How To Stay Fit
JD Irons knows that confidence in your ability to both ride waves and survive Mother Nature's lashings is crucial on the North Shore, and requires a physical investment on land as well as in the water. Photo: Ellis
Although the act of actually riding waves is obviously the best thing for your surfing, there are a myriad of different exercise routines practiced by surfers in an effort to step up their game in the water. To find out what works for those placing themselves in some of the most physically demanding surf on the North Shore, we spoke with Kauai-native-turned-Oahu-transplant JD Irons:
Within the past year we’ve started a pretty solid workout routine at the Volcom House. KaiBorg leads the workout and there’s usually between eight and 16 people in the group. It’s basically a CrossFit routine that we do about three times a week. It’s a high-intensity workout that utilizes your own body weight to get you fit. So there’s a lot of sprinting, push-ups, sit-ups, stuff like that. The point is to get your heart rate up and keep it there while you’re working out. The whole routine should only take about 40 to 45 minutes. Here’s a sample workout that we do four sets of, with little or no break between exercises:
100 jump ropes
100 jumping jacks
30 pushups
30 situps
15 step-ups
10 burpies
¼-mile run
The routine is pretty brutal in the beginning and it takes about a week or two for your body to get used to it and not be ridiculously sore. To help my body recover a lot quicker, I make sure I’m constantly drinking lots of water to stay hydrated. I also stretch a lot each every day. Nothing too over the top—I don’t do yoga or anything—but I spend about 15 minutes every day just getting loose. When my body is really sore, I make sure I massage my muscles with a foam roller to try and remove some of the lactic acid that built up.
The physical part is really only half of it. So much of it is eating properly. I don’t eat three big meals a day, but about five or six small meals to keep myself going. That way, I’m never really too hungry or full and I’m constantly keeping my metabolism going.
As far as what I eat goes, I make a point of only eating fresh foods. For the most part, don’t eat anything that’s processed or frozen and I eat a lot of fruit. In the mornings, I’ll have an acai bowl with spirulina. A bit later on in the day, I’ll eat some more fruit like a banana or an apple. By lunchtime, I’ll eat a big salad and then some more fruit or trail mix later on in the day. Most dinners for me are pretty straightforward. I’ll have a salad and some lean protein like fish or chicken. I don’t eat any red meat because it’s pretty hard for your body to digest it. It seems like it just sits in you.
Since I started working out like this and taking care of my body, I’ve seen a lot of really positive results. I feel a lot stronger and I’m more confident in the lineup and with my surfing. I feel like I have a much stronger foundation for everything I do. A good workout routine isn’t just good for your body, but it’s good for your head too.
How do you stay fit when you can’t surf? Leave your answer in the comments section below.
Click here for more tips from the How-To Blog.
Comments
February 11, 2012 6:09 am
Funny how jd finds it nessessary to mention he “doest do yoga or anything” Lol!
February 6, 2012 9:25 pm
Swim in a masters group…..sprint after sprint. I live six hours inland and to prepare for Tavarua I swam 6-7 miles of sprints a week. It sucked but I was catching as many or more than any guy in the water. The group aspect keeps you motivated when your brain says this sucks….and it often does.
Also, get a Chuck Norris total gym for base strength. You can do a great paddle motion for core muscles.
All in all kinda cheesy stuff, but It keeps me fit and catching waves after long droughts
February 4, 2012 10:49 am
Was really excited to try this workout, yesterday did 3 sets with 30 second break btwn sets. The 1/4 mi. run – the treadmill doesn’t come close to the deep sand from Pipe to Rockpile. Very similar to CrossFit, good workout!
February 2, 2012 8:00 pm
Interesting to say the least, check out my site for tips on increasing stamina for surfing – it might be some help for some of you.
February 2, 2012 2:47 pm
Really? even surfers have gotten brainwashed into this crossfit/paleo diet routine?
Crossfit isn’t bad if you’re looking for endurance, but don’t expect any significant gains in muscle.
Personally I believe that jogging, swimming laps, and traditional weight lifting (In proper form and with proper reps/weight) is the best way to go. There’s nothing that we need more than our paddling endurance, and the best way you’re going to keep that built up is by swimming.
As for diet, don’t shy away from carbs. Personally I intake 200+ grams of carbs a day, along with 1g of protein per pound of my weight minus body fat. Low carb diets are unhealthy, can lead to poor cognitive function, and have other risks involved such as ketosis.
Do your research before you start a routine, and keep on surfing!
January 31, 2012 7:36 am
Has Charlie nuts’ comment been run through one of those autotranslation devices? Seems to have been translated from Urdu to Creole to Swahili to Albanian to Cantonese to “English”…
January 30, 2012 10:04 am
Pat Carey,
work all your body, but start really really ligth and slow, to the point you feel that you´re doing almost nothing, keep the same program for one week, than the next week increase just a little bit the amount and intensity, keep for a week and so on. You may think it´s ridiculous, but my experience is that if you try to hard in the beggining of recovery, we all want faster results, you´ll end up needing to stop for a couple of weeks and start over again…, the way I said, it creates you a strong base, and also breeds patience, which is a very good thing. In 2 months you´ll be superfit again.
All the good.
January 28, 2012 6:19 pm
Squats and lunges are a good addition to this routine. Your glutes are the largest muscles in your body and therefore play an important role for balance and stability during movement.
January 28, 2012 11:19 am
Krav Maga a couple days a week. No shit, that stuff is cardiac Napalm.
January 27, 2012 9:15 pm
The Surf Stronger workouts and surf as much as possible.
January 27, 2012 10:52 am
I USED TO GO SKATE …..CARVING AT THE POOL IS A GOOD WAY TO KEEP YOUR LAGS IN FIT!!!!!
