the resistance of water.

Anyone else done this? I think its gonna help a lot.

You do this outside your house?

I expect to see it on YouTube any day now!

But, hey, if it works

keep it up mate... several people i started with do nothing in the way of training mid-week... then complain about having no energy when they are out
started swimming a few times a week a while back and its unreal how much I have in the tank even after 2 hours!

I was using one of those pilates bands for my shoulder under the physios instructions. Now my shoulder is fine I could maybe try and do something like you.
Just need to find my closest telegraph pole!
It can't look as stupid as someone going out "surfing" on a flat day!

I also added pull-ups (stand on the middle of the band) for my front/side deltoids since they sometimes get tired too, and also the rear ones (face poll, band around pole, reverse flys). And I tarted slinging it over the tree and pulling it down, since that most closely resembled paddling.

The cool thing is - I'll be away from the water for 2.5 weeks on a long trip starting tomorrow. But I can bring my gym with me and not be totally out of paddling shape when I return.

I'm going to get some dumbells and add lower rep sets with those - and superset the band pulls. That should simulate what I want in the water - lots of power for catching waves, but endurance for paddling out/fighting the current.

Might not be easy for you but swimming 2/3 times a week will change everything for you. But don't go to the pool and swim at snail's pace - go for a shorter time but work on intensity.

I'm doing that too, actually and my shoulders feel like ground beef

i usually do 4 lengths slowish to warm up... then as many as i can as fast as i can... maybe 6-8 then chill for a bit catch my breath.. then at a reasonable pace till they blow the whistle for the end of the hour (local pool.. pay for hour sessions and too tight not to get my money's worth lol).

think endurance is just as important as intensity if not more so... particularly so that you can get out back and not be too wrecked to deal with any surprises when you get out there. also you'll be on better form for longer when you are out..

Garbarrage - certainly agree with the slowish warm up but a standard endurance technique used by many an athlete is to work on intensity as it builds stamina quicker. (Not that I'm an athlete by any stretch - but I know a few things via pals who are trained properly in a number of sports.)

Short bursts of intensity with rest in between is the way to go to build stamina quickly.....so I'm told!

Yeah, I like doing a freestyle sprint lap, then a breast stroke chill lap. Alternating. Interval training.

Suppose whatever you do it's suppose to be fun.

no expert on the matter... just find that after my sprints i sort of settle into a rythm and am capable of continuing without breaks... which i don't seem to be able to do without stretching my cardio first...

would be interested to hear a few more opinions from someone more in the know..

Today I did:

2 sets - Plyometric Push-ups (where you jump up off the ground)
Burpees until near death experience (which means like
and then the bands as fast as possible as before

My upper body is teh hurt. I think I'll use this routine when away from dumbells.

I was away from the water for three weeks and I did the band exercises, stuff like push-ups, swimming etc. to keep my paddling arms in.

Well, it worked. I could paddle ok. Some problems though...

MY LEGS ARE WEAK. In the three weeks I was away from the water my legs got to be rubber. I can't pop up worth a crap. So I'm adding some bodyweight squats and lunges and doing more burpees.

And although my muscular endurance for paddling is definitely better from the routine... I NEED MORE POWER. I am still too slow to get on some waves I should make. So I'm going to add those dumbells soon, and superset upper-body exercises with dumbells with the bands. That is what is recommended for swimmers to get power + endurance, so I think it will work for me.

I play Xbox and eat Half Baked Ben & Jerrys ice cream.

We dont get Ben & Jerrys!!

LOLRuss wrote:I was away from the water for three weeks and I did the band exercises, stuff like push-ups, swimming etc. to keep my paddling arms in. Well, it worked. I could paddle ok. Some problems though... MY LEGS ARE WEAK. In the three weeks I was away from the water my legs got to be rubber. I can't pop up worth a crap.

I respect your determination, LOLRuss, but something is wrong with your observations. There is NO way your legs can lose that much strength in three weeks. The only thing you might lose in three weeks is a certain degree of fitness, depending on how much you eat, drink and slack around. If you were a 100% fit athlete, you would probably also notice some strength loss, but still not to that extent.

I just got back from a four week holiday out of the water. Only thing I seemed to have lost is some confidence, a bit of stamina in the shoulders and some speed popping up. Three surfs later I feel I am almost back to where I was.

One other thing you are forgetting: your body needs rest. Most people recommend 24 hours of rest after every heavy training. Firstly, because your muscles need time to heal and secondly because you will start overstraining if you don't take breaks. Keep it up and you risk problems with your muscles and tendons, things that can take months to heal. Fitness is good, but so is rest. Especially at your (and my) age.

The other factor is... I think I put on 10 lbs while away from the water I think it was a combination of things... I've long had trouble popping up consistently, and before I left on the trip I had just gotten the pop up consistently in the few weeks prior. Part of that was that I developed enough strength/lost enough weight that I could get up fast enough to get rides.

So, I don't think I lost every bit of leg fitness but... combined weight gain and leg atrophy put me back on the suck side of the weight/strength pop-up threshold. Know what I mean?

Anyway, that means it shouldn't take too long to fix. I definitely notice strength/endurance loss if I don't work a muscle for three weeks, but it comes back pretty quickly.

As to over-training, I do appreciate your concern but I really don't think I'm doing that. I was pretty serious about bodybuilding in college (about 5 years ago), and I like to think I know what my body can take regarding resistance training. If I feel I'm overdoing it, I adjust my routine and take it easy.

Ok, that makes sense. I can see how 10 lbs of weight gain is going to slow you down if you had only just mastered the pop-up. Like I said: the eating/drinking/slacking factors are probably more important than the time off. I played a team sport for over ten years and after the summer break (three months) we usually found that the guys who had had a bit of an active summer pretty much picked up where they left off, but the guys who had been partying and smoking all summer ended up puking during their guts out during the first endurance runs in practice. Needless to say the coaches enjoyed these moments of victory...