Often underappreciated when compared to other sports, surfing is finally receiving some recognition as a top tier sport. In the summer of 2021, surfing made its debut in the Summer Olympics. However, the best will be able to display their talents on the world’s biggest stage outside from the World Surf League Championship. This mark in surfing history will not only promote more interest in people engaging in the sport but will (hopefully) intrigue sport scientists and researchers. There could be research into what it takes to become an Olympian Surfer and how someone can begin training for that goal. With minimal research out there on the sport of surfing this will be a refreshing field for scientists to explore. Their work could help determine what the best style is for exceptional surfing skills. However, there are several notable teams of researchers out there who are ahead of the game and have conducted research of their own to address these questions. These teams of sport scientists have been conducting closely monitored research with competitive and recreational surfers to examine the claim that upper-body strength training can enhance a surfer’s paddle performance. Such training could improve performance by offering a greater opportunity of catching a wave compared to other lesser trained surfers, therefore increasing the probability of outscoring their opponents.
Each heat in a surfing competition usually last somewhere between 20-30 minutes. The surfer at the end of the allotted time with the best score wins their heat. A 2012 study found that roughly 51.4% of that time is spent paddling, 42.5% is spent resting or waiting on the board for a wave, 3.8% riding a wave, and 2.2% of the remaining time being assigned to miscellaneous activities. These numbers suggest that most physical exertion in surfing comes from paddling. Further, the time spent paddling is separated into multiple short sprint paddle bouts lasting anywhere between 10-30 seconds to either avoid or catch a wave. With so much time and energy given to these short paddle bouts, questions arose about the effects of various training methods on paddle strength/power, endurance, and velocity.
Reflecting on the techniques used by surfers in a paddle stroke is the first step to understanding how to enhance this action. Most techniques involve keeping hands in a folded cup formation while driving it downward into the water and dragging back towards the rear of the board. You do not typically want to over-reach. After analyzing this motion, identifying the muscles are most involved can help determine which exercises will improve this motion. What researchers decided to examine were 1RepMax (1-RM) of either a pronated weighted pull-up, weighted dip, or both. The purpose was to find if there was any association between upper body strength of the surfer and their time in a sprint paddle time test.
In 2017, a group of seventeen competitive and recreational surfers were split into two groups. They were all tested in five total sections, two being the 1RM pull-up and dip test and a third being the Sprint paddle test. After the initial testing, half were assigned a five-week upper body training program while the other group was not. All were asked to continue regular surf sessions and to keep logs. Pre and post testing was performed over the five weeks. Researchers determined that there was slight improvement in both 1RM which also translated to shedding roughly 0.25 of a second off all their sprint paddle times. The control group, however, showed a regression in their sprint paddle test compared to their first results. While these data displayed a correlation between upper-body strength and paddle sprint power in surfers, it was not significant enough to specify which type of strength training may be best for surfers.
When observing a single session of a professional surfer, there seems to be maximal exertion of the surfer right before catching the wave. These small, short bouts were noted in a 2016 study as very explosive-styled movements typically seen in High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). This connection between the two is what drove researchers to study whether this style of training along with Sprint Interval Training (SIT) could produce better improvements in paddling ability. They also compared the two training styles against each other by having half of their participants do HIIT or SIT to determine which translated better in the water.
In 2016, a 400-meter endurance surfboard paddle test and Repeat Sprint Paddle Test (RSPT) was performed before and after the five-week training. They were investigating if a correlation could be seen between the athlete’s strength/power from the former paddle based HIIT/SIT training program. The data collected suggested that improvements in endurance paddling capacity could be seen from five weeks of HIIT, and improvements in repeat-sprint paddling ability from five weeks of SIT. The research team was attempting to find the most sport-specific training program to mirror that of a surfer’s paddle burst right before catching a wave. By making the training program so close to what the athlete would be performing in the water, they were better able to target those muscles and create adaptations for improved sport performance. Through the study design they were able to demonstrate how, even though no weights were used, they were still able to work anaerobically and not just aerobically. This demonstrates that a variety of training techniques can be used to support the claim that upper body strength training can produce improvements in surfing performance.
Data suggest that coaches could implement small bouts of resistance training throughout the week to help enhance muscular adaptation. By assigning the athlete exercises like paddling, pull-ups and dips, further muscular development can occur. An unreasonable amount of resistance training is not necessary for this given sport. Only 2 days a week of UB resistance training and one day each week of LB resistance training can be enough to show improvement. This is ideal, as the lifestyle of a professional surfer does not allow them much time outside of competition and traveling. Surfing can be considered an open kinetic chain workout while paddling. So, further research may determine if the open chain or if some closed chain exercises can give similar or better results in paddle performance. The Summer 2021 Olympics was memorable spectacle for many reasons. Perhaps one of those being the kick-off of more research into the sport of surfing. Hopefully, we can see how far we have come in preparation for the real games out in the ocean.
References
Coyne, Joseph O.C.1,2; Tran, Tai T.1,2; Secomb, Josh L.1,2; Lundgren, Lina E.1,2; Farley, Oliver R.L.1,2; Newton, Robert U.2; Sheppard, Jeremy M.2,3 Maximal Strength Training Improves Surfboard Sprint and Endurance Paddling Performance in Competitive and Recreational Surfers, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: January 2017 – Volume 31 – Issue 1 – p 244-253 doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001483
Farley, Oliver, Secomb, Josh, Parsonage, Joanna, Lundgren, Lina, Abbiss, Chris & Sheppard, Jeremy. (2016). Five Weeks of Sprint and High-Intensity Interval Training Improves Paddling Performance in Adolescent Surfers. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 30, 2446-2452. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001364
Sheppard, Jeremy, McNamara, Phil, Osborne, Mark, Andrews, Mark, Oliveira Borges, Thiago, Walshe, Phil, et al. (2012). Association Between Anthropometry and Upper-Body Strength Qualities with Sprint Paddling Performance in Competitive Wave Surfers. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 26, 3345-3348. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e31824b4d78
