Paddle Endurance for Surfers: Become a Paddle Monster

The plague and plight of the weekend warrior: a complete and utter lack of paddling endurance. The weakness!

Arms that feel like you’re holding bricks.

A back that is cramping after holding paddle posture for just 10 minutes.

Noodle Arms after a only few waves.

Being stuck on the inside and out of gas, and staring straight into closeout white-wash… the defeat 🙁

You’ve been there.

I’ve been there (and I’m a strength coach and surf coach… hahah!).
It’s annoying, terribly annoying in fact, and the harsh truth is that it doesn’t have to happen.

The feeling of paddle fatigue, arm weakness, neck stiffness, and an irritated back are all too common amongst the modern surfer. We are working 9-5 jobs, paying our mortgages, making sure the car payment is taken care of, spending quality time with the kids, and the plethora of life-tasks that prevent us from surfing as much as we’d like.

The reality is that if you could surf as much as you’d like, paddling endurance and paddle fitness wouldn’t be a problem. Your body would be exposed to the energy demands and muscular demands of surfing, therefore you’d be surf-fit.

The problem is that you don’t surf as much as you’d like, and you’re likely not training in any form or manner that positively contributes to paddling endurance and efficiency.

The key to making sure you’re paddle-fit and have robust paddling endurance is to expose your body to the various mechanical demands and energetic demands that simulate surfing. This way you get in the water and you’re good to go.

Able, willing, and wanting to paddle for hours on end.

A paddle monster.

I want to give you a methodical approach to becoming a paddle monster. An all encompassing, thorough, and easy to apply process for training at home so you can get in the water and surf without limitation.

Being a weekend warrior who feels energetic and durable.

Getting onto that surf-trip and feeling confident in your fitness and longevity.

This is your approach to Paddle Endurance for Surfers.

Your shortcut is the ———> Endless Paddling Endurance Program

Paddle Endurance – Your Heart & Lungs, Your Base

Paddling, at its most crude representation, is running with your arms.

Have you done much arm-running lately?

Unless you’ve been surfing a lot, you most certainly haven’t been doing any arm-running.

I use this example to illustrate the muscular, energetic, and mechanical demands of surfing and all the paddling that our sport requires.

If you wanted to run a marathon in 6 months, what would you do?

You’d mostly likely begin running, and perhaps some type of strength training. You would slowly ramp up the distances run, the intensities run, and begin to work towards exposing your body to longer and longer distances, eventually hitting the distances of an actual marathon.

What a concept!

The same thought process applies to surfing, but the unfortunate truth is that the sport of surfing is nearly impossible to completely replicate outside of the water.

How can you accurately mimic a 3 hour surf session outside of the water?

• The various intensities of paddle strokes.
• The maintenance of paddle posture for several hours.
• The thousands of paddle strokes.
• The elevated heart rates.
• The breath holds.
• The mental anxiety.

My point is that it’s difficult, and nearly impossible to truly replicate. Who has 3 hours to spend at the gym? I certainly don’t, and I’m a trainer.
So for those that say surfing is the best training for surfing…. In regards to paddle-fitness they’re actually correct.

But that’s NOT AN OPTION for most of us!

Then what are you supposed to do? The best you can, and I’ll give you the process.
This plan will provide a clear and simplified understanding of how you can tailor your training to produce results in the water…for those monster paddle-outs.

First you want to build a base.

There are two primary components of this “base”

The first being overall conditioning. Cardiovascular health and pulmonary capacity.

Your heart and lungs.

Endurance!

The second component being your posture, which is the next topic we’ll touch on.

But first, the endurance of your body, it’s heart, and its lungs, and your cells ability to produce energy for prolonged periods of time equates to being a paddle monster.

The most relevant movement to accomplish this goal is swimming. Yet again we run into the issue that most people don’t have access to a pool.

So the next best option would be a row machine, or an airdyne bike. These are both amazing tools that tax bodily endurance, or the energy production of the body.

The reason I cite both a row machine and an airdyne bike is because they can both focus on the upper body and the action of pulling. Recall that paddling is essentially running with your arms, and a paddle stroke is a pulling action, hence the benefit of a row machine or airdyne bike.

A ski-erg or vasa trainer are also epic tools for this goal.

The bottom line is you need to build a cardio base, develop mitochondrial density, and your aerobic base.

