Training Methods to Stay in Boarding Shape in the Off Season

Though the surfing and paddle-boarding season might be over, training season is open year round.  Here are some training methods for board-athletes and stay-up paddlers to do in the off season in order to keep your muscles and skills in-tact and make sure you're ready to rip come next season.  

For strength training you don't necessarily need to be lifting massively heavy weights in a gym (you can, but it certainly isn't necessary), but you do have to keep your muscles strong and building up strength can only help you.  Push-ups are a great exercise that can both build muscle strength and muscle endurance, depending on the number of reps and set you perform.  Military push-ups are the closest push-up to getting up on your board and work your pectorals, deltoids and triceps.

 

Try alternating between sets of 15-25 and quick sets of 5-8 as fast as you can safely go; this interval training and muscle confusion will give you some of the best results and you'll be able to take advantage of the speed out on the water.  You can also do some more isolated exercises to target specific muscles groups like shoulder presses, deep swimmers (pictured below), and upright rows for deltoids and traps; back flys and lat pull-downs will help with your back muscles; squats, wall sits and lunges will build up the muscles in your legs needed to keep you balanced while on the board.  

Your toes, one of the most used muscles needed to keep you affixed to your board, need exercise, too.  While they don't make many machines that will help develop your toe strength, sand is a free option and simply running barefoot on dry sand is one of the best exercises you'll have for your digits.  

Your core contains some of the most necessary muscles groups for surfers and paddlers as it's used in everything from paddling to standing to keeping your balance to swimming back to your board after a fall—for paddle-boarders, having a stronger core is more important than having massive shoulders or being able to crush a soda can with your bicep.  Try some lower back extensions with a fitness ball positioned under your hips, your body facing the ground.  Raise your head to a position where you feel the flex in your lower back, lower and repeat for 10-12 reps (you can also do this with small weights held to your chest).  Make sure your lower back and obliques get a lot of attention.  Obliques can be worked with side raises but will benefit the most from resistance training as that's what you're dealing with on the water.  

Yoga, too, can help you train—the Vinyasa flow might seem eerily familiar to standing—and their balance postures will translate easily to surfing and paddle-boarding; plus the fine muscles exercised will keep your whole body tuned up, making you more flexible and limber as well.  You can also up your balance by using Indo boards, fitness balls and other balancing equipment.  A good exercise involves standing on the Indo board and catching balls thrown to you by a partner.  

With these exercises you should be able to mitigate any lag that might come over you as you get back on the board next season.  This means you'll have more time to have fun and challenge yourself instead of making up for the absence.     

About the Author: Mike Walters has been writing about health and wellness for over a decade. When he isn’t busy writing about the benefits of wellness programs, he spends off days on the beach with his dog and his girlfriend Anna.

Exercises for Stand Up Paddling to Help Avoid Common Injuries and Overuse Issues

Here's an excellent video from my good friend Suzie Cooney from Suzie Trains Maui.  Well done Suzie, great tips!

TRX Rip Trainer + Indo Board Gigante Cushion

The New TRX Rip Trainer is a great tool for training the entire body for dynamic rotational movements and metabolic conditioning.  I’ve had a lot of fun playing around with the Rip Trainer and the Indo Board using the Indo Gigante’ Cushion.  I find it very useful and relevant to training for stand up paddle surfing.  The unstable movement of the Indo Board is very similar to standing on a stand up paddle board, and the torsional strain of the Rip Trainer is very similar to the work you do with a paddle in the water.  It is a great way to train for your paddling when you can’t get to the water. 

Mental Aspects of Weight Loss – The Fitness On the Run Show S1E5

When I was 16 I fell off the High Bar at gymnastics practice and broke my neck.  It was a long and difficult come back after my neck was healed, but when I was ready to come back to the sport, it was very difficult to get back on the high bar where I originally got hurt.   By using some mental management skills I learned from a couple of books, it made it easier.  Here is a video describing some principles of reinforcing positive thoughts with positive statements, as well as rejecting negative behaviors by shrugging them off an saying “that’s not like me.”

Sport and life is related, and if you are struggling to lose weight or get healthy, you can use these tools to “brainwash” yourself into doing positive behaviors over and over again.  It really does work!

Programming is important – what we think is what we do

If your goal is to lose weight, then you need to program your mind to do processes that are going to be conducive to losing weight.  For example, set some rules, stick to them, and reinforce them as a part of who you are, your self image.  If your self image adjusts to parameters you set for it, then there is no confusion.  For example, I have some programs I run that are part of my self image like I don’t eat fried foods, I don’t do dessert, and conversely – I’ll take another glass of wine. 

So, put things in the positive, and when you do something good, reaffirm that thought with a statement of “that’s like me to succeed.”

Here's some recommended reading for you - 

Balance Training to Improve your Stand Up Paddle Surfing!

