Riding the waves while wake surfing is fun, but also hard work on your body. You need to be fit to enjoy the sport completely. Falling off your board is inevitable and can be painful as you hit the water. Even experienced wake boarders can suffer small injuries from time to time. The key to overcoming the chance of injury is to be sufficiently fit for your sport.
Warming Up Is Essential for Any Sport
Whether you are taking a short walk to maintain your fitness or entering a marathon, warming up your body and your muscles is essential if you are to reduce or prevent injury from your sport. Wake surfing is exactly the same; warming up before the activity is essential.
When you consider the sport in advance, being pulled by the boat or cable will place an exceptional amount of strain across your shoulders, affecting your back and your core zone. While your legs should be relaxed, they may be tense as you perform tricks and land your wake board.
Talk to your local experts and find out which warmup exercises they perform so that you can copy their example, but tailored to your own fitness levels. Dynamic exercises involve stretching as you move, which is great to prepare your body for wake surfing.
Maintaining Your Fitness
Beginning with your core muscles and the zone around the middle of your body, keeping this area fit will help you in many areas of life, not just when you’re out on your board.
Significant amounts of time on your board will involve your hips and legs moving and facing directions that may be dissimilar to your shoulders and head. You will be twisting the middle of your body and this puts a great strain on your core muscles.
You will find this hard work which is why it is important to strengthen your core muscles as a general fitness program, working closely with your warmup and cool down exercises before and after wake surfing.
Modern gym enthusiasts will suggest a program working with kettle bells to build up the strength in your arms and shoulders, as well as your core area.
The best wake board experiences will be enjoyed when your body is ready, fit and able. The selection of your wake board is important as are your boots, but a lack of strength in your arms, shoulders, core and legs, will reduce your enjoyment on the water and may lead to injury if you overwork or overstretch your body.
