Editor’s Note: This guide was created in collaboration with the Surf Strength Training Program, a mobile app and online program designed to improve your surfing through fitness, nutrition, movement, and recovery methods. Enter code THEINERTIA to save $30 for a limited time.
If you think of all the positions we find ourselves in while surfing, or at least the positions we want to get to, we are heavily reliant on movement around the pelvis. Your hips need to move well, which is why many experts, coaches, and trainers work with athletes on various dynamic hip movements aimed at improving both mobility and strength.
The truth is, not every athlete is capable of dynamic movement in that area. We work desk jobs, we have knee problems, back problems, and any assortment of complications that revolve around or negatively impact hop mobility. And this is where efficient and effective stretching comes in, working the body up to greater flexibility, strength, comfort, and inevitably, better surfing.
What you’ll notice when taking on any kind of hip movement and stretching is that your spine, pelvis, legs — any part of your body involved in this type of movement — naturally settle into or force you into specific positions. Your spine may be rounded in one movement, legs bent at a sharp angle in another. These can all indicate exactly how mobile or immobile this part of our body is, which also tells us how ready we are to take on the dynamic movements that build greater strength and flexibility that will improve surfing ability.
The above video explains three stretches every surfer should be doing for greater hip mobility regardless of ability, as well as explaining what you can learn about your body through them.
You can find the full Surf Strength Training program from Coach Cris Mills here. Enter code THEINERTIA to save $30 for a limited time.
