Surfing Mobility Exercises: Surf Performance

Surfing is an addictive sport that is healthy for the body and mind. But the activity comes with a large portion of physical and mental demands, along with a side order of risk. It uses the entire body and requires focus. But as holistic as the sport is, it doesn’t provide everything. Hence the need to incorporate surfing mobility exercises to help reach peak performance and minimize risk.

Surfing mobility and strength exercises increase mobility in the hips and spine and improve core strength, protecting your back, shoulders, and neck. They boost stability in key joints, such as hips, knees, and ankles. They can also improve flexibility which enhances your agility and power.

Surfing, like gymnastics and ballet, requires the body to be strong and flexible but have stability. If the body isn’t flexible enough, strokes are inefficient, the popup is cumbersome, and the dexterity on the board is lacking. Yet, if the back hyperextends and essential joints wobble, balance is lost, injury risk is raised, and performance suffers. This is why surfing alone will not achieve peak performance.

Introduction To Surfing Mobility Training

Surfing mobility training incorporates off-the-water exercises that improve strength, flexibility, and stability while reducing injury risk. Exercises can be cross-discipline, using exercises found in yoga, Pilates, and the gym, such as squats. However, most are performed on stable surfaces, as studies have shown that doing so on unstable surfaces can have detrimental results.

In short: surfers already have enough unstable surface training by virtue of their sport. They must incorporate on-the-ground exercises and stretches to create a more holistic regime.

Benefits Of Surf Mobility Exercises For Surfers

The benefit of surf mobility exercises for surfers is better performance while reducing injury risk. For instance, rotation of the shoulders, trunk, and hips is essential for creating powerful, dynamic turns that are fun and wow the crowds.

But these maneuvers are not just a matter of power and suppleness. Flexibility combined with power that lacks control can lead to hyperextension injuries in addition to lacking the agility and grace surfers crave. In addition, the body must be able to cushion itself from the forces exerted against it, and there are many thanks to the variables of the sea and the sport.

So again, surf mobility exercises enhance a surfer’s performance on the water while making them less likely to be injured. In the end, the better we take care of ourselves, the longer we can enjoy the sport.

Top Surfing Mobility Exercises To improve Surf Performance

Ready to get started in your new on-the-ground training regime? Here are some top surfing mobility exercises to improve your surf performance.

Hip Mobility Exercises

Hip strength and mobility are crucial to surfing. They and the pelvis connect the upper body with the lower. If hips are stiff and weak, they impact surfing performance and cause injuries to the back and lower extremity joints, especially in the knees. Many people who think they have bad knees actually have tight hips.

However, too many surfers leap into dynamic stretches without establishing the fundamentals. So before you get fancy, start with some basics.

90/90 Hip Stretch

The 90/90 hip stretch is the foundation for many advanced surfing mobility exercises for the hips.

1. Sit down on the floor.
2. Extend your right leg in front.
3. Bring your right foot towards your left hip until you have achieved a 90-degree angle.
4. Your knee and outer thigh should remain on the floor and be extended forward.
5. The calf and ankle should align with the bent knee, parallel to your pelvis.
6. Extend your left leg out, in line with the hip.
7. Keeping your thigh straight out from the hip, bend the knee so your left calf and foot point straight back.
8. Both legs should now be at 90-degree angles, making L shapes.
9. Keep your torso upright.
10. Keep your shoulders and pelvis squared.
11. Breathe into the stretch.
12. After holding for 20-60 seconds, change the legs, with left in front and right in the back.
13. Hold again.

Watch this Youtube video for how to do the basic 90/90 and begin to increase it into a more intense stretch.

Curtsy Lunge

Front, back, and side lunges are taught in PE classes around the United States and are excellent for exercising the hips. But the curtsy lunge is only starting to gain the recognition it deserves and should be part of every surfer’s mobility exercise regime.

 

1. Begin standing, feet shoulder-width apart
2. Step your right foot back like you’re going to curtsy. Thus, your right foot is left of your left foot.
3. Now bend the knee (and pretend you’re in The Game of Thrones).
4. Return feet to side by side.
5. You can now alternate or do all the reps on one side first before switching.
6. As you improve, feel free to add some weight.

