I'm 45 and probably only get out surfing about 4 times a month on average. I swim for 20 mins (quite fast) three times a week and this keeps me quite fit. But, when I get out on the board I still find it hard going and the paddle fitness just isn;t the same...swimming doesn't really touch the same intensity on the muscles to a degree. How many folk just go out and paddle the board when it is flat? Might be the only option for me.... Anything else I can try?
Suggestion: get a board that you can totally wrap your hand around nose as your centered on board! Fyi- this is old style late 70’s paddle work… But I recall it taught me how to center myself and develop serious paddle power! For sure- once can paddle around in 1 foot mush and catch waves and get the fitness levels worked on. Have fun Sir!
I was at the (dead flat) beach with my kids just today, they had their softboard to play around on. I ended up paddling it up and down the beach a few K’s, just for the fun of it. I was only thinking tonight that I may try to make a habit of doing it.
Gaz
Change your work out. Swim intervals. Include some 25’s and 50’s. And increase the number of yards. At 20 minutes, you may only be getting 1500 yds in. Do this:
warm up with a set of easy 50’s, total about 400 to 500 yds
[for all of the following intervals, allow 10 to 15 sec rest per hundred]
set of 5 200’s, sprint the second to last 25 yd lap,
set of 5 150’s, hard swim the first 100, check your time and easy swim the last 50.
set of 5 100’s, sprint the second to last 25 yd lap
set of 5 50’s, sprint each
set of 6 25’s
cool down with easy 200
add to this as your endurance increases
all the best
I'm right on the coast but I'm in a cold water country 6 or 7 degrees just now so does involve getting in and out of the wetsuit just to paddle on the flat...quite a faff on a cold day!
Going to start using a hand glove in the pool to increase resistance when swimming - might just give a better shoulder workout...bit more like you get on the board.
as i don’t have that much strength for paddling as well, i was serching the web for ideas and then i found this:
[img_assist|nid=1057057|title=paddle gloves 1|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=87|height=100][img_assist|nid=1057058|title=paddle gloves 2|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=68]
there are several models on the market from different companies, might be worth a try
If you have access to a pool, perhaps you can take your leg cord and tie it off( my buddy ties his to his diving board) and lay on the board and paddle. You are treading water but you can go as long and hard as you want.
Agree with GregTate – if you can’t get to the ocean and paddle around when it’s not surfable, then consider swimming with more intensity via piece work. Unless you live somewhere remote, there’s probably a Master’s Swim Program not too far away, and they have some good workouts. http://www.usms.org/
Growing up on the east coast with long periods of no surf, as I got older I had to paddle a lot to stay in shape, especially if I was getting ready to go away on a surf trip. What I’ve learned is that surfing involves 3 different situations - paddling to catch a wave (short sprint), paddling back out (medium intensity), and duck diving. I have come to realize that duck diving can be the most physically demanding part of surfing. So my workouts include all 3 - short sprints - at most 6 to 8 strokes; medium distance - about 100 strokes, and duck diving paddle outs - I paddle about 8 easy to medium strokes and then immediately duck dive and repeat this about 10 times as if I were actually paddling back after a ride. I do a mix of these for about 40 minutes every other day. IT WORKS for me. Sure beats getting off the plane in the tropics and find you’re out of shape when you hit the water. You can do this in the ocean or a bay if it’s onshore or even a pool if it’s available. Swimming does not work that well for me as paddling a board requires using muscles in the lower back and neck that swimming doesn’t hit. I also now have come to believe that staying in paddling shape like this has helped me have fewer shoulder injuries as I strain less when I am in shape and feeling strong. Hope this is helpful.
Thanks folks....I reckon the answer is deffo to up the intensity of the swim session I do. Can't up the time in the pool because I nip out in my lunch hour to the pool so I have limited space there. If I do a warm up then go for it in intervals with the swim hand gloves then I should get the intensity up a bit more. Mix that with some flat water paddling now and again if no surf. I can't see much else I can do apart from the usual press ups, dumbell training. Cheers folks!
if you are an admittedly weak paddler then you don’t have the requisite strength and technique necessary to use gloves without risking pain/damage to your shoulders.
I got hipped to a few things from a surfermag thread of the same nature:
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the cuban press. light weight, high reps…great shoulder strength regime.