Balance is another important component of Jon’s training program.  Because the water is rarely smooth and glassy, the wind seldom calm, and you are standing on a large paddle surf board, YOU MUST TRAIN YOUR BALANCE!  Balance is a learned component of your fitness training.  Your body learns to balance in the same way you learned math when you were a child PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!  You can’t expect to learn math magically without repetitive steps.  Similarly, you can’t expect to learn balance magically.  Female gymnasts practice myriad hours on the balance beam and even the best fall.  Thus, when you are not paddle surfing in water, you must train your balance at home by simulating the unstable nature of the water.  Training in this manner will make you better at not only SUP surfing but at almost every athletic endeavor. 

Pretend you are viewing a side of a mountain that has a winding, narrow switchback trail connecting the bottom of the mountain to the top.  This is analogous to a line of nerves connecting your toes to your brain.  As an unused trail gets overgrown with brush and becomes impassable, so is the connection between your brain (specifically the cerebellum) communicating and sending feedback via nerves and nerve synapses to the muscles throughout the body.  Your brain sends a signal via nerves to the muscles and return data back to the cerebellum so your body can adjust and maintain balance.  This process is known as proprioception.  Training your balance can also be pictured as taking a weed-whacker to that single track trail and removing the brush so you can use it.  

You must train your balance in order to…

1. Improve your coordination, motor skills, body control
2. Increase body awareness
3. Prevent injuries from potential falls
4. Maintain healthy joints
5. Improve posture
6. Make movements more efficient, requiring less energy expenditure
7. Improve athletic performance
8. Improve PROPRIOCEPTION

Here’s a video on Jon’s 5 favorite balance training exercises…

1. Indo flow 1 leg squat with trx
2. TRX/Indo atomic pushup
3. Trx suspended lunge
4. Indo squats with body bar
5. Kneeling on the ball

More on Balance Training can be found in my FREE e-book on Stand Up Paddle Surfing Fitness Training!

Stand Up Paddle Surf Session 1-19-11 SUP Malibu

Here's a quick little video using my gopro HD cam.  I'm on the Suplove 8'10" Challenger in Malibu...

Fit For Life Balance Training with Jon Ham, Indo Board, and Suplove

Fit for life… and how appropriate.

Each month, optimal nutrition puts together a mixer to get people outside and use their body… because health is a lifestyle.  The event could be rock climbing, hiking, or just exercise in the park.  This time, it was Balance Training at mission bay in san diego.  How fun to break up your workout in the gym and get outside and move! 

I led the group through a 30 minute exercise demo using the indo board balance trainer which I think is the best way to train your balance not just for board sports, but for most sports.  The unstable surface forces you to recruit so many muscles to stabilize your joints, hold correct posture, and improve proprioception, all which are factors involved in your balance.

Once the group was well versed in correct posture and form, they were ready for some practical application of the balance training… Stand up paddle.  Yes, this is the new cool thing, but it is actually a great workout which uses every single muscle in your body.  Suplove brought their line of boards for the group to demo in the flat water…  there was a board for everyone, large and small, and they all had a great time and got a killer workout in too.

This was a special day for me, since I was able to share with a bunch of strangers a bit of my life and how I train… on unstable surfaces where I have to use my body weight, and without many machines.  Some of the best workouts I have ever had have been on a stand up paddle board, and when I can’t get out and paddle… I train on the Indo Board… to make me better out on the water. 

You see, we can make our balance better.  We can strengthen the connection between our brain and our muscles to coordinate movements more effectively… if we practice and train them to do so.  When training on an unstable device like an Indo Board or Stand up paddle board, your joints and muscles give constant feedback to your brain, which in turn learns how to adapt to the situation.  The more you practice, the more you adapt.  Conversely, if you don’t train it… you can lose it.  That connection can atrophy over time. 

In all, this event turned out to be a huge success and we will be doing it again soon. 

I hope to see you out there next time…

Waterman's Applied Science at Battle of The Paddle 2010 Jon Ham with Pete

How Your Sunscreen Affects Your Athletic Performance

At the 2010 Battle of the Paddle Stand Up Paddle Race.  Jon Ham talks with Pete from Waterman’s Sunscreen about how skin protections keeps your hormones and body functioning correctly during outdoor athletic events.  

New SUPlove boards and SUPlove's First Sale!

They are finally here!  SUPlove has gotten their first set of boards to the US and we were lucky enough to try them out and help get their first sale!  More exciting things to come from SUPlove!  I tried the 8'10" x 28.5" Challenger model and I found it to be very stable, agile, and super fun to surf.  The 9'4" Mach1 is it's big brother and would be an ideal SUP surf board for someone between 140-180 lbs, while the 8'5" Challenger seems to be an ideal board for someone under 160lbs.  At 145lbs, I find the Challenger to be an ideal board.  

Road Trip Vlog Day 7 - Trip Reflections and Huell Howser Impersonations!

Here is Day 7 on beautiful Lake Powell!  This is our last day on the boat and we drove back to the a cove that is close to Wahweap marina.  In this vlog, I talk to Captain Pete about his experience during this week on a stand up paddle board.  Pete had a great time and found the paddle board very enjoyable, quiet, and had  a great time paddling through the narrow canyons.  Adam also had a great time and found it to be a great workout and lots of fun. 

Robin and Greg also do their impersonations of Huell Howser :)  Fun stuff!