The importance of a good warm-up
With the exception of top-level athletes, most regular surfers wait until they injure themselves or develop neck or joint pain to start warming up.
Indeed, we don’t immediately realize the stresses to which surfing subjects the body. First of all, the paddling posture produces a slight camber that puts strain on the lumbar and cervical vertebrae.
The shoulder joints will also be mobilized by the paddle and subjected to stresses linked to the unforeseen events of the session. The shoulder will sometimes find itself a little beyond its articular amplitude, in the event of a fall or to hold on to the board as it passes over a wave, and these misalignments can lead to muscle tears.
Underestimated constraints
Of course, paddling itself is a form of warm-up. However, the average surfer is excited, impatient to get out to sea and start catching waves, so he or she is quickly forced to increase the intensity of the paddle and perform ducks, a figure that puts a lot of strain on the shoulders.
The surfer forgets another parameter: surfing sessions put long-term stress on the skeleton. Most of the back problems that appear after ten or twenty years of practice could have been avoided or reduced by taking good care of the body, warming up, stretching, and paying attention to diet and lifestyle, both before and after surfing.
Falls into the water may seem of little consequence. However, at high speeds, especially in good-sized waves, the water surface becomes quite hard on impact, and all the micro-falls made in a long surfing career can end up damaging the cervical vertebrae.
High-performance surfing, with all its leg thrusting, involves impacts with the top and bottom of the wave and puts a lot of strain on the knee joints.
However, beginner surfers, with their feet incorrectly positioned on the board, also have to overwork certain muscles and ligaments to compensate for their imbalance. As for the sandbank, it’s not perfectly smooth, with variations in depth, hollows and bumps that put a strain on the joints.
Warming up to last
Warming up is therefore recommended, whatever the surfer’s level, to prepare the sensory body for the actions to come (proprioception) and thus improve motor adaptability. Above all, to progressively load muscles and ligaments, and thus avoid strains, injuries and chronic pain.
Before getting into the water or sending my students out, my warm-up draws heavily on tai chi chuan techniques. Why do I do this? To communicate with the elements?
Not at all, apart from observing the water, which will lead to different strategies, such as launching or managing currents.
In concrete terms, taichi pays great attention to posture and joint positions. The movements strengthen the muscles that hold the joints and correct postural faults. In addition to gently warming up the body, it awakens the body to coordination before an activity that calls for very fine skills.
The “meditation in action” aspect , the search for a form of inner peace in the relaxed movements of taichi, will also enable the surfer to keep calm in the tumult of the ocean and react appropriately.
You can use classic warm-ups or take inspiration from energy disciplines such as taichi, as long as you warm up before getting into the water. Your body will thank you, sooner or later.
What’s more, taking the time to warm up shows a certain capacity for self-control, as opposed to the surfer who rushes down the dune, heads straight for the water and throws himself on every wave like a moron without a care in the world. Warming up is all about breathing, relaxing and taking your time.
