They say that the best training for surfing is surfing. Now some people are happy that they have found a perfect sport for them, a passion that keeps them satisfied. Focusing on one thing as your main sporting activity can work great for them, but others may quickly get bored with the idea. If you don’t want to end up falling behind on your active time and want to ensure that things will always be fresh and exciting for you, it’s important to get in the habit of exploring some alternative options for activities, and there are certainly plenty of things to consider. The important thing is to keep an open mind about this, and never exclude things that haven’t been on your list so far. So here are 3 ideas for sports that will not only be fun but will improve your coordination and stamina and might even improve your surfing.
Climbing
A sport that’s climbing in popularity very fast – pardon the pun – and can be great for the whole body. It can sometimes be a little difficult to find a good indoor climbing gym in your area, depending on where you live, but taking the time to seek out a good deal is definitely worth it. Don’t forget that there are plenty of outdoor opportunities as well. Climbing outdoor usually means a bit more equipment and preparation. You will also need to learn the basics of staying safe, so my suggestion would be to join a climbing class or a club. Once you know the basics climbing outside in nature definitely beast climbing indoors.
Roller Skating
A great way to spend some time, either with friends or alone, while also staying in a good shape. Roller skates have seen a resurgence in popularity lately for reasons that remain largely unknown, but hardly anybody is complaining – it’s a great hobby with lots of opportunities for a good time. Just get a pair of roller skates from Riedell or another brand you trust, and go out on a nice trail. Finding a good road suitable for skating that’s also long enough for a good trip can be tricky, try to find one without lots of people and with clean surface without many holes and pebbles. Roller skating is great for improving your balance.
Swimming
It’s strange that some people have started to forget about swimming as a separate exercise lately, and they are definitely missing out on a lot. Swimming will never go out of style for multiple reasons, one of which is the low barrier of entry. You don’t need any fancy equipment or anything along those lines to include it in your daily routine, and it can have a huge impact on your overall level of fitness and mental wellbeing. Plus, if you do something like surfing as your main sport, it can be a great addition to your regular workout to ensure that you are in a good enough shape for that. As far as surf training is concerned, swimming is the closest thing to surfing so people that live away from ocean and can only surf on weekends/during vacations etc…can use swimming to stay in shape and maximize their wave count once the hit the waves.
There are lots of other ways to make sure that you stay active while you’re not practicing your main sport, and have a lot of fun along the way as well. Try to find something that complements your main sport. Like for instance – for me that is mountain biking. Here in the Mediterranean the surf usually comes with rain and bad weather so when other people are depressed about the weather, surfers are excited because of the waves. But when it’s sunny and warm the waves are usually flat. This are perfect conditions for my mountainbike. So be open to new things, you never know when you might find something that is almost as fun as surfing :)!