Upper Body Training #2
Upper Body Training #2
The following exercises are advances on the exercises shown in Upper Body Training #1. The stability ball push-up adds an extra core strength component and will have your core stabilizer muscles working overtime during the exercise. This is an excellent functional exercise to help with fast takeoffs, as when you are pushing down on your surfboard to takeoff, it is an unstable surface, much like the stability ball. The inverted row is an excellent bodyweight exercise that will develop strength through your upper back muscles for harder paddling. It will also help promote stability in the shoulders, which is important for injury prevention. You can do these exercises 2-3 times per week, and perform 2-3 sets of each. Do these exercises instead of a standard push-up and one-arm rows.
Stability Ball Push-Up
- Perform a pushup with your hands on a stability ball.
- Keep your abdominals braced and torso straight throughout the exercise.
- To make it harder, place your feet on a bench.
- Do as many repetitions as possible.
Inverted Row
- Hang on to a parallel bar with a wide overhand grip.
- Keeping your body straight and abdominals braced, pull your chest towards the bar, then slowly lower your body back to full arm extension.
- Do as many repetitions as possible.
For more functional exercises for surfers, visit totalsurfingfitness.com. Here you will find a complete functional training program designed specifically for surfers, which includes training for core strength, balance, cardiovascular fitness, upper & lower body strength and flexibility.
ABOUT AUTHOR
Clayton Beatty is the fitness expert behind TotalSurfingFitness.com, a website dedicated to functional training for surfers. Clayton holds a BSc Degree in Human Movement, is a Certified Fitness Trainer and grew up surfing the Margaret River region in Western Australia. If you would like to learn more visit his website at www.totalsurfingfitness.com.
-
Upper body training series - Part 3
Shoulder fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of a solid surfing session. If you build the strength of your shoulder muscles, you will be able to paddle longer and harder with less fatigue. The first exercise below is one of the most effective exercises for building shoulder strength...
read more
-
Core Strength training series - Part 2
Picture watching yourself paddle out into the surf. You will notice that whilst you are paddling, your spine is in an extended position, meaning your shoulders are up off the board and your spine is no longer straight, but slightly bent back. While you are in this position, you are constantly using your back muscles...
read more
-
Yoga for Surfers - Core Stability
Fusion Yoga & Pilates for surfers enables you to nurture and take control of your own body. You can build strength for paddling, increase your flexibility, boost your endurance and assist your balance, putting you tighter in the pocket, or deeper in a barrel next time your in the water...
read more