While you’re waiting for the next swell…

By: Lani Mucha

Article Category: C.B. Surf Museum 2 Comments

At this time of year, the hardcore or desperately seeking can still be found in the lineup wearing wetsuits topped off with booties and gloves. The water temperature is hovering around the low 50s. For me, the lack of water time has less to do with the temperature than with the swells out of the north passing us by to the south. The sport of surfing has always been a great way to stay in shape, and dry land training or other types of on-the-water activities are a must during the winter.

After a surf session a couple of weeks ago, I ran into Dr. Lance Maki and his tandem surfing partner, Jacqueline Remrey. We talked about training and balance on a surfboard, especially with two people on the same board. Jacqueline brought out her new Indoflo board, the latest advancement in surfing-related exercise equipment. It uses an inflatable cushion as a balancing point versus the standard cylindrical rolling log.

An old Indo Board has been exhibited in the Kelly Slater display at the Cocoa Beach Surf Museum, proving even surfing exercise equipment evolves and has a history. Back in the mid ’70s, Melbourne Beach local Hunter Joslin first developed the Indo Board. This was really an era when the technical aspects of surfing were beginning to be developed. These technical developments also included how the body worked in unison with the surfboard. I remember transverse abdominus and external oblique exercises as a grom. They were such big words. I didn’t know where to begin to develop them. The term “six-pack” came around, and then the “core” concept used nowadays. With each new term, came new exercise routines to help the surfer develop the physical side of the sport of surfing.

Yoga on the beach, though still popular, has given way to pilates and other types of resistance exercises. Former World Surfing Champion Tom Carroll trains using yoga. Professional surfer Taylor Knox uses core training exercises with an inflatable ball, a progression of the yoga movements into developing pilates movements. Advanced balancing techniques beyond the sagittal plane limitations of the original Indo Board can be used to enhance your ability to push the limits while surfing.

The continued advancements in surfboard design will also push the physical side of the sport of surfing. So new arenas of physical development will open up. The great thing about surfing is that you can surf any technical style your heart desires, chillin’ relaxed style or full-out aggro. Some things are for sure: winter is nearly over, the water is warming up, and lineups will soon be full again.

Start that surfing exercise program now, you just might create the newest rage. Not to mention, the hurricane swells are almost upon us.

The Cocoa Beach Surf Museum is located at 1475 North Atlantic Ave. (A1A) in Cocoa Beach. Visit www.cocoabeachsurfmuseum.org or call 258-8217 to learn more. They hold monthly volunteer meeting on the first Wednesday of each Month. Join them!