 

Do better with visuals? Here’s a YouTube demonstration.

Shoulder Mobility Exercises

Surfing makes high demands on the shoulders, from paddling out to the all-essential popup. The joint must be strong and supple yet have rock-solid stability, or injury will occur. Here are two stretching and posture exercises to incorporate into your routine.

The Sleeper Stretch

The sleeper stretch focuses on improving range and rotation by concentrating on the teres minor and infraspinatus muscles. The stretch technically needs no equipment, but you will find it more comfortable with a pillow under your head.

 

1. Lie on your right side.
2. Bring the right elbow out, in line with your shoulder
3. Bright your right hand up so the arm is now making an L.
4. Take your left arm and press the right hand toward the ground
5. Hold where you meet resistance for 30 seconds
6. Release, bring the L back up, and repeat
7. When finished, repeat the exercise on your left side

 

Need a visual? Here is a YouTube demonstration of the sleeper stretch.

Standing Wall Angel And Advanced Variation

The standing wall angel is excellent for posture and scapular control.

 

1. Find a nice, flat wall you can lean against.
2. Press your back into the wall, feet a few inches away, with knees slightly bent.
3. Bring your elbows up to your shoulder height, and extend your hands up to create two 90-degree L shapes by your ears.
4. Slide your arms up the wall until they have extended as far as they can without changing your posture or raising your shoulders out of position.
5. Slide your arms back down until they’ve returned to the L position.

You can see a demonstration on YouTube here.

To make it harder

6. Now, bend the right hand away from the wall and bring it towards the floor, stopping when you risk losing position. So, you should keep the L shape like a stuck 80s Barbie; the elbow and shoulder should still be in alignment and against the wall.
7. Now raise and lower the elbows two inches and lower.
8. Repeat a few times.
9. Now the right arm makes the upright L, and the left makes the upside-down L.
10. Raise and lower the elbows two inches and lower.

Watch the YouTube demonstration here.

Ankle Mobility Exercises

Ankles are one of the most overlooked in mobility training. Typically, ankles need less on the flexibility side and more on the strength. The tiny muscles, tendons, and ligaments are less impressive to show off than a toned calf. But attention to these minute details will keep you out of PT tape and ankle braces.

Toes And A Towel

Anyone who has damaged their ankles enough to earn a trip to the physio knows the value of an old dish rag in strengthening your ankles. So grab yourself:

• One lightweight towel, like the one found in kitchens to dry dishes
• A .5-1lb weight (some people have to start with no weight at all)

 

To begin:

 

1. Sit on a stool or chair where your legs bend at 90 degrees.
2. Have your feet barefoot.
3. Now place the towel on one side of the foot.
4. Place the weight in the far upper corner of the towel.
5. Grab the towel edge with your toes and scrunch it over.
6. Repeat going in the other direction.
7. Now switch feet.

 

Confused? Here is a YouTube demonstration.

Jump Rope, Skipping Rope

Take a hint from boxers and haul out a jump rope. You might not care about the ability to “sting like a bee,” but you do want to “fly like a butterfly” across those waves.

 

1. If you haven’t jumped rope in a long time, start slowly, on the balls of both feet. Then, do it for reps of two minutes at a time until you’ve reached a total of ten minutes.
2. Next, start alternating feet, one foot, one foot. Gradually increase: i.e., two jumps right foot, two jumps left.
3. Keep adding to each leg: i.e., ten jumps right foot, ten jumps left.
4. Eventually, your goal should be thirty per foot for each interval and jump for at least 10 minutes total.
5. Do this a few times per week.

Yoga For Surf Mobility Training

Yoga is an excellent form of surf mobility training. So much so that you’ll find yoga moves incorporated into most land training programs. Here are two of the many fantastic exercises yoga has to offer.

Cobra Pose

The cobra pose is a stretch and strengthening exercise that:

• Opens the chest, shoulder blade, neck, and collarbones
• Strengthens the back
• Improves flexibility, posture, and spinal alignment

 

To begin:

 

1. Being lying face down on the floor or mat
2. Place your hands under your shoulders
3. Inhale, then on the release, slowly push down, bringing your upper body off the floor
4. Engage the lower back muscles to enable the lift
5. Stop when you feel your pelvis threatening to lift off the floor
6. Look straight ahead
7. Hold
8. Slowly lower yourself to the floor
9. Repeat

 

See the YouTube demonstration here.

