Photo: Gershon Borlai
Popping up to your feet happens fast. You have the wave rumbling behind you and just a moment to pop up with balance and control for the ride ahead. If you don’t get this right, you will miss out on your wave.
This simple drill will exercise all main muscle groups that you need for pop up (shoulders, abs/core muscles, and the lower body). It is part of my five-minute pre-surf warmup (you can get the entire warm up as a one-page cheat sheet here). By doing it regularly, you can also use it as a strength exercise that will improve your pop up.
How to do the grub walk properly.
-The movement should originate from your glutes and core muscles
-The goal is to keep everything (your muscles) tight from your heels to your head.
Starting position:
-Stand straight up with a shoulder wide stance.
-Slightly bend your knees and bend forward with the upper body.
-Touch the ground with your palms.
Exercise:
-Walk out with the arms through a push up position as far as you can.
-Hold the position with the correct pelvic tilt.
-Walk with your toes toward the palms.
-Take a deep breath in the starting position and exhale during the movement.
Repeat this three times as a warm-up or do it in sets of three for 3-5 times as a strengthening exercise.
Common mistakes to avoid include:
Arching the lower back: A typical mistake is overloading the lower back because of the lack of core control and hip tilt. The best way to protect the lower back is to squeeze the glutes by tilting the hips.
Not walking out far enough: One of the most common mistakes is stopping the movement at a basic push up position. Try to create a straight line from the knee to the shoulder in the end position.
This is a simple, but powerful exercise. Do you want the entire sequence for a five-minute pre-surf warmup? I have made a one-page cheat sheet that will help you with that.
Best,
