One of the great things about running a small business is they usually grow out of a passion, or an avid interest in a topic. In my case, the business was borne out of two. Gold Coast Surfboards was borne out of a passion for surfing and a passion for travel. With the idea that others share these passions, I built a business with the intent of providing them with everything they need, to make their surfing holiday the best they’ve ever had.

I really love the contact this business gives me with the people who share my passions. So I make sure that in 99% of cases, I deliver the surfboards to my clients myself. This also makes good business sense. In making sure I speak to my customers, I give them the opportunity to tell me what services would make their holiday better. This then gives me the opportunity to offer such services when they come back next year.

During these chats, the number 1 thing my clients desire is that little bit of additional surfing fitness. This makes sense. Nothing can really prepare you for the rigors of a surfing holiday, other than lots and lots of surfing. No matter how much you surf at home, the chances are you’ll surf more on your holiday for no reason other than the fact that you’ll have more time to play with.

So what is the best way to get that extra bit of fitness for a surfing holiday. I believe there are 3 things you should do. The first two should be part of your healthy lifestyle, the last should be a pre travel booster. Here they are:

The first thing you need to take care of is your general level of endurance. You need to be fit enough to go hard for 10 – 15 minutes minimum, as often this is the minimum paddling requirement for getting through the breakers and out the back.

I believe this fitness requirement needs to be a little more specific than “general endurance”. I believe you need to have a base level of “water endurance” or water fitness. Surfers and swimmers have an inate feel for the water. It is very different to exercising on land. It has a different type of co-ordination and efficiency. The fittest runner can be a disaster in the water, burning up all their energy and getting nowhere.

So get in the pool and swim at least twice a week. If you have a break near you, surf at least twice a week. No matter what you do, just make sure you are getting wet twice a week, every week of the year. Your water fitness will just come. It will just be something that develops, you will become more and more familiar with the water environment simply because you are being in it. Don’t make any excuses, go on, get wet.

The second thing you need to think about is your core strength, balance and flexibility. People don’t understand how important this is, especially when you increase your level of involvement. When you have a good core fitness and level of flexibility, your body holds together better and recovers quicker. That leaves you better prepared for your next session.

Yoga is the answer here. Yoga is so good for surfing fitness, it is almost as if it was invented purely with the surfer in mind. Not only does yoga help you improve your flexibility, balance and core strength, it also re-aligns and re-balances your body back into its natural and healthy position, away from the imbalanced position which surfing causes.

Also, even the simple act of paddling requires you to over-arch your back, creating a distortion in the development of your back muscles. Yoga sorts all these types of issues out, as well as conditioning your body. My advice, get yourself a surf specific yoga DVD and do it 2 or 3 times a week.

That takes care of your day to day fitness programming, keeping your body in reasonable shape for the waves any day of the week. Once you have that sorted out, all you need to do in the weeks leading up to your holiday, is some functional surf specific training. Functional training is training which has been designed to cater for a specific function. In our case the function is the fitness requirements of surfing. So you need a fitness program that focuses on strengthening the specific muscles you use in the water and on your surfboard.

To embellish a little, we’ve assumed you have a good level of general fitness, reasonable core strength and flexibility, so you are ready to participate in your every day level of surfing. However, in recognising that on the upcoming holiday your body is going to be using your surfing muscles a whole lot more than it usually does, for a short period of time, we give those muscles a fitness boost by performing very specific and related exercises.

I hope this helps you prepare for your next surfing trip where ever it may be. We all know training can sometimes be a bit of a drag, just remember how much more fun those surfing days are when the waves, your skill and your body all come together at the same time, so you can catch that elusive perfect wave.

Damian Papworth is the owner of Gold Coast Surfboards, a company that offers solutions for travelling surfers’ needs. From board hire to surf fitness, they’ll sort it out for you. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

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