Athletes can’t be lazy, and surfers are athletes.
We’ve become weekend warriors out of necessity. Real life steps in the way often enough that we must act to maintain our ability to surf when not surfing. Ours is a reactive sport. We oppose, we wait, we merge, we repeat.
Reactions and endurance show up in the absorption of fluctuating force within the elasticity of our frame, an ability to drive energy toward a focal point to launch or turn or trim, and a steady center of gravity throughout the constant shift in energy. We have minimal impact on any wave, and in order to succeed within the wave as it impacts us we need to work on structural integrity, the means in which a body supports its own weight in motion, and in all honesty, you have to work on it as often as possible. Athletes can’t be lazy, and surfers are athletes.
I’m learning this myself as my duties increase alongside the growth of Foundation Training, which has become a program of choice for many folks around the world. It has been my experience that if you want to become a better surfer you should hang out with better surfers. I think the same is true of health and wellness and joy in general. In considering friends to bring in to advise this article, I couldn’t think of anyone who does a better job balancing a life filled with adventure, responsibility, and satisfaction than a guy named Jessie Salas, an Orlando based Firefighter with hero honors, rescue diver, world traveling surfer, twin-brother to equally inspiring Eric Salas.
I’ve known Jessie for 15 years, and he’s been steady in remaining healthy, strong and inspired while maintaining a busy work schedule and continuously improving upon his surfing. The toughest thing to do is become better at surfing with a limited surf schedule. Here are a few tips from myself and Jessie. Do your own research on these topics, there is no way to fit enough instruction into an article like this.
1a. Work on your center of gravity:
-Indo Boards, Slacklines and Kettlebells.
-Each of these has a learning curve that should be respected.
-Slow and steady is the way to work on balance and center of gravity.
-Varied daily practice, brief as it needs to be, is more valuable than a long session or two a week.
1b. Practice movements that influence your center of gravity
-First and foremost, of course, is foundation training. But also of tremendous value are deadlifts, squats, planks, pull ups, yoga, and pilates. None are prioritized and if you are only doing one or two of them you are limiting your personal plateaus of strength and flexibility. Be versatile in your daily practice. You can learn all of these things online for free on youtube. Try to spend 5-10 minutes every day at an absolute minimum. Do not wait until you hurt yourself to learn these things. Prevention is key.
2: Work on breathing:
-Apnea training apps on your phone or tablet like the one called “Static Apnea Trainer”
-Use apnea training to help you trust your breath hold the next time you jump into a hefty beach break or scratch out just a bit too far inside of a clean-up set.
-Keep it more realistic by getting in a pool and sprinting with your head down for a full 25m length or more. Try a bit of higher intensity swimming a lap or 2 at a time with 30-60 seconds of recovery between each set.
-Check out Wim Hoff breathing technique online, it is easy to practice and rather effective.
3: Surfing specific movement practices like Wave Ki by Bradley Gerlach:
-I wish you could all learn this online right now, and I know Brad is actively working on a book to introduce the ideas to the surfing community. Hopefully, he’s reading this article and will get to work on finishing that book. Seriously, Wave Ki is tremendous and it will do a lot for your skill and responsiveness in surfing. Get to it, Brad!
-Surf training DVDs work really well too. It takes effort to stay strong throughout life, let these folks guide you part of the way.
The list is incomplete, but let your curiosity grab hold and go learn the stuff on this list that you don’t yet know. As you learn better body control the surfboard feels more and more at home beneath your feet. Take your time.
Find Jessie Salas on Instagram @surferjessie and find Foundation Training on Instagram @foundationtraining
