Exercises for the Surfer: Improve Your Pop Up

by Thomas Martinho, PT, DPT

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Surfing in the sunset growth plate injuries

Surfing is a full-body sport that requires upper and lower body strength, mobility, and balance. While the young surfer may take these abilities for granted, they become the main obstacle for those who want to continue to surf into their adult life and beyond. Difficulty with the action of “popping up” is the most common complaint heard from both those struggling to learn to surf and those trying to continue surfing as they age. 

The pop-up is the transition from paddling to standing and doing it efficiently is crucial to setting yourself in the right position and with the right timing for riding the wave to the best of your ability. The surf pop-up requires a mixture of back and hip mobility, upper body power, core stability, and quickness. While there is no better practice than getting out in the water, including exercises in your gym routine that address these areas and mimic the demands of the pop-up can set you up for success. So whether you are a beginner trying to get the technique down, or a veteran hoping to surf for the rest of your life, try these exercises below to get you out in the water and enjoying the waves. 

Bosu Ball Rocking & Bosu Ball Pushup

Using a bosu ball is a great way to mimic the instability of your surfboard in the water. Staring in a high plank, rock the bosu ball left and right making sure to maintain balance in mid-line throughout. This will work on your shoulder and core stability. Once you have that down, progress to a pushup to build some strength for the pop-up! 

Physio Ball Knee Tuck 

Getting the legs underneath you during the pop-up can be the hardest part. Using this exercise, we can practice flexing through the core and lower body to get your feet underneath you. Try performing the exercise quickly during the tuck portion to improve the speed of your pop-up. 

Plank w/ Knee Across

When popping up, you must rotate your hips to correctly set your feet – left in front if you surf regular and right foot in front if you surf goofy. This exercise strengthens the core while working on coordination and the dissociation of hips and shoulder needed when popping up. 

Surf Burpee 

Put it all together! A burpee combines the three above exercises. You can start with a traditional burpee landing with feet together and then progress to a surf-specific one landing in your stance. No jump necessary! 

Please reach out with questions, or to further develop your surf training program!

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