Without diving into the nuanced details and physiology of energy systems, simply rely upon the fact that 30-45 minutes of sustained effort, once or twice a week, will help to build an aerobic base and start turning you into a paddle monster.

Consider this to be the building of your engine… your paddling endurance engine.

Personally, I often jump rope for 5 minutes, then hop on a row machine for 5 minutes, and alternate back and forth for 30-45 minutes.

The jumping rope is actually great for the shoulder joint when done properly, and also amazing for training the elasticity of your feet and ankles, but it also can hammer that heart rate. Jumping onto the row machine right after continues to take the entire cardiovascular system, and mixes up the cardio so that I don’t get bored over the course of 45 minutes.

This will make your heart and lungs work for prolonged periods of time.

You weekend warriors NEED this. It will build your engine to pump much needed oxygen to your muscles when you’re stuck behind walls of whitewash at that never-ending beach break paddle out.

This base aerobic engine will not only help you in the long term with cardiovascular disease (which is a rampant killer), but it’s the foundation of your ability to paddle like a mad-bastard in the ever more crowded lineups.

1-2x’s per week, use some form of cardio, whether it be swimming, a row machine, jumping rope, a versa-climber, a ski-erg, whatever you got…. And hit it for minimum 30 minutes at a non-stop pace.

**I don’t often cite jogging as being overtly relevant because it requires very little work capacity of the arms, and as mentioned, you’re a surfer, so you’re an arm-runner.

Paddle Endurance – Your Posture, the Foundation of Paddling Endurance

Lay flat on the ground, face down.

Lift your torso up into cobra posture. Externally rotate your arms via the shoulder joint, so your thumbs point up towards the sky, and your hands are lifted off the ground.

Can you hold this posture for 4 minutes?

As a surfer, with an intention to surf to your hearts delight, this should be EASY.

I’d be willing to bet that nearly 85% or more of surfers reading this blog get nowhere near 4 minutes.

And this 4 minutes is the baseline, not the end-goal.

This “postural” demand, the ability to hold yourself in an extended spinal posture via your spinal extensor muscles, is the foundation of your ability to paddle.

Yeah, your heart and lungs are your base, but your mechanical “base”, the foundation of your paddling, is your postural endurance in this extended and arched position.

Envision the grom super-spine arch, and conversely, the old man turtle spine. It’s a significant and apparent difference, one that occurs with aging but also due to the modern lives we lead. Restoring spinal movement, as well as extensor endurance is paramount to your paddle-monster endeavors. The strength of these muscles that extend the spine, and more importantly, their work capacity (another term for endurance), is a key component of your paddle monster intent.

Right from the start in Phase 1, Baseline Shoulders, in the Endless Paddling Endurance program, strengthening this necessary paddle posture is a key component, and is trained in nearly every session.

If you can’t maintain a proficient and strong spinal paddling posture how can you expect to paddle efficiently?

You can’t.

Time and time again I see it, on surf coaching camps with our guests, with individual 1-1 clients, and even with myself, the endurance and strength of the spinal extensor muscles is quickly lost due to our sedentary postures.

A weak back, a lousy posture, an inability to arch the spine, and weakness and limited endurance through these muscles is KILLING YOUR PADDLING.

It often contributes to shoulder issues as well. There is rarely a time that I see clients with shoulder funk, who don’t also have contributing weakness of the thoracic extensors (upper back muscles).

Paddling endurance requires you to do the complete opposite of sitting, and I’m sure you’d agree that you sit far too much.

 

Gain back your spine strength, and paddle like a beast!

A starting point that is great for most weekend warriors, and is also used frequently in Phase 1 of the Endless Paddling Endurance program are the Prone Plank Progressions and also the Prone Rhomboid Pull.

Prone Plank Progression – 10 seconds Holds, 10 Reps

Prone Rhomboid Pull – 2 seconds Pause, Up to 50 Reps

A progression of these exercises and a movement that makes these muscles work a bit harder is the Paddle Posture Alternating A to Y.

You’ll find this movement in Phase 2 (Weekend Warriors) and 3 (Endless Paddleouts) in the Endless Paddling Endurance Program.

At this point you should be realizing that you should just get the program… your surfing deserves it!

Paddle Posture Alternating A to Y – Set a Timer for 4 Minutes and Work!

Strengthening of these muscles, erring towards endurance rep ranges, meaning longer duration holds, will be a mainstay in your training from now on. The more capable you are of maintaining a perfect paddling posture, the easier it is to paddle endlessly.

