Muscle Groups That Are Vital For Surfing

Nobody can deny that surfing is among the most strenuous of the extreme sports. Spend 20 mins in the water trying to surf and you will soon realise just how fit the surfers are who choose to ride waves each and every day. Your muscles are worked incredibly hard as you take the board into the surfing launch zone and when riding a lot of energy is expended also. But which are the main muscles that get worked during surfing and which should you be training most?

Deltoids – These are basically the shoulder muscles and they will take an absolute pounding during any surf session. As you paddle out to sea and are lying on your front on the board, most of your ofter torso muscles are disengaged and your shoulders do 80% of the workload. Because of the amount of paddling out that most surfers have to do, if your shoulder muscles are not up to the job, you will find yourself stuck on the beach pretty soon

Trapezius – These muscles make up those of the upper back and the neck. They are also involved with the surfboards progressive movement when you are paddling out, but are called into action more when you are ‘popping’ up on the board. This is a fast movement and requires a lot of power, so likewise you should be working hard and fast with your exercises in the gym

Abs and core muscles – Your stabilising muscles need to be in peak condition otherwise you might as well just not get in the water. Although skill and balance are important elements in surfing, they are nothing without the muscles that are engaged to alter body position rapidly. These muscles need to have high priority in your training regime as their use is required during every surfing element. Pilates is great for developing core strength, but you can also use a swiss ball to work all core-muscles.

Cardiovascular fitness should also be included in your surf training and there are plenty of second hand bikes that you can pick up and use to ride to the beach to help with this