Hey Beth, Several times on SurfPulse you mention strengthening the muscles opposite of the muscles used for paddling. Can you please be more specific what muscles and exercises I should do? Thank you. I enjoy reading your answers to questions. -Matt
ANSWER:Hey Matt,
This is kind of a loaded question because it all depends on the surfer. If you come from an experienced swimming background or are lifting weights regularly and properly, you may not run into any problems. Things go wrong when you are unaware of the proper paddling technique and not really sure which muscle groups you are using to propel your arms around. People in this category tend to overuse their upper trapezius muscles (neck), their biceps, and the front of the shoulders.
These surfers should stretch out their chest and biceps and try to strengthen their back. For example, doing some triceps pull-downs (back of arms), side raises (lateral deltoid muscles), rowing (shoulder blade muscles), and lat pull-downs (lats). Basically, what kind of surfer are you? Do you know what muscles you are using while paddling? If no, you need to learn what these muscles are and start to wake them up in the gym so that you use them while surfing.
If this doesn’t come close to answering your question, let me know. Hope you had a good 4th of July!
Hasta,
Beth(Posted 7-11-02)
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