Paddle Endurance – Joint Health

Your heart and lungs are doing their job now.

Your spinal muscles have become stronger and can now actually maintain a strong and stable paddling posture.

The next aspect of becoming a paddle monster is Joint Health, and this in fact may be more important than the first 2 aspects we’ve covered.

If you’ve got a case of the shoulder funk….. you ain’t paddlin’.

By shoulder funk I’m implying any type of pain, pathology, or degradation of the various joints and tissues that comprise the shoulder.

The health of your joints is the KEY to your paddling.

In the Endless Paddling Endurance program this focus on joint health is automatically integrated into all 3 Phases of training, and an emphasis is placed on it within Phase 1, hence the name being “Baseline Shoulders”.

Shoulder “health”, the integrity of the joint, pain-free range of motion, and robustness of the joint structures are vital to your longevity in the surf and obviously your paddling, it’s your “baseline”.

With 1-1 on clients, we often take the approach where a focus on joint health is our number 1 priority, and often coinciding with some type of cardiovascular training (your aerobic base) which doesn’t aggravate the pain or injury.

Improving “joint health” is a complex topic, as for most weekend warrior surfers, it entails some aspect of pain. Pain can be complex, and all potential shoulder pathologies are beyond the scope of this article, however much can be said for restoring range of motion, and strengthening the muscles that control the shoulder joint (the actual glenohumeral joint), and the scapula.

In the Endless Paddling Endurance program the approach is two fold: make sure the shoulder can move freely and fluidly, and begin strengthening the muscles that provide fundamental control and stability to the joint.

One amazing example that often yields positive results is simple tissue work to the latissimus dorsi muscle and the teres major.

Spend several minutes per side, a few times per week. You may notice immediate improvements in your range of motion, and most likely find some exquisitely sensitive areas that deserve attention.

This is a soft-tissue drill that I often “require”of guests on our surf coaching camps to implement during the trip in an effort to release post-surf tensions and tightness.

Shoulder- Lat Teres Major & Triceps

 

You may want to follow up this tissue release with a drill specifically aimed at decreasing tone and tension in this lat muscle, which can often inhibit freedom of movement of the shoulder joint. This is the process in many of the Joint Health focused sessions in the Endless Paddling Endurance program…. Tissue release —-> Elongation —-> Stabilization

Hold this stretch for 4-6 full inhale exhales, and perform 2-3 reps per arm. Really focus on the inhalation, full inflation of the lung cavity, and the expansion of the rib cage. A latissimus (lat) dorsi stretch done correctly can pay dividends for shoulder health.

Lat Stretch on Ball & Floor

For the continuation of this thought process (release – elongate – stabilize) in order to promote shoulder joint health and durability, this is a great drill to promote control and stabilization of the rotator cuff and also the scapula.

The scapula is part of the actual shoulder joint, and if it’s inefficiently controlled by the muscular system, the shoulder joint can get beat up.

Within the Endless Paddling Endurance program you’ll see this exercise prescribed in the 25-50reps per position. Yes, there are 3 positions, and you’re hitting 25-50reps per position, and at times for multiple sets 🙂

Shoulder Stability 3 Positions

Depending on your specific level of shoulder health will dictate how much, how long, or how intensive this aspect of training for “joint health” will take.

As previously mentioned, much of Baseline Shoulders phase of training in the Endless Paddling Program focuses on this aspect, the restoration of the shoulder joint, in order to prep the tissues and joint structures for more intense training.

This may need to be your focus for a month or more if you have some legit shoulder-funk, or perhaps you simply integrate specific training within each session to be assured your shoulder functions optimally and pain-free.

You may be interested in checking out this blog post and associated epic YouTube video covering aspects of shoulder health… OR…. You can sign up today and start training with the Endless Paddling Endurance program.

Paddling Endurance – Muscular Work Capacity, Your Ability to Paddle!

The endurance base of your heart and lungs.

Your postural endurance foundation to maintain your paddling posture.

Restored joint health of the glenohumeral joint and scapulothoracic joint.

Now…. It’s time to paddle!

If you want to train for long distance running, you need to run.

If you want to improve your paddling endurance, you need to paddle.

While the actual act of being on a surfboard and paddling around isn’t often an option, with the aid of a decent set of bands, and an exercise ball, you can VERY CLOSELY replicate paddling, and the postural demands of laying on a surfboard.

