How to get better at surfing without surfing

Wouldn’t you want to magically get better at surfing while you’re not surfing? Wouldn’t we all. Alas, no magic trick available—but we do have some good ideas about the sports we could be investing our time into when not surfing.

Some of us don’t have instant access to surf. Some surf periodically. Some are permanently landlocked except for an occasional surf camp trip. But we all want to stay fit so the next session is less tiring or intimidating—or simply because we want to live a tad longer. Apparently practicing sports is good for that.

Not time to read? There’s a micro-pod for that.

Surfing is basically five sports wrapped into one: a paddle sport, a sprint sport, a balance sport, a mobility sport, a strength-endurance sport, plus yet another five quasi-sports that you need to master to survive in the lineup.

️‍♂️ Paddle sports: What will work your shoulders, lats, and scapular endurance? Swimming, rowing, boxing, and rock climbing. I’m a big fan of climbing, especially for building confidence under an incredible amount of stress.

⚡ Sprint sports: Good for those “OH GOD GO NOW” moments. You think it’s still paddling, but this is more of a panic paddle. A few sports that deal with sprinting are running intervals, HIIT, SkiErg, and my fav: kettlebell swings.

Balance sports: For some beginners, this is our kryptonite. But we can get better at balancing if we’re willing to try out skateboarding or surf skating. SUPing is a fantastic primer for balancing, but slackline may be taking it too far. There may be no straight line between surfing and horse riding, but if you ever tried Western riding, you will realize that how you hold your body, shift in the saddle, and where you look makes a massive difference in how you ride. I recommend!

Mobility sports: Hips, spine, ankles—let’s face it: your pop-up is a yoga pose you learned under duress. If you want to build your mobility and improve your thoracic flexibility, yoga is a natural choice. But so are martial arts and dancing. I sometimes wonder if some longboarders take dancing lessons too. Yes, yes, Pilates works too.

Endurance sports: Any sport that will get you wheezing: trail running, hiking, strength training, but also breathwork—obviously not a sport per se.

By this point, you might be wondering: you promised us 10 types of “sports,” what possibly can be left?

So much. And the most important stuff, really.

Crowd competence sports: And by crowd competence we mean being comfortable in a regular lineup as well as at some stupidly overcrowded breaks without suffering a meltdown. The land sports that match include basketball (chaos, spatial awareness), roller derby (chaos, human elbows), pickup soccer (human traffic), and dodgeball (fear management).

Assertiveness sports: That really should’ve been the very first sport we talked about. AKA: taking your chances, because any hesitation equals missed waves and danger. The sports that correspond best for this one for me are martial arts & boxing plus sprint starts. Or you could ask your boss for a raise.

⏳ Patience sports: Patience skills are totally underestimated in surfing. But learn the art of sitting, watching, and doing absolutely nothing for long periods until suddenly doing everything, and you will be a better surfer. Standing in a line at Costco Friday lunchtime works for this. Or getting badly delayed at the airport. Fishing is a natural fit. Maybe golfing?

♟️ Prediction sports: This is something that can improve your surfing massively. Think about it as predicting your opponents’ movements: who’s going on this wave, who’s snaking, who’s clueless, and who’s about to ruin your wave. Not to mention “is that wave gonna be any good and worth going for”? Try chess, maybe defense in soccer or hockey, or practice your spatial intelligence + pattern reading in traffic on a Friday afternoon.

Now onto our sports types that will revolutionize your surfing. I want to call it ❤️ emotional regulation sports—or we could call it “not taking yourself too seriously” sports. Your choice.

It’s no secret that to surf and be happy, you need a lot of resilience, tolerance, and occasional selective amnesia. If we remembered every wipeout or every snarky comment in the lineup, fewer people would surf, that’s a fact.

For the land version may I recommend: relationships—new ones and the long-term ones—parenting (any number of kids will do), or working in customer service, anywhere, anytime.

Or learning any sport, really, as an adult learner and laughing at your mistakes along the way.