The right preparation for the surf camp

Maybe you have been to a surf camp once or twice, have already learned some tips and tricks, but you may also be a beginner and ask you how to best prepare for your first surf camp.

Surfing is an endurance sport that requires a lot of muscle groups that are less often needed in everyday life with an upright walk.
First of all, you do not have to do a fitness program before venturing into the tides and board for the first time. Even spontaneous surfers and those who want to be, are very welcome to us.

We know the anticipation and the associated desire that you want to use his holiday at sea as effectively as possible. It's kind of like rolling a stack of guides before a thrilling city break to get acquainted with the surroundings.

Still, a bit of preparation does not hurt at all. You benefit from additional fitness and have more fitness on the spot.

The surfing probably the most similar sport is the crawl swimming. Surfing is quite close to the paddle movement and even if surfing is accompanied by many more components and movements, you are already one step ahead with a good swimming program.

Salt water has more lift than fresh water, which makes training in fresh water even more effective.

Which brings us paddling in an inland water. In many German cities there are now groups that meet regularly to paddle on a lake. I'll admit that surfing the ocean more often is a bit unsatisfactory when slipping on a board through a calm water. Unsatisfactory but effective because, as already mentioned, paddling in fresh water is much more strenuous.

Another plus: you get to know like-minded people and you can talk about your next surf trip. You can find paddle groups in the social media, for example on Facebook.

Surely you have already watched a movie or a surfing contest on TV and you have already seen the movements of Welelnreiter: Paddling, Take Off, Generate Speed, Turns, etc.

In order to lose time at the beginning and to position yourself as well as possible in the wave, a good and clean take-off is required. Do not worry, there is NO the Take Off, and we have a few variations and tricks on-site to help you find the best option for you.

Basically, you get as fast and as good as possible in the state and indeed from the prone position. The first exercise that comes to your mind is probably the push up. That's a start, BUT let me tell you, a good take off is not a pure strength exercise, but a mix of strength, stamina and technique. The latter is immensely important. How often do we hear "I can not get on the board, my arms are too weak". That's a common mistake. The surfer Bethany Hamilton has developed a perfect method for herself to get one-armed to the board. She surfs at a professional level despite her avoidable handycaps. The correct position in prone position and the correct support of the arms are the nuts and bolts for a successful take off.

Now you think that sounds logical and is not a problem. It is not - on the living room floor. In the combination of energy, forward thrust and upward movement, however, the whole thing looks a bit more complicated.

But let's get back to the subject of push ups. Push ups are good, burpees are better.

On the Internet you will find tutorials that will show you just how exactly a burpee works. Starts with clean movements and 2 minutes. You will see, the repetitions have it all.

You can also do circuit training, jogging, inline skating, skating, snowboarding and all sports that will give you more endurance. For more flexibility, come with Pilates or Yoga.

Both sports are ideal for training the lower-lying muscle groups, to train the balance and to internalize the awareness of movement sequences.

Yoga is great for flexibility, as there are many exercises designed solely to increase flexibility and maximize stretch.

Water is a very engaging element, very powerful and unmanageable. Gaining a bit of control over this element, trusting your own intuition and body control is what makes surfing special in the end.

This feeling has nothing to do with how one thinks one is perceived by others. It is the feeling for oneself and self-confidence for one's abilities.

It does not matter if you are tall or short, fat or thin, old or young. Surfing is versatile, the material today so well developed that for every requirement, every body and for all weather conditions is the right thing.

Back to our fitness. In summary, surfing is best prepared by surfing, but a small fitness program will not hurt in the first place.

It increases the anticipation, your self-confidence and the condition.

Since the use and processing of good foods is part of a good body sensation, we will focus on the topic of nutrition in the next article.

Look forward to more exciting stories from our surf camp, fitness exercises, nutrition tips, materials science, insider tips on our beautiful island, environmental protection and much more.

Write us what you want to read here in the future!