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paddle technique (focus on posts in this thread by Nick Carrol) http://forum.realsurf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=12430
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resistance band workouts of paddling muscles 百色哟研房产交易有限公司
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extra credit: medicine ball core workout UNC's Ultimate Medicine Ball Abs Workout | Men's Health
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Growing up on the east coast with long periods of no surf, as I got older I had to paddle a lot to stay in shape, especially if I was getting ready to go away on a surf trip. What I've learned is that surfing involves 3 different situations - paddling to catch a wave (short sprint), paddling back out (medium intensity), and duck diving. I have come to realize that duck diving can be the most physically demanding part of surfing. So my workouts include all 3 - short sprints - at most 6 to 8 strokes; medium distance - about 100 strokes, and duck diving paddle outs - I paddle about 8 easy to medium strokes and then immediately duck dive and repeat this about 10 times as if I were actually paddling back after a ride. I do a mix of these for about 40 minutes every other day. IT WORKS for me. Sure beats getting off the plane in the tropics and find you're out of shape when you hit the water. You can do this in the ocean or a bay if it's onshore or even a pool if it's available. Swimming does not work that well for me as paddling a board requires using muscles in the lower back and neck that swimming doesn't hit. I also now have come to believe that staying in paddling shape like this has helped me have fewer shoulder injuries as I strain less when I am in shape and feeling strong. Hope this is helpful.
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I think this makes perfect sense....if I have a bit more dedication through the Spring and Summer I shoudl do this...I have a sheltered bay only two mins drive from the house. Cheers.
Tblank is right…I used to swimm nearly everyday during lunch… mainly front crawl (freestyle?)…it helped for a while…but then there came a limit. Becaue of my poor technique and ill timed strockes and kicks I could not get any better/stronger. The power of my strocke was very poor…this became evident when I started swiming with a foam block held between my legs…essentially preventing me from kicking.
Similar to this one:
The difference I felt was immense…using these means you NEED to make more powerfull strockes to be able keep head above water and inhale.
These also somewhat corrected the bad timimg/rythm…
Also dont underestimate the “breaststroke” swimm style…for me this one feels like it is more beneficial in terms of paddle power and fintness if your (front crawl) freestyle technique is poor.
I find that mixing in some dry-land exercises can really supplement the lap swimming. Pull-ups offer plenty of resistance and help you keep your intense, wave-catching paddle stroke effective. Pushups, incline pushups, popups (including jumping up with your legs) are very helpful too.
BUT: these are the most helpful when you can do them immediately before or after, or in the middle of you swim workout. If you can do a whole bunch of pushups and pullups in the middle of swimming a mile, then you can definitely catch waves next time you surf.
I even find a bit of weight work, especially tris, chest, and back can help a bit, as long as you don’t go overboard and get all bulky and stiff. A little extra power is good if you have a thick wetsuit.
For legs I never really pay attention to them, between swimming and skateboarding (and walking) they seem to stay in shape (knock on wood).
Yoga ,
it will improve all aspects of your surfing !
Swimming,
is a great workout but if your technique is bad then it will not help your surfing. consider a coach or trainer for a few lessons .
Pillates ,
get the core strong .
Howzit tblank, That is what I did when I got to Havasu since we have a pool here but instead of tying off to a diving board ( don't have one) I tied of to a palm tree behind the pool. Another way is to stand in the shallow end of the pool and bend over and lean bacak and just paddle and after 20 minutes to a half an hr you can feel the difference and since it had been so long because of the cancer my paddling muscles needed to be worked on a lot and I can feel them getting bigger every day, lucky the pool is heated since the lake in the winter is about 35 degrees,Brr. Aloha,Kokua
howdy afoaf, great link.
out here, local surf guides don’t really teach proper technique for anything and my suspicion is they’d rather not have out-of-towners competing in the lineup at their home breaks.
that prompted me to observe, while weaning myself away from said ‘surf guides’ (more like board pushers in practice), where my post-surf aches usually occurred, and developed thru the years my own calisthenics/plyometrics conditioning routine. the exercises help me deal with gouty arthritis as well so for me, they’re good enough.
when heading for the lineup i’d typically paddle with arms deep in the water, but when positioning for breaking waves i’d just bend my forearms from the elbows to conserve upper-arm strength, and furiously “paddle” with cupped palms at head level, digging in until the base of the thumbs only, and pulling back until ribcage level.
it looks (and feels) awkward— but not tiring-- and i’ve found that whenever i’m in the right spot it usually only takes 3-4 strokes to get up and running. i don’t know whether this ‘shortcut’ method would work with shortboards though. i’ll know for sure after i build my own HWS mini-simmons hehe
i’m turning 41 by mid-year btw
cheers,
see if you can get a copy of Men’s Journal, May 2006 issue with “The Anytime, Anyplace Workout”.
i’ve adapted most of it for my personal conditioning routine, i can’t recommend it enough " )
cheers,
Another dry land option is Nordic Walking, any of the straight arm varients. If you really emphasize the arm push it exactly works most of the paddling muscles. Also check these L,Y,T, P set of exercises for both the recovery part of each paddling stroke and also to balance out so you don’t overdevelop pecs and lats and long term, end up with poor posture and damaged shoulders.
For me it’s my pop ups that have suffered the most as I approach 50, try Burpees, they will kick your butt. There is a great You Tube video on how to do them, (smokin hot instructor). The great thing about them is you don’t need any equipment, just a large flat area to do them. They really help with your quick burst strength moves. Pop ups, duck dives, and catching a wave.