Stay Fit and Stoked When the Surf is Flat

Surfing is a sport that has one serious flaw. You can't just go surfing whenever you want.

The basketball court remains perfect for play (even at night). The golf course is groomed and pristine for maximum stoke seven days a week. Even skateboarders, surfing's psycho step-children, enjoy an everlasting and omni-present surface for stoke.

Everything for surfers depends on the ultra-fickle nature of Mother Nature herself. The beach, the bottom, the reef, the wind, the swell, the tide, the sharks...My God! I could go on forever.

In fact, some locales even bottom out at total flatness for months at a time, so how is a fanatical waverider like you supposed to stay fit and stoked for the next swell?

There are several easy and fun ways to keep your surf juices flowing and your muscles lubed and limber for future shredding. If you want to get physically fit for surfing (when it's flat), try a few alternate activities that will have you fit as a fiddle in no time.

#1. Tierney Rides: Go Sidewalk Surfin'

We all know that skateboarding is a great way to keep your balance keen and your surf muscles loose. But there is another interesting option.

Recently, I tried out this strange looking two-wheeled creation called a Tierney Ride. It was a blast! The T-Board was originally geared for off-season snowboarders, but I immediately saw the surf training implications. The T-Board is designed for downhill carving and rail-to-rail turns and really recreates the surf experience. This intriguing invention creates no downhill speed wobbles and requires all the technique and balance needed to surf well.

Simply find the nearest paved hill and get busy with your bad carving self on your Tierney Ride, or try tying a rope to the back of your truck and cruising the neighborhood like I did. You will find your legs hurting so good in all the right muscles.

A Tierney Ride takes a few tries to get the feel of it, and be careful not to tweak your ankles if you are riding on flat ground. Check out Tierney Rides to see one for yourself. Also, read my more specific review of the T-Board.

#2. Work Out: Get Shredded in the Gym.

High reps and medium weights, three to four times a week mixed with a stretching regimen will ensure you are strong enough for even the heaviest session. Pay special attention to your core (stomach and back muscles). Pop in a high performance surf video while you work out to charge your spirit while expending some of that built up frustration from staring at a flat ocean. Plus, videos remind you why you are beating yourself up in the gym.

Most importantly, get into the pool and do some laps. Five or six laps every other day in an Olympic sized pool and you are primed up, baby! Click here to learn more about surf fitness.

#3. Gnarly Ideas: Don't get Bored...Get on Board.

Beyond skateboarding, there are infinite creative ways to get a hold of some surf stoke. For one, grab your board and jump behind a boat. While pressure dings are a danger, it's easy and fun to do a little low-budget wakeboarding, or pop out the fins of an old board and slide down the biggest hill you can find. Construction sites often offer interesting and quite gnarly situations. For all kinds of bizarre non-surfing surf options, check out "Miles to Surf".

#4.Mountain biking: Get High

Mountain biking is, in my opinion, the best off season sport for surfers in that it requires cardio-vascular excellence, supreme leg strength, and optimum balance. Mountain biking is also a helluva lot of fun. Actually any endurance biking is great for healing and preventing knee injuries and will put you in the right place come that first swell of the season. My homeboy over at MountainBike.about.com can give you more info on learning technique, buying equipment, and anything else you can think of. Mountain biking is like surfing down the face a giant beast of a wave (and you can do it over and over again).

#5. Longboarding: Bust out the Longboard.

If you don't already have one, pick up an old log. Unless you primarily ride longboards, I wouldn't recommend getting anything too expensive. However, an eight foot or bigger noserider can provide a smidgen of surf stoke in miniscule waves when you need it most or allow you to work out your arm and back muscles by doing some open ocean paddling. It's nourishing to paddle out a couple hundred yards or farther on a clear summer day to get a little of that "one with nature" vibe.

#6. Surfing: Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing, Baby.

While these afore mentioned activities may help slake your surf lust for a time, nothing but a real session in real waves will ultimately suffice. When it comes down to the nitty gritty, some have been known to throw a ticket to Central America or Hawaii on the credit card and worry about the financial consequences later. Although I wouldn't recommend that, it is the option that will yield the most satisfying results.