Windsurfing is a full-body sport. You use all your muscles during a surf session. Some muscles do more holding work (static or isometric muscle work), while others have to do dynamic work (eccentric/concentric muscle work).
In this article: The best exercises for...
In addition to the right technique, an adequate level of strength in all the muscles involved is important for a relaxed surf session. And this doesn't just include the forearms and biceps that hold the rig! Of course, these muscles are often the first to get tired, often faster than you would like after the winter break. Your forearms burn, your biceps are on their last legs and when you attempt an overpowered jibe, the rig falls out of your hand because you can no longer hold it - typical scenes from a normal day's surfing at my home spot of Renesse. If your harness lines are set correctly, the mast foot position is right and you can transfer the sailing power to your board with enough torso and leg strength, you'll take the strain off your arms and still have enough power for a nice jibe before reaching the shore. If you do these exercises regularly - even once a week is better than nothing - you will be able to take off again immediately in the coming season without muscle pain, injuries or open hands.
You should aim for holistic training with as many muscle groups as possible. Of course, the main focus is on the arms that hold the rig, which are included in almost all exercises. The pictures in the galleries show the start and end positions of the exercises. Perform the exercises slowly and cleanly. The important thing is not to use a heavy weight, but to exhaust your muscles with the specified number of repetitions.
Tips for training
- Have a fitness trainer instruct you before your first workout.
- Breathe when lifting the weights.
- To begin with: Start with 20 repetitions per exercise and do them three times in a row. Breaks: 30 seconds. Keep to the breaks and the number of repetitions exactly. Choose the weight so that you can just manage 20 repetitions.
- After four weeks: Reduce the number of repetitions to 15 and extend the breaks to 45 seconds. You must then increase the weight accordingly!
- After eight weeks: Shorten again to ten repetitions with a break of 60 seconds - if you can, do four repetitions each time!
- After twelve weeks: Reduce to five repetitions and extend the breaks to 90 seconds. You can increase this to five repetitions!
You will automatically increase your training weights every four weeks.
Back (latissimus) & arm flexors (biceps)
Many surfers have problems with their back. Targeted strength training can help to prevent pain and strain.
Chest & arm extensors (triceps)
Shoulders
Shoulders & arm extensors
Legs (thighs & buttocks)
Whole body
This exercise trains all your surfing muscles! This is more about coordination, i.e. training the movement sequence in combination with arm training.
Stand on a wobbly surface - I use a so-called core board here. You can also simply roll up a mat. The more wobbly your surface is, the more effective this exercise will be.
Always do this exercise at the end of training, when you've tired out all your muscles. Then you can squeeze out the rest of your strength and feel like you've come back to shore from an overpowered surf session.
