Aloha Tribe,
A lot of surfers wonder how to increase their cardio. And, while it is true that there are countless ways, my favorite is paddling my board and swimming. Both, come natural to surfers.
Here's what I like to do.
First off, one of the things I learned from DD (Darrick Doerner), was to always swim for my board when I lost it. Of course, this rule is sort of a moo point in that Rule Number One, I was taught, was...
1. Don't Fall
A simple rule, seemingly. In, theory.
To go along with swimming for my board when I fell, which, I was not and am not supposed to do, one naturally learns to surf without a leash. Both swimming for your board, and, not using a leash, are Old School Classic ways of training. And, both truly have merit.
So, when I don't fall (though I do sometimes) , here's what I do. I paddle my board in, all the way in, Old School Style, to the beach, and, more so, I get out of the water with my board, stand on the beach for a moment, then, paddle back out to surf again.
Doing this has helped me to learn to paddle hard, fast, smooth, and with at least a little style.
Now, another thing is, DD often surfs about 2 miles out. So, naturally, one has to be able to swim in 2 miles regardless of the surf. And, since that is what he does, and, since he is my teacher, that is what I do too. To train for this, one of the things I love doing is swimming across Hanalai Bay. It's about 2 miles from one side to the other, and one of the things that the top lifeguard there taught me was to swim over and back each day as part of my training. With some practice, I got to being able to swim comfortably over 6 miles.
As for paddling my longboard, I do it in two ways. One is that I paddle for distance or time. I simply go out and paddle my board for a few hours. The other way is to work on speed, which of course is most important in Taking Off and also in getting out of the Impact Zone, when one falls or Pulls Out in a bad position.
So, with the speed work, I simply do wind sprints. Sort of like what a sprinter would do on the land, only, I do it paddling my board.
I also paddle upstream in local rivers to build endurance, power, control, and, to work on perfecting my paddling stroke.
So, sure, you could do all kinds of things for cardio. DD has me running rocks in what is called Rock Running, and he loves mountain biking and running in the sand, all of which are great. And, if you want to stick with a beach theme, 2 on 2 beach volleyball rocks.
For myself, I've found that working on both cardio and form at the same time helps. That way, I can learn to do my cardio smoother, and, as a surfer, that's important to me because smooth movements are what surfing is all about.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
A lot of surfers wonder how to increase their cardio. And, while it is true that there are countless ways, my favorite is paddling my board and swimming. Both, come natural to surfers.
Here's what I like to do.
First off, one of the things I learned from DD (Darrick Doerner), was to always swim for my board when I lost it. Of course, this rule is sort of a moo point in that Rule Number One, I was taught, was...
1. Don't Fall
A simple rule, seemingly. In, theory.
To go along with swimming for my board when I fell, which, I was not and am not supposed to do, one naturally learns to surf without a leash. Both swimming for your board, and, not using a leash, are Old School Classic ways of training. And, both truly have merit.
So, when I don't fall (though I do sometimes) , here's what I do. I paddle my board in, all the way in, Old School Style, to the beach, and, more so, I get out of the water with my board, stand on the beach for a moment, then, paddle back out to surf again.
Doing this has helped me to learn to paddle hard, fast, smooth, and with at least a little style.
Now, another thing is, DD often surfs about 2 miles out. So, naturally, one has to be able to swim in 2 miles regardless of the surf. And, since that is what he does, and, since he is my teacher, that is what I do too. To train for this, one of the things I love doing is swimming across Hanalai Bay. It's about 2 miles from one side to the other, and one of the things that the top lifeguard there taught me was to swim over and back each day as part of my training. With some practice, I got to being able to swim comfortably over 6 miles.
As for paddling my longboard, I do it in two ways. One is that I paddle for distance or time. I simply go out and paddle my board for a few hours. The other way is to work on speed, which of course is most important in Taking Off and also in getting out of the Impact Zone, when one falls or Pulls Out in a bad position.
So, with the speed work, I simply do wind sprints. Sort of like what a sprinter would do on the land, only, I do it paddling my board.
I also paddle upstream in local rivers to build endurance, power, control, and, to work on perfecting my paddling stroke.
So, sure, you could do all kinds of things for cardio. DD has me running rocks in what is called Rock Running, and he loves mountain biking and running in the sand, all of which are great. And, if you want to stick with a beach theme, 2 on 2 beach volleyball rocks.
For myself, I've found that working on both cardio and form at the same time helps. That way, I can learn to do my cardio smoother, and, as a surfer, that's important to me because smooth movements are what surfing is all about.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
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