BUT HERE IN BRAZIL WE ARE DOING SOMETHING CALLED “TREINO FUNCIONAL” , THE TRANSLATION IS FUNCTIONAL TRAINNING, AND CONSISTIS IN EXERCISES DONE BY YOU OWN WEIGHT , WORKING OUT ALL THE MUCLES THAT MAKES THE SURF FUNCTION…..
ALL THE BOYS IS TALKING GOOD ABOUT IT……….
January 27, 2012 7:07 am
There’s a 50 metre outdoor pool on London Inn Fields. Every Sunday, regardless of the icey weather, we jog or cycle there. Using a large swimming float tucked under my chest I paddle, bit like being on a surfboard only a lot tougher on the arms due to lack of bouyancy. People think I’m mental… but I’m fit to surf!
January 26, 2012 11:51 pm
I like to sit in a cubicle during all of the daylight hours of winter Monday through Friday, then surf until I feel dizzy or taste blood on Saturday and Sunday. Repeat indefinitely.
January 26, 2012 10:28 pm
P90X, baby!
January 26, 2012 5:29 pm
Play rugby!
Sprinting,striding,jogging,walking, tackling, rucking, tackling and jumping at practices twice a week and for a 80 minute match will keep you fit and welcomed in Fiji.
Moce, Nolan
January 25, 2012 6:09 pm
Pat Carey – I had surgery on a torn labrum in my right shoulder Feb 2011. First time I was able to surf again after that was end of June 2011. So about 5 months. This was doing physical therapy (PT) 3x a week for 5 months.
Just take it slow and do the PT My doctor had me start PT 2 days after my surgery. That’s really the key. Make sure you do whatever exercises they tell you to do at home. I think for the first month I was doing an hr of PT at home every day in addition to going to the PT office.
Once my shoulder felt good enough I started swimming regularly at the gym. This was probably after about 3 months of PT. Started out slow but eventually was doing about 1000-1500 meters in the pool 3x a week in addition to the PT.
A lot of the exercises you do in PT for your labrum will help strengthen your shoulders. One year later, my shoulders feel stronger than they did before the surgery. I’m surfing 2hr sessions 5-6x a week, mainly at Ocean Beach SF (which can have a brutal paddle) and my shoulders feel fine.
January 25, 2012 4:12 pm
Better to bench press and eat rib eyes, drink beer, and smoke some herb
January 25, 2012 2:40 pm
Hey all,
I recently had surgery on my shoulder. I tore my labrum pretty bad and havent been able to surf and wont be able to surf for a couple months probably. I have kept my weight the same pretty much at 195. Anyone have any suggestions on how i can stay in shape/ surfing shape with a bum shoulder? Im doing PT for it now and it seems to be getting better i just hate not being able to use it. Riding a stationary bike for 45 minutes a day can get real old wuick haha.
Thanks
January 25, 2012 1:45 pm
I skateboard to cross train carve etc….
January 25, 2012 12:06 pm
All sound great, don’t forget to keep your rotator cuffs (shoulders) strong.
Doing regular rotator cuff strengthening exercises 3 times per week will help to prevent injury.
http://www.surfingdoctors.com/images/articles/The%20Surfers%20Shoulder.pdf
January 25, 2012 10:56 am
For a list of all the other workouts they are talking about check out…http://www.colinmcnulty.com/blog/2007/11/27/named-crossfit-workouts-the-girls/
January 25, 2012 10:48 am
Andrew its usually spelled burpee (so you can search it for a video) is when you put your hands down by your feet, kick your feet out into a push-up position then bring them back in. Stand up n jump. Do it in a fluid motion not broken into steps. Sounds n looks pretty easy but it works good!
January 25, 2012 10:37 am
two a days swimming, especially distance work outs help so much. I’m swimming in college and luckily i have time to surf as well but when I’m out of swim shape I’m out of surf shape too
January 25, 2012 10:02 am
burpee is when you begin by standing up, then lean over put your hands on the ground, shoot your feet behind you, do a pushup, bring feet back to your hands then jump up and reach for the ceiling. therres tons of variations.
Anything to stay active is huge. eating clean diet is key too. This article is great, I personally throw in a lot more variations of exercises and make sure to eat vegetables every day too. usually do 20-25 minutes of exercises during lunch break, then come home and run 2 miles + a few other little exercises if I’m up for it.
January 25, 2012 7:09 am
Heck yeah that workout seems super legit…just wondering though…what is a “burpie”??
January 25, 2012 6:20 am
surf all day and then eat hamburgers and beer. works for me.
January 25, 2012 6:20 am
Pilates, Physio ball, Recumbant Bike (OA in knee), push ups.
Swim. Swimming is huge. Wish I acess to a pool in the winter.
January 24, 2012 10:04 pm
Yea word, throw some karate kicks, karate chops, roundhouse kick, one-inch punch. Yea word, dont use a toliet when you do a number 2, really work those quads. Chase wild boar, chickens, little dogs, hot chicks. Find some drift word to knock out some squats, overhead thrust, double lindo-chops, some Michigan side tosses, a few Phillipino head rolls and bench of course. Yea word, keep it fresh by eating raw meat, raw eggs, fresh fish in a blender, twice a day of course. Couple more gems, the titty twister, the crusty pizza, the land rover, the Eddie Murphy, all really good for the core. Yea word, make sure to work those back muscles with some Rodger Rabbits, a couple of monkey grippers and as always finish any workout with a big glass of water, lots of water depending on how intense you did your Eddie Murphy’s. People pay for this kind of advice, get you some..
January 24, 2012 6:39 pm
Swim. Long distance with sprint sets worked in. Skate. Do laps in the bowl at your local skatepark. Pull-ups, push-ups, military press, squats, lunges.