Better Balance Equals Better Surfer

By Clayton Beatty BSc

Clayton Beatty is the fitness expert behind Total Surfing Fitness, a website dedicated to functional fitness training for surfers. Clayton holds a BSc Degree in Human Movement and is a Qualified Exercise Scientist. If you would like to learn more visit his website at www.totalsurfingfitness.com

Have you ever been watching a surf DVD and you see some pro bust off the lip, land on some awkward angle with his body bent backwards into the white-wash and yet some how he recovers and manages to stay on his board.

Don’t you wish you could do that? That sort of recovery requires an insanely high level of core strength and balance. Lucky for us, you can actually train to increase your balance and in turn improve your surfing.

The following exercises will help you improve your core strength and balance so you can make more waves, perform better tricks and wipe out less.

There are two important components when it comes to surfing balance. The first of these is strong and stable leg muscles. Training your legs in isolation will iron out any weaknesses you may have in your leg and hip muscles and decrease the chance of injury.

The second component is core stability. This refers to keeping your body stable when other forces are trying to knock you down.

This first exercise is excellent for building your balance and leg strength.

BODY WEIGHT SINGLE-LEG SQUAT

• Stand on a Step or Bench on one leg.

• Lower your body until your thigh is parallel with the floor and then push back up.

• If this is too hard, only lower your body as far as you comfortably can.

This second exercise trains core stability specifically. The stability ball mimics the unpredictability of the ocean. In order to stay on the ball (your surfboard) you need to maintain your balance by using the core muscles of your abdominals, lower back and hips.

1. First of all try balancing on both knees on top of a stability ball.
2. Balance for 30 seconds and repeat 2 more times.
3. Once you have mastered this try balancing on one foot and one knee.
4. Do 3 sets of 30 second balances.

KNEELING SWISS BALL BALANCE

• Start by balancing with your hands and knees on the ball.

•  Lift one hand at a time until you can balance on just your knees.

•  Make sure you have enough room so you won't fall onto anything.

Once you can comfortably balance on a stability ball, you are on your way to having excellent core stability and balance. However there are a lot more exercises that you can do while balancing on the ball which will dramatically help your surfing ability.

For these exercises and more visit www.totalsurfingfitness.com. Here you will find a complete functional training program designed specifically for surfers, which includes training for core strength, balance, cardiovascular fitness, upper & lower body strength and flexibility.