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.
One of the great things about this business is I deliver the surfboards myself. This gives me the opportunity to have a brief chat with every surfer coming through the Gold Coast using my services. I really enjoy this part of the business as being a surfer myself, I enjoy the contact with people who have a similar passion to mine. Also, it gives me the opportunity to get into the heads of my clients, so I can understand what their expectations are for their surfing holiday and can continually improve my services based on their desires.
The most common comment I get from clients returning their surfboards though, is regret that they weren't fitter for the holiday just past. This is an understandable problem. During the daily grind we all have work, family and chores to contend with. Time is the scarce resource which all our commitments fight over. We can't surf as much as we'd like, neither can we spend all our time training for fitness. So it is a rare surfer who arrives on a holiday with the appropriate level of fitness.
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:
General endurance is critical. You have to have a base level of aerobic fitness to surf. Otherwise you won't be able to paddle out past the breakers, paddle into a wave or breath through a hold down. Further, with this fitness comes a level of confidence, this is critical for surfing.
This requirement needs to be specific to the water though. You need to be water fit. Endurance in the water is so different to endurance on land. Moving through the water is almost a feeling, an art. The worse your feel for the water is, the more energy you'll burn up when you take to it.
So to cover off this requirement, you should be swimming or surfing at least twice a week, every week of the year. Do not leave it till a month before your holidays, it is impossible to develop water fitness in such a small span of time. If you love surfing, you will love the water. Make it a part of your life. Then, in the month leading up to your holiday, increase you workload by 1 or 2 sessions a week and make your sessions much more intensive. This will give you a little fitness boost pre-arrival.
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.
For me, yoga is the answer here. I have a yoga program specifically designed for surfing which I do as often as I can. Whenever I get bored with what I am doing, I get into my yoga routines. This helps me with my post surf recoveries, flexibility, core strength and balance. Not a bad bundle from one set of exercises.
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.
If you take care of the two items above (Ie water fitness and flexibility/core strength) you can give your surfing fitness a real booster by doing a functional training program specific to surfing. The point of functional training is it focuses in on the specific muscle and fitness requirements of a sport (in this case surfing) and trains those muscles in accordance with the needs of the sport.
You've got your base level of fitness sorted out already by ensuring point 1 and 2 above are part of your lifestyle. This training program recognises though, that there will be a short period of time where you will need a higher level of fitness (Ie. For those long sessions while on holiday) and prepares you specifically with those higher needs in mind.
I hope this article gives you a few thoughts about how you can train for your next holiday, no matter where it is. Training can be tedious, just focus on the waves you will catch once your fitness goals are achieved though and I'm sure you'll pull through. - 17944
One of the great things about this business is I deliver the surfboards myself. This gives me the opportunity to have a brief chat with every surfer coming through the Gold Coast using my services. I really enjoy this part of the business as being a surfer myself, I enjoy the contact with people who have a similar passion to mine. Also, it gives me the opportunity to get into the heads of my clients, so I can understand what their expectations are for their surfing holiday and can continually improve my services based on their desires.
The most common comment I get from clients returning their surfboards though, is regret that they weren't fitter for the holiday just past. This is an understandable problem. During the daily grind we all have work, family and chores to contend with. Time is the scarce resource which all our commitments fight over. We can't surf as much as we'd like, neither can we spend all our time training for fitness. So it is a rare surfer who arrives on a holiday with the appropriate level of fitness.
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:
General endurance is critical. You have to have a base level of aerobic fitness to surf. Otherwise you won't be able to paddle out past the breakers, paddle into a wave or breath through a hold down. Further, with this fitness comes a level of confidence, this is critical for surfing.
This requirement needs to be specific to the water though. You need to be water fit. Endurance in the water is so different to endurance on land. Moving through the water is almost a feeling, an art. The worse your feel for the water is, the more energy you'll burn up when you take to it.
So to cover off this requirement, you should be swimming or surfing at least twice a week, every week of the year. Do not leave it till a month before your holidays, it is impossible to develop water fitness in such a small span of time. If you love surfing, you will love the water. Make it a part of your life. Then, in the month leading up to your holiday, increase you workload by 1 or 2 sessions a week and make your sessions much more intensive. This will give you a little fitness boost pre-arrival.
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.
For me, yoga is the answer here. I have a yoga program specifically designed for surfing which I do as often as I can. Whenever I get bored with what I am doing, I get into my yoga routines. This helps me with my post surf recoveries, flexibility, core strength and balance. Not a bad bundle from one set of exercises.
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.
If you take care of the two items above (Ie water fitness and flexibility/core strength) you can give your surfing fitness a real booster by doing a functional training program specific to surfing. The point of functional training is it focuses in on the specific muscle and fitness requirements of a sport (in this case surfing) and trains those muscles in accordance with the needs of the sport.
You've got your base level of fitness sorted out already by ensuring point 1 and 2 above are part of your lifestyle. This training program recognises though, that there will be a short period of time where you will need a higher level of fitness (Ie. For those long sessions while on holiday) and prepares you specifically with those higher needs in mind.
I hope this article gives you a few thoughts about how you can train for your next holiday, no matter where it is. Training can be tedious, just focus on the waves you will catch once your fitness goals are achieved though and I'm sure you'll pull through. - 17944
About the Author:
Before you organise your next surfing holiday, make sure you consider Damian Papworth's funtional training program for surfing
