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Why does almost everything hurt after the first three hours of foiling, even for experienced, skilled surfers from other sports? Sports scientist Dr Christoph Jolk wrote his dissertation on stress in windsurfing professionals and now offers health programmes for large companies with his company Geko. During a foil camp, he observed some participants from the perspective of both foil beginners and training professionals and analysed and evaluated the stresses and strains with the participants. The findings are also transferable to wingfoiling, as are the exercises shown
The first take-offs with the foil into the hover are a shaky affair. "In order to achieve a level of riding safety of perhaps 70 per cent, the foil beginners estimated that they needed to exert 90 per cent of their maximum potential in terms of strength, balance and coordination." So foiling at the limit? At least in the initial phase, the foiler stands on the board very differently to an experienced winger: more upright, orientated almost forwards, more balancing than powerful and the whole thing is also three-dimensional. "At the beginning, you work a lot on the transition from coarse to fine tuning."
More strenuous for beginners, easier later on
The overshooting movements, i.e. actually exaggerated corrections, are more energy-sapping than a constant load, such as in normal windsurfing or kitesurfing. The board sometimes shoots up steeply, then abruptly down again. You are actually always too late with the corrections. The upper body twists in relation to the pelvis and hips, which puts a lot of strain on the hip muscles and lower back. In addition, the torso becomes more active due to rotation - the upper body turns more clearly in relation to the pelvis and hips in order to position the rig at a good angle of attack.
This is most noticeable after a long day of foiling at the transition between the buttocks and hips and in the lower back. Experienced foilers, on the other hand, who are more sensitive, find the static and dynamic use of force when foiling less than with normal windsurfing. In other words, "even less strenuous".
Foil surfing is like riding a unicycle
Foiling beginners, on the other hand, struggle with the lack of fine-tuning, as minor movement errors have major consequences when foiling. One participant brought back the perfect comparison from the water: "Windsurfing is like riding a bike, foilsurfing is like riding a unicycle". It requires constant balancing movements in all directions, forwards and backwards, sideways, up and down, with significantly more in the front-back axis. As a result, the calf and shin muscles are put under greater strain. However, the "large" leg muscles in the thigh also have to do more in the form of up and down movements; the demands are not as static as with jumping, but much more dynamic with a greater range of motion.
Rough movement patterns and high ranges of motion therefore expand the load spectrum. In particular, the necessary torso rotation in relation to the foot position and therefore the pelvis and hips puts more strain on the short, deep back muscles. "After the first few foil flights, this can almost feel like lumbago - but it's 'just' sore muscles," warns sports scientist Jolk, adding: "Once the beginner's sound barrier has been crossed, the movements become more precise and better dosed. The overall level is lower. However, the greatest challenge remains the fine-tuning and coordination of balance via the feet and legs to optimise the gliding position of the foil. Due to the overall unstable position in space, it will never be calm and fine-tuning will always be necessary."
And despite tired arms and tense backs from the perceived "ride on the razor blade" or "balance beam exercises", many beginners also praise the quick learning success and the completely new riding experience: "I never thought you could get so far so quickly", "it's harder than I thought, but with a super steep learning curve" and "the lift-off and hovering - when all you hear is the soft hiss - is simply MEGA!"
Après surf exercises against the "hangover" the day after - for windsurfers and foil surfers
We humans are actually built for movement. Our ancestors walked over 15 kilometres a day. Hunting and gathering with different movements and stresses have moulded our bodies over millions of years. An ideal physique for eight hours in an office chair and working on a PC would look very different. However, getting out on the water infrequently and irregularly pushes the muscles, which are not trained for this, to their limits within a very short time. Acidosis, tension and sore muscles are the result. Ideally, you should prepare your body with targeted training before the season, but who can manage this in their daily work routine? However, a few targeted stretching exercises after the session will at least allow the battered body to regenerate more quickly. Even Bundesliga professionals do short, active recovery sessions immediately after tough matches. In particular, this flushes burnt substances out of the muscles more quickly and reduces or even prevents tension. The following exercises effectively target the most stressed areas.
Exercise for the forearms
Gripping and holding the boom or handles puts a lot of strain on the forearm muscles in general, and foiling involves particularly frequent, strong steering movements. In a quadruped position with your forearms vertical, place your hands so that your fingers are pointing towards your body. Then slowly lean backwards until you can clearly feel the stretch and stay there for at least 30 seconds. Important: Keep your entire palm flat on the floor.
Exercise for the shoulders
The shoulders are required holding instruments. Basic exercise (right): Get into a quadruped position, place both hands on the floor far in front of you. Move back towards your heels, keep your hands firmly on the floor and lower your chest as low as possible. Pull your bottom away from your hands until you can feel the relaxation between your shoulder blades and lower back. Also helps with back pain. Variation: Place your right hand 90 degrees apart next to your body, turn to your left side and try to move your right ribcage towards the floor. You will feel the stretch in the front of your chest.
Exercise for the lower back
The greatest transfer of force between the pelvis and legs and the upper body, including the supporting apparatus, takes place in the lumbar spine. The slightest movement corrections strain the so-called short back muscles, which are rarely used in everyday life. The result: sore muscles! As this area is completely unfamiliar, it almost feels like "lumbago". But don't worry, with these exercises you can relax the area - and not just after days of foiling.
Basic exercise: Lie flat on your back, lift your right leg first, grasp your thigh at the back of your knee, then your left leg. Pull both knees past your torso towards your armpit as far as you can, lifting your pelvis subtly off the floor. The long back extensor is stretched.
Advanced version: Stretch your right leg out long, lift your left leg and bend your knee joint. Let your left leg sink to the side over your right leg and try to reach the floor with your knee. The hips twist in relation to the upper body, the shoulders remain on the floor! Look to the left, you can try to press your left knee to the floor with your right hand. Repeat on the other side. Sounds complicated, but it is.
Exercise for the gluteal muscles
The largest muscle in the body tends to be flattened rather than moulded by the office chair, car seat or sofa. Nevertheless, it is one of the most important and strongest muscles. It is put under a lot of strain through holding work and movement corrections and needs a little attention after an intensive water session.
Basic exercise: Sit on the floor and place your left foot on the floor over your straight right leg at knee height. Important: Sit up straight! Now pull your knee towards your chest. It pulls in the left buttock.
Advanced exercise: As above. In addition, turn your upper body to the left/back and support yourself with your elbow on your knee. Also relax your lower back. Stretch both sides.
