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When it comes to surfing practice unless you’re on it every day, and you’re lucky to have constant waves on your door step, the chances of fulfilling all your surfing moves to high levels will be greatly reduced. Even if you are on it day in day out you still may never reach the level you long for. Over the years sports specific training has evolved, this is basically land based training that mimics the movements of your sport, for example surfing.

By adopting a land based training program that combines balance, muscle stabilization, coordination, muscle and joint strength the sports athlete or surfer can improve that movement. Finding an opportunity to repeat a movement like a roundhouse cut back 30 to 40 times in a row may be near impossible but repeating the movement on something unstable like a Bosu, Indo or Cool Board can be all you need to take your move to the next level.

In this exercise, Oli is using a Bosu, but you can use your indo board. To boost your round house cut back, try using a Bosu to recreate the movements, also by using a simple medicine ball you will strengthen the move further.
Balance transfer exercises can be highly beneficial to all surfers’ movements, but you should first acclimatise yourself to the basic movements.

The exercise – Alternating torso twists with squats.

Movement 1.

Start by standing with feet at hip width apart, before starting any movements engage your core (your transverse abdominus) this will add stability to your movements.
Start by just practicing a basic squat with shoulders back, feet both pointing in the same direction, arms out in front of you for stability, once you have mastered a basic squat you’re ready to progress to the next movement.

Movement 2.

Start the exercise in the squat position holding the medicine ball in both hands on the left hand side of your body from here move in a diagonal line across your chest raising the medicine ball up to right just above your shoulder, once you get to the top slowly squat back down to the starting position.
Repeat this 8-12 times then you may wish to move onto the other side and go from right to left 8-12 times.
In addition to the core activation that takes place the legs, ankles, hips and knees all have to work hard to work together through the movement.
This increases surfer’s proprioception skill level or “sixth sense” that is either high or low depending on that surfer’s ability (-Proprioception is a posh word meaning the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body).
Proprioception is achieved through muscles, ligaments and joint actions using messages that are continuously sent through the central nervous system. If you adopt a surf training program like this you’re not just training you muscles your training everything
else used around them, this in turn improves your movement in a far greater way!
As you improve with your speed during the movement try changing your direction for example try movements that go from left to right and backwards from right to left, this will boost your movement strength to new heights if done on a regular basis.