The Exercise You’re Missing as a Surfer
I know, most surfers have an aversion to the gym. Trust me, I get messages all of the time about how they just surf and don’t go to the gym because they’re not an “athlete”. Who said you need to be an athlete to go to the gym?
You may not know this, but not only can strength training for 30-60 minutes, 2-3 days per week, drastically improve your surfing, but it also decreases your risk of injury. Meaning, you get to surf longer and harder just by spending a bit of time in the gym. But that’s a blog post for another day. Today is about a simple exercise that tends to be very elusive for most female surfers: the pull-up.
Fun fact: once I got them, strict pull-ups quickly became one of my favorite exercises. I love how strong they make me feel.
Yep, the strict pull-up is an essential exercise for paddling strength, power, and endurance. Even though it’s a very simple exercise, it is very challenging. Here are a couple of ways you can work up to that pull-up:
Low-Bar Assisted Pull-Ups: Set a barbell up at a height where you can fully straighten your arms from a kneeling position. From there, kneel under the bar and pull hard. Think about pulling the bar down to you instead of vice versa. That little switch can be super helpful to make this exercise easier. Perform 5 sets of 3-5 QUALITY reps to begin to develop strength.
Negative Pull-Ups: Another simple exercise, but don’t be fooled, it’s challenging! Set up a stable box or stack of plates to get you up to the bar. Jump up so your chin is above the bar before slowly lowering yourself for a 2-3 second count down to a full dead hang (straight arm hang from the bar). Perform 5 sets of 3-5 reps. If you need to use a band to help you maintain that tempo, go for it! Loop it through the top of the rig and carefully step your foot in.
Already have pull-ups? Let’s make this harder!
Weighted Pull-Ups: Use a weight vest, a chain belt that you can hang a kettlebell or weight plate from, or hold a DB between your feet.
Biased Pull-Ups: Pull yourself up toward one hand, lower back to the start, and then pull yourself up to the other hand. By biasing one arm and then the other, you’re ensuring that both sides of your body are firing and putting in the WERK!
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