Training For Surf Away From The Sea

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For years, I lived right by the ocean and enjoyed surfing whenever the waves were up. When there was no surf I would often go swimming, maybe skimboarding, freediving or something.Now that I have moved to city quite far away from the big blue not only do I miss it terribly but I know that my waterman skills are slowly dwindling. Every so often though, I do get to visit the ocean and I need to know tat my fitness and endurance are up to standard when I enter the water. The sea is known to be treacherous and ca nsnatch the life away from even the best and strongest of men and women.So here's how I prepare for the surf:Those who have experience in surfing will know that most of the time is spent paddling to get into position for the waves. If you can't paddle with your arms continuously then forget about surfing at all. If there is a rip current which there usually is at a good break, maybe pulling sideways to the shore then you'll have to fuss against it to keep in position.Someone once counted the number of paddle strokes it took him just to get out the back on a relatively "normal" surf day - probably about 3 to 4 feet, light offshore wind. He counted 8000 strokes - eight thousand! Just to get to where the waves are breaking. When you go to the gym, how many exercises do you do 8000 repetitions on? none.You can do this exercise on your board or straight on the ground - lie on your stomach as you would be prone when catching waves. Arch your back so that you head and chest are off the ground. Now start bringing your arms alternately from your side to pointing straight ahead. The same motion as paddling throught the water except obviously you wont be plunging your arms underneath (the ground is too solid for that). This exercise conditions the deltoids, crucial when paddling for hours. Do as may repetitions as you can, the more yu can keep this up the better. If you can do 100 reps on each arm you're doing well. While in the actual surf you wont stress your shoulders to this degree as they will get a moments rest on the downstroke, so if you can blast out hundreds of reps like this then your shoulders will be fine for thousands of reps in the water.While you are lying on your board or on the ground, also practice popping up. Pretend you are about to catch a wave and pop up to your stance. Concentrate on getting it right. Control your foot placement and land squarely on the stringer, the center line down the middle of your board. Make sure your feet are flat to the board surface - all those things can be tweaked to perfection almost without being in the water (of course there is no real substitute for real surfing).Get back down, do ten fake paddlestrokes, then pop up. Do this as many times as you like or can.The next important muscle group when surfing is the triceps. When paddling they are also in constant use as you pull your arms through the water to move forward. To train these effectively pick a light weight and do tricep kickbacks for as many reps as you can once again. You can also do high reps of push ups and dips to strengthen the triceps and upper body.Then we come to breath holds.The exertion in the surf can be quite cardiovascular so you should go running and for long brisk walks that get your heart rate and breathing rate up.Practice holding your breath for as long as you can. Over time your capacity will increase dramatically and you will soon manage three or four minutes if you up the practice.This is important in the surf as you will be spending time underwater. Depending on the size of the surf, even the duck dives can last a good few seconds. Not to mention the hold downs...Do these exercises regularly and your physical endurance should be on par for most surfing conditions. Of course there is close to nothng you can do to hone your wave reading and oceaneering skills. Things like tides and local anomalies can dramatically affect danger levels and enjoyment of the surf.You can only improve these by being in the ocean.