There has undoubtedly been a lot of hype in the past few years about the advantages of yoga for surfers or specific strength training exercises targeted towards improving a surfers balance and overall strength in an effort to increase ability. While a specific fitness program may be beneficial, I feel like the real secret to surfing success is to surf as often as you can. Proof: the twelve-year-old who aired over my head the other day, even with his scrawny arms and chicken legs.
The website AmpedSurf.com has entered the fitness attack on surfing with a specific spin: “Ride More Waves.” Rather than profess that a certain style and amount of leg lifts will transform your surfing overnight, the site is geared towards helping you stay in shape to surf. There are few things worse than paddling out on a good day and getting pooped out after a wave or two because you haven’t surfed in a few days, weeks, or even months. It actually happened to me recently in some of the best waves of my life . . . my body just kept screaming at me, “you are not prepared for this” . . . and I wasn’t.
So, to create AmpedSurf.com surfers teamed up with a certified strength and conditioning specialist to develop a specific “step-by-step, week-by-week surf workout program” that is designed to help you “Ride More Waves.” It is a private website, that with a $4.99 monthly fee grants you access to an internet only workout program with regularly updated image based instructions and video tutorials that explain the specific exercises and time period or number of repetitions. Right now, they are offering a free 15 day trial offer for anyone interest in trying out the program.
The website offers specific testimonials of subscribers who have promised excellent results. I think that the 15 day trial offers a great opportunity to check it out, just be sure to cancel it after the 15 days if you don’t want it because they will just start automatically charging the monthly subscription straight to your credit card (the fine print).
To be honest, I am not so sure that the everyday surfer is really in absolute need of this type of workout schedule. If it comes down to a choice between doing this exercise program and a surf session, I am going to choose a surf session every time. However, if you are unable to make it to the beach regularly but can make time to work out every day, this seems like a great way to stay in shape for your next session and especially helpful in preparing for a surf trip after not surfing for awhile.
