Surfing is one of the most loved sport across the world.
Surfing is riding on waves, usually on surfboards.
Professional surfers need to be in peak physical condition so they can deal with all the hazards of performing at their sport’s highest level.
For example, for a Championship Tour surfer like Stephanie Gilmore, that means logging an hour and a half on dry land before each session and focusing as much on flexibility and mobility exercises as it does cardio.
It is also very important for them to have great situational awareness of the waves and judges by always watching other competitors before they catch their own wave.
Do you love surfing? Would you like to become a pro surfer? How would you like to train for a face-off against your talented peers?
There are several aspects of physical ability that surfing requires you to have so as to be able to compete favorably.
From amateur to the highest level of professionalism, surfing competitions require a dedicated amount of training and preparation.
Professional surfers train for agility, endurance, strength, flexibility, breathing and balance.
This article explains to you how professional surfers prepare themselves for surfing competitions.
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To help you gain more insight into surfing trainings, below is an in-depth study of how professional surfers prepare themselves for surfing competitions:
Understanding the Format of the Surf Contest
Professional surfers always seek to understand the rules of the game, and how points are garnered.
In any completion, there are always rules that must be followed, failure to which participants may easily be disqualified.
Surfing competitions can be unique in some ways, but they all tend to follow the same general format and style.
In most surfing games, surf competitors are divided into separate heats.
You have a specific set amount of time to catch and score your best waves, and those with the most points move on.
Surfers always know exactly how the waves are being scored. This helps them to understand the best ways to surf their waves and thus secure the highest possible points.
Pro surfers also find out the number of competitors in each heat and how long each heat takes.
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Surfers Training for Strength and Balance
Practices such as weight training, squats, resistance-based training or even push-ups help to strengthen a surfer’s body.
Expert surfers also major on their balance during training. They ensure that they do away with lack of flexibility, mobility and balance.
This also greatly helps to reduce injuries. They also practice moving fast and changing directions at high speed.
Surfing Aiming for Variety
In surfing, every part of a wave differs a little from other sections. Understanding the variances helps surfers to minimize on getting injured.
Every surfer needs to know how to bail out correctly, without getting tangled with their boards.
Guru surfers train with a variety of exercises on a wide range of surfaces.
They are able to deal with unexpected circumstances during competitions.
Setting Timers When Surfing
Everything operates within time, and every competitive activity is timed. There is no single sport where you will find time not being a major factor.
Surfers have to be great managers of their surfing time.
Most contests usually have heats within 15 to 25 minutes long.
The timing is dependent on the particular contests and how far the athletes are into the competition.
Surfing finals are usually always longer than the first couple of heats.
Surfers must do their best maximize this time, pro surfers must know how to surf according to specific timelines.
The competition timer almost always begins as soon as they are in the water.
The surfers make sure they gain ideas of about how many waves they can catch and paddle back out in the time frame.
This helps them to identify their average wave count, by which they determine the aggressiveness of their surfing.
For their first few waves, they surf conservatively to make sure they land their maneuvers and secure points.
Towards the end of the heats, they start going bigger. By experimenting within a set timeframe, they discover the best strategy for time management.
By practicing with a timer, they know that what time to get a little more aggressive with their maneuvers.
They are also able to reduce stress that a timer can create, since they know what it feels like, I mean they can sense how long the heat will be, to spend 20 minutes in the water.
Less stress means more confidence, which is very significant in winning any competition.
Timing also helps them to eliminate anxiety during the contests.
Surfing to Your Strengths
Great surfers identify what it is about their surfing that sets them apart from others. They identify exactly what makes them score higher than opponents in competitions.
They figure that out, practice, and then implement in every contest.
The surfers identify their strengths and train consistently to master them and also work on reducing their weak points.
Most successful surfers always look for more opportunities to better their best.
Surfing Daily and Consistently
Consistency is key in each and every venture. The power of spaced repetition does wonders, and every professional surfer understands this.
They surf as often as they can. To them, the best way to win is to surf, surf, surf, and then surf again.
They religiously practice the maneuvers and tricks they want to perform in competitions to near perfection. This ensures high scoring both in heats and in grand finale.
How you can go from beginner surfer to intermediate surfer fast. Here’s a full article on it.
Implementing a Physical Training Routine and Focusing on Health
For their bodies to behave like absolute machines, surfers need to be flexible, strong, and unbeatable from a cardio standpoint.
In any competition, it is always critical that competitors can contest in the last minute just like they did in the first minute. Surfers are not an exception.
Professional surfers undertake weight trainings to optimize their paddle strength, as every second counts when racing back to the take-off zone (or especially in paddle battles). Resistance or machine work help increase their leg strength for more powerful turns.
They also develop their cardio fitness so that they are never struggling to paddle into difficult waves.
Some high scoring moves require flexibility.
Some surfers even practice yoga, by stretching their body to ensure their strength and agility come competition day.
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Practice Like Your in a Competition
When free surfing, pro surfers choose two reference points on the beach and deem that area as their mock surf zone.
This is essential since competitive surfing is usually defined within an area that judges can easily assess and award points.
Setting contest areas help the surfers to train strictly within the set boundaries.
This also helps them to find best maneuvers to avoid surfing outside the set competition zone.
Practicing Surfing Where the Competition is Held
Familiarizing with the contest zone is important as it boosts surfers’ confidence and also identify the best maneuvering techniques.
By training there in the contest zone, they find out exactly the behavior of the waves and the ocean at the time of the competition.
They will know if the wave will call for turns or if it will call for barrels.
The competitors also look into how the sets tend to fluctuate and where some of the best take-off points within the competition area are.
The conditions of the ocean and the surfing area may even influence the surfers’ choice of surfboards.
Because they understand the every mechanic to the spot, they surf with ease and confidence, and they know exactly what maneuvers the waves will allow them to perform.
Professional surfers who train in the contest zone before the actual competition actually begins tend to perform much better in surfing competitions than those who do not.
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- Beginner to Intermediate Surfer Advice (Best one)