If you’ve ever spent prolonged periods away from the ocean, you’ll probably be familiar with the symptoms of Phantom Kookitis - that feeling of anxiety as the doubtful thoughts loom, “I cannot remember how to surf, years of dedication are vanishing before my very eyes.”
Chances are you’ll soon find yourself practising your pop-up when nobody's looking, or simulating bottom to top-turns at random moments around the house.
Unfortunately, there is nothing that quite compares to the true experience of surfing in the deep blue, and a year of lockdowns, social distancing, and banned surfing certainly hasn't helped matters when it comes to getting salty.
Thankfully, there are things we can do whilst away from the waves that might just flatten the curve of degradation, and help us to maintain our fitness and muscle memory until we are eventually reunited with our long-lost lover.
Discover the Best Surf Trainers Worldwide
If you scour the web in search of a good surf-fit routine, you’ll be confronted by a plethora of videos, articles, websites, and social media pages all claiming to offer the best advice for staying fit outside of the water.
In an attempt to unravel this data, I’m going to present you with some of the most qualified surf specific fitness trainers from around the world (in no particular order), with some info on what you can expect from each one.
Image Credit: @indosurfcrew
1. Rodrigo Machado - Power Surf
Brazillian surf coach Rodrigo Machado has certainly earned his stripes in the world of surf performance coaching, spending decades researching and refining his coaching techniques.
Not only does Rodrigo possess an impressive portfolio (training professional surfer Peterson Rosa), he is also a Sports Science and Physical Activity graduate from PUC-PR and holds a Master's in High Sports Performance at the Spanish Olympic Committee.
The Power Surf program is a unique and technical concoction of surf-related movement patterns, stretches, and Smoothstar training that breaks manoeuvres down on land, before taking to the water and applying the techniques in real-time. You can often find Rodrigo giving specialist clinics predominantly in Spain and Portugal.
Check out his schedule to sign-up for a clinic near you.
If travelling to Spain or Portugal is not an option for you right now, take a look at his YouTube channel for some example videos of his Power Surf movement and interesting theory related videos.
Please note, almost all of his videos are in Portuguese, but if you turn on subtitles and select auto-translate, it’s possible to decipher some pretty juicy info nuggets. It’s kind of like peeking through the letterbox of a locked door and knowing that surfing’s cheat codes are just out of reach on the other side.
Image Credit: @surfstrengthcoach
2. Cris Mills - Surf Strength Coach
If you’ve done any research on surf-related fitness, chances are you’ve stumbled upon Surf Strength Coach. Go to his website and you’ll discover a true encyclopedia of all things surf.
Delve into the Programmes tab and choose from a range of different subject matter from surf skate to breath training courses. These programmes are not cheap, with prices ranging from $100-200. Before taking the plunge, you can always download his free surf training program first. However, this program won’t come with the same personalisation as his paid-for plans.
If you’ve totally exhausted the free program but still aren’t convinced, the Surf Strength Coach YouTube channel has an abundance of useful drills, exercises, stretches, and theory lessons that might just encourage you to take the plunge. Cris has been posting videos on this channel for over 9 years so shortage of content is no concern.
What’s great is you can also access this content on your iPhone or Android device by downloading the Surf Athlete app. Here, you can access your programs, watch training videos, track your progress and much more.
Image Credit: @balancedstudio
3. Nic Laidlaw - Balanced Studio
If you’re looking for a more holistic approach to maintaining optimal mental and physical health, you must consider Nic Laidlaw—founder of the Balanced Studio in Australia. Here, you’ll find training schemes focused on finding a healthy balance throughout the body which will not only support your body’s function in the water but out of the water too.
I first stumbled across Nic while on a typical How to Rip video binge, and I was captivated by his quirky approach to optimizing your body’s ability to move properly.
If you’re lucky enough to live in the proximity of Sydney, Australia, good for you! You can pay a visit to the Balanced Studio and engage in some real hands-on training.
If not, don’t stress.
Nic has released an online version of his ‘Awesome Self’ movement program, which includes, ‘13 lessons of holistic movement coaching derived from 1000s of hours of face to face mentoring from some of the best teachers in the world including Paul CHEK, Ido portal and fighting monkey’ - available for $149.