Alternating Lat Pull on Ball

This is an epic exercise, and one you’ll see repeatedly in the Weekend Warrior workouts and also the progressive workouts in the Endless Paddleouts phase of training.

Not only is it taxing your postural muscles, but you are beginning to mechanically load the paddle-driver muscles (lat and triceps primarily) for prolonged durations.

That exercise video you see above, get after it!

5 Sets of 1 minute rounds.

This can progress to 90 second rounds, and eventually 2 minute rounds.

I guarantee you’ll feel it… feel the burn!

That basic drill, for prolonged durations, is a damn good representation of the efforts and loads your body endures in the water, and very closely mimics what your body needs to do in the water.

Is that exercise the end-all be-all of paddle training?

Of course not.

Loads can be altered, speeds changed, other movements integrated into endurance-circuits, there are numerous alterations and you’ll use them in the Endless Paddling Endurance program.

A great example of one of the circuits in the Endless Paddleouts phase is the combo of these two exercises:

Lat Pull 2 Arm Speed on Ball

Crawl Pattern Stability

2-4 Rounds.

Lat Pull 2-Arm Speed Pull: 8-15 reps *(based on shoulder health)
Crawl Pattern Stability: 60 seconds of alternating movement forwards and backwards

Rest 60 Seconds.

That’s a BANGER!!!

Not only are training speed endurance, which is obviously crucial for the spectrum of efforts when paddling in the water, but you’re coupling it with a great drill which not only trains the deltoids and serratus anterior muscles, but trains it in a way that enhances scapular control and endurance.

I keep tellin’ ya!…. the Endless Paddling Endurance program is LEGIT!

Paddling Endurance – Put It All Together, Become the Paddle Monster

Build your puzzle.
*I refer to “your” puzzle as the organization of your training, because the pieces you have or need may be different from the next surfer. You need to build YOUR puzzle, your training plan.

Start with the corners and the outer edges of the puzzle. Your “base”. Your cardio.

1-2x’s per week, perform long duration steady state cardio for a minimum of 30 minutes. After a month or two of developing this aerobic base you can begin integrating more intensity and time variations. Intervals are a great option and it feels good to train with some intensity!

For example, you may row or swim at a moderate pace, like your 30min+ standard cardio pace. Then for 45-60 seconds, swim hard! Shift it into high gear, rev that engine, drive blood into peripheral tissues, and tax those lungs. Make your energy systems and body work!

After that 45-60 sec interval, drop back to your standard pace for several minutes.

Rinse and repeat. This is a great way to develop repeated endurance and also strength.

Begin to incorporate your postural base exercises. These can be done 3-4x’s per week, and integrated into your schedule however you see fit.

Aim for long duration holds and tempos.

For example, you may hold a cobra position for 4 sets of 2 minute holds.

Or a Superman on Ball for 60 seconds, for 5 reps.

The key here is to work on endurance. You need to force these muscles to work for minimum 3+ minutes so you can tap into the Type 1 Slow Twitch muscle fibers (endurance fibers).

Joint Health? How’s your shoulder joint? Your neck?

Do you need to see a specialist for this? This may need to be integrated into your plan.

Generally speaking, and as you’ll see repeated throughout the Endless Paddling Endurance program, there is always an integration of joint health training into the workouts.

A focus on the rotator cuff.

Training the muscles that control the scapula.

Mobilizing and stretching tissues that often get stuff, stiff, and tight.

Training smaller movement exercises that force the body to control the shoulder joint, and ensure a smooth co-aptation of the head of the humerus in the socket of the scapula (your glenohumeral joint).

You’re in this for the long-game, so don’t neglect the health of your shoulder joint.

Add into your training endurance specific exercises that somewhat mimic paddling, or focus on the muscles utilized during a paddle stroke.

Train the latissimus dorsi muscle to pull and extend the arm. Train the triceps to extend the shoulder and the elbow. Integrate these movements into paddle simulations. Alter the speed, alter the tempo, alter the intensity.

All of these variables can be specifically tailored to YOUR individual needs, and they should be.

Begin to integrate aspects of what you’ve just read, and you’ll feel the results when you’re stuck on the inside, or when you’re 4 hours into your surf on day 1 of the Indo surf-trip.

For a simplified follow-along process, just grab the program ————> Endless Paddling Endurance