Plow Pose

The plow pose is a very big stretch that also acts as a massage to the neck and shoulders. The benefits of this intermediate pose are:

• Lengthening the spine
• Toning the back
• Stretching the hamstrings, calves, back, neck, and shoulders
• Relieves pressure in the back

 

To begin:

1. Lie on the ground or mat.
2. Extend your arms towards your hips, palms flat on the floor.
3. While pressing palms and forearms down, lift your legs towards the sky.
4. You should now be at a 90-degree L position.
5. Now bring your feet up and over the head, utilizing your bum and abs, rather than momentum.
6. Keep extending your legs until your toes reach the floor, behind your head.
7. Your legs should still be straight, if not, then you should come out of the pose, as you’re not ready.
8. Keeping your arms straight, bring your hands together behind your back, interlacing the fingers.
9. Breathe and hold.

For another example of entering the plow pose, see this YouTube demonstration.

 

Surfing Mobility Training Programs For Surfers Of All Levels

Surfing mobility training programs vary in intensity. As enticing as it can be to jump into the deep end, doing so can result in hurting yourself. Start slow, and if it is too easy, you can always make it harder the next go around.

 

Beginner Surf Mobility Training

One of the best things a beginner surfer can do is join a Pilates or yoga class designed for newbies (or both). They will increase core strength, which studies have shown is crucial for surfing while enhancing flexibility.

 

But in the meantime, here are some beginner mobility training exercises to consider:

• Lying butterfly stretch
• Cobra stretch
• Calf raises
• Deep squats
• Front, side, and reverse lunges
• Curtsy lunges
• Jumping jacks
• Quad stretch
• Cat-cow (camel) pose
• Sleeper stretch
• Standing wall angels
• Standing quad stretch
• Towel slides
• Start with basic jump rope intervals

 

Intermediate Surf Mobility Training

When you’re ready for intermediate surf mobility training is not replacing moves, but adding them or increasing difficulty. For example, you can begin to add in some weight to your squat and lunges. Also, it’s time to start more challenging moves with your yoga and/or Pilates practice.

 

Some new intermediate surf mobility training exercises to consider:

• Lizard lunge
• Plow pose
• Locust pose
• 90/90
• Should be skipping rope, doing at least two hops on a single leg before moving to the other
• Dog facing dog to up dog
• Box jump
• Frog squat jump

 

Advanced Surf Mobility Training

Advanced surf mobility training should involve the past exercises, while continuing to up the weight, reps, and difficulty to squats, lunges, and rotational exercises. By this point your flexibility and core strength should be ready for advanced yoga and Pilates poses.

 

Examples of advance mobility exercises to incorporate into your routine:

 

• Pigeon pose
• Eight-Angle Pose
• Mermaid Pose
• Push-ups with rotation
• Dynamic 90/90
• Should be able to do 30/30 on the skipping rope
• Frog Squat Jump with 10lbs
• Turkish get-ups

 

Importance Of Surfing Mobility Training For Injury Prevention

Studies have shown that nearly 30% of surfers are injured each year. While some are cuts and lacerations from coming wiping out, there are issues from the sport at large. The physical demands put surfers at risk for surfer’s shoulder, a myriad of overuse injuries, and hyperextension injuries, such as serious (thankfully, rare) myelopathy (SM).

 

Incorporating surfing mobility training into your overall athletic practice reduces the risk of being washed out from the sport you love. No, the exercises can’t prevent every injury. But even if nailed by your board or smashed into a rock, the better your overall fitness, the better your chances of a positive outcome so you can continue to enjoy the waves.

 

Conclusion And Final Thoughts On Surfing Mobility Training

Surfing mobility training isn’t just for serious athletes. Anyone who loves the sport will benefit from increasing strength, flexibility, and stability. We all want to improve our performance on the waves, even if a beginner, and we’re all at risk of being injured. It’s all about taking care of ourselves as best we can so we can enjoy the waves throughout our lives, even into advanced age.