The great thing about Nic’s approach to fitness is the simplicity, there’s very few weights involved, no hard-core ab-busters or profuse sweating, just healthy, all-around health advice for body and mind.
Image Credit: @surfstrengthconditioning
4. Michelle Drielsma - Surf Strength and Conditioning
Michelle, The second Australia-based coach on this list: is a dab hand at this whole surfing physiology wizardry. After earning her bachelor in Exercise & Sports Science, Michelle’s dedication to surfing and the human body has driven her to develop multiple programs that put your body’s health at the number 1 spot.
Michelle has worked with, ‘WSL CT and QS surfers, Australian Rugby Union, Australian Defence Force, Basketball NSW, China’s Olympic Swimming Team, Mixed Martial Arts athletes and an Olympic Snowboarder.’ Needless to say: that’s an impressive list.
This experience, and her relationship with the sport of surfing, spurred Michelle’s curiosity to understand more about ‘how the body adapts to the imbalanced forces placed on a surfer’s body, acutely and chronically’, which can eventually result in musculoskeletal problems later on. So, if you want to continue frequenting the lineup as your hair silvers and your skin ripens, listen up.
You can learn more about this by checking out her book, Fluid Surfer.
Image Credit: @baleixophoto
5. Kiel Russ - Hydro Mind
Kiel Russ at Hydro Mind is your one-stop-shop, respiratory guru. If you struggle to get your composure whilst you thrash widely in turbulent foam, this is your guy. Kiel has been there and got the t-shirt when it comes to many of the obstacles we face on our quest for surfing prowess, so you truly feel as though you’re learning from a relatable source.
The ‘Weaponized Breath’ course promises to double your breath-hold and give you more confidence in bigger surf. For only $97 you can’t go wrong, especially because Kiel is offering a 100% money-back guarantee for anybody not totally satisfied with their results.
In this course, you’ll learn how to condition your body to spend longer times underwater without panicking. Most of this training will take place on dry land, so when you finally do get back in the water, you’ll be better equipped, and more prepared.
If you don’t feel ready to hand over any money yet, then you can explore the Hydro Mind YouTube channel and learn some very interesting things about breath-training, as well as discover some other great surf-related content too.
Image Credit: @bodhisurfyoga
6. Travis Bays and Pilar Salazar - Bodhi Surf & Yoga
The ethics and company ethos of this charming retreat, nestled into the small Costa Rican town of Uvita, are nothing short of exemplary. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is just any other surf and yoga retreat, take 5 minutes out of your day (after reading this article) to check out their website and you’ll immediately see what I’m talking about.
Founders Travis Bays, Pilar Salazar, and Adrianne Chandra Huff are like three chords that make up a hit number 1 single. Their individual contributions to the business are integral to what Bodhi Surf & Yoga are all about: “Utilizing surfing, yoga, nature immersion, and community engagement to facilitate memorable learning experiences with the intention of bolstering individual, long-term, pro-environmental action among guests.”
For the month of October, Travis, Pilar, and Adrianne have developed an online program of yoga, surfing, and cookery classes so that you can get a taste of their lifestyle, from anywhere in the world.
The course is currently free (donations welcome), and you can choose to partake in the full course or individual classes. Be sure to check out the ‘Awaken Your Inner Surfer’ course, which is aimed at beginner to intermediate surfers. Here, you can participate in deeper, more philosophical conversations about surfing, learn movements and stretches for staying supple outside of the water, and acquire more knowledge about all things ‘surf’.
In an era where travel has become a rare commodity, having the opportunity to experience the ‘Pura Vida’ lifestyle from the comfort of your 1 bedroom flat in Hull is nothing short of a modern-day miracle.
Join the Club
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Interviewed by Richard Dobinson
Richard is a surfer and Content Marketer from the United Kingdom. He is an in-house blogger for the Surfpreneurs Club and Founder of RAD Content. Richard has written articles for numerous businesses that rank #1 on search engines. You’ll find him scuttling about in the line-up, or on his website, Instagram, and Facebook channels.
