9 Important Pre-Surfing Stretches

Photo by Jonathan Borba

Before hitting the waves for an epic day of surfing, you should prepare your body for the demands of being physically active. Surfing, just like any other sport, is physically demanding, and if you’re not ready for frolicking in the waves, you put yourself at risk of injury. 

Warmup stretches are integral to any physical exertion, and your pre-surfing stretches should prepare your muscles, joints and mind for activity and movement. 

Why Stretching Before Surfing Is Important 

According to the American Heart Association, an effective warmup routine is needed before strenuous physical activities. Suddenly jumping into the ocean without warming up means your heart may not sufficiently circulate blood to the muscles. You should warm up for five to 10 minutes, but you can spend more time if necessary. 

A warmup allows your blood vessels to widen so more oxygen can reach the organs and muscles, giving you more energy to perform physical activities.

Stretching before surfing allows you to prepare your body, check for injuries or tightness from yesterday’s activity, and improve your circulation to ensure a lower chance of muscle cramps due to poorly oxygenated tissues. Today’s warmup means you’ll have a great surf session and prevent injuries that could keep you from surfing tomorrow. 

9 Pre-Surfing Stretches to Do Today 

Before jumping into the swell, it’s important to hydrate your body. Despite the water all around you, it’s very easy to become dehydrated, which can negatively affect circulation and heart health. It means there’s too much sodium in your body, thickening your blood. Drinking water restores your natural balance and makes you less likely to cramp or suffer dizzy spells. 

Physical activity, including warmup routines, elevates mood. About 23.71% of women report a mood boost when they work out at their preferred times. Stretching before surfing puts you in the mindset to do your best.

1. Head-to-Toes

The basic principle that underlies any warmup routine is to start from your head and move downward. Control your breathing while exercising. It’s essential to exhale when your body bends or moves down and inhale when you stretch upward or come up from a downward position. 

Head-to-toe is a simple exercise that helps stimulate your body’s awareness of itself. It’s a basic stretch that uses the body’s proprioceptive mechanism to stimulate muscles better and prepare them for more intense exertion.

How to do it:

• Start with your feet placed next to each other, toes facing forward. 
• Stretch your hands over your head, fingers pointed upward. 
• Slowly drop the hands down your sides and follow the downward movement by bending at the waist and letting your torso hang. Keep your back straight. 
• If your flexibility allows, clasp your knees and bring your forehead to them. 
• Hold the flexed position for a count of five, then release and stretch back up. 
• As this is a dynamic stretch, find a comfortable micromovement, such as swaying while you hang forward. 
• Repeat three to five times.

2. Neck Rolls 

The neck can create a lot of tension, negatively affecting your range of motion. Neck pain is prevalent in 30%-50% of people, and women tend to have more muscle tightness in their necks and shoulders than men. The only way to keep pain from distracting you from the next big wave is to correct your posture with neck-releasing exercises. 

How to do it: 

• Stand with your feet next to each other and toes facing forward. Drop your head forward until your chin touches your chest. 
• Let your head roll from one side to the opposite shoulder and back. 
• Avoid rolling your head to the back.
• Repeat five rolls on each side. 
• Raise your head to its normal position, then tuck your shoulders up as high as possible toward your ears. 
• Hold for a second, then let your shoulders rapidly drop into a hanging position. 
• Roll your shoulders forward five times, then backward five times. 
• Repeat the head roll. 

3. Arm Swings

Your arms stabilize you while you cruise that big wave. You also use them when you paddle out to the surf line. Loosen the joints in your shoulders and elbows and let your muscles swing free with this movement. 

How to do it: 

• Allow your arms to hang loose by your side.
• Twist your hips to introduce movement in your arms, letting them swing around from front to back. Slow your movements to swing your arms in a vertical position. 
• Keep your arms loose and relaxed while swinging them. Notice the amount of movement you reach in each arm, which indicates how much flexibility you have. 

4. Side Lunges 

You use your leg muscles and hip mobility to maintain your balance when standing on your surfboard. Warming up ensures good balance and correct posture while riding the board. 

Your leg and hip muscles contribute to building a stronger core, which helps your overall balance and ability to apply bodily awareness to micro-actions to correct it. Once you’ve done a few lunges, take note of the reach in each leg, working a little more or deeper on the tighter side. 

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet hip distance apart, toes facing forward.
• Step to the right side until your right knee bends into a 90-degree position. Maintain this pose, but don’t exceed it to avoid knee strain. Your left leg should extend to the right, forming a soft bend in the left ankle, but keep the knee straight. 
• Imagine there’s a solid barrier behind you to prevent your buttocks from pushing backward. 
• Hold the stretch for three seconds, then firmly rock up and down for two seconds before raising yourself back into a standing position. 
• Repeat on the other side, bending the left knee to a 90-degree angle and keeping the right knee straight. 
• Rock up and down between switching sides. 
• Do three repetitions of three lunges each. 

5. Squats to Rotations

Hip mobility and core strength help move your board in the water, and an effective warmup addresses these areas to ensure you are at your best. The idea is to keep moving, as this is a dynamic stretch. 

How to do it:

• Place your feet next to each other, toes facing forward. 
• Maintain an upright posture and gently bend your knees as you drop into a squat position. Keep your knees together.
• While squatting, rotate your torso to the left. Extend your arms into a T-shape. Hold for three seconds, then rotate back to the front and raise yourself to a standing position. 
• Repeat by squatting down and rotating your torso to the other side. 
• Do this three times on either side. 
• Variation: Try this variation for a greater stretch. Place your feet and knees hip-distance apart, then squat down. Keep the knees pointing forward as you do so. Continue with the torso rotations. 

6. Cat-Cow Stretches

The spine is an often underrated body part, and when surfing, spinal injuries or tightness can cause you to fall. Regularly flexing your spine enables you to express a broader range of motion while surfing. Your back also affects your overall core strength. 

How to do it:

• Drop to your hands and knees. Let your head hang, and place both palms flat on the sand. 
• Keep your hips balanced above your knees. 
• Drop your stomach to the ground, letting your belly button pull your spine forward to the sand. Imagine you’re a cow with your udder hanging heavily. 
• Next, inhale and raise your spine upward, arching your back to the sky and rounding from your hips to your neck. Imagine you’re a cat that’s scared of something. 
• While you move from the cat to the cow and back, use rhythm and rock forward, pushing your hips and shoulders ahead. You can also lean backward, allowing your hips to pull your shoulders back. 
•  Introduce a sideways wiggle or other micromovements for extra dynamic stretching, bringing one shoulder forward as you let the opposing hip follow it. Then, rotate and push the other hip and shoulder forward. 
• Do at least three repetitions. 

7. Leg Kickbacks 

Leg strength is essential for powerful surfing. These kickbacks warm up the major leg and gluteus muscles. 

How to do it:

• Standing on one leg, bring your opposite knee up to your chest. 
• Clasp the same side arm around your knee and hold for a second. 
• Drop your knee, but keep the lower leg tucked in as you swing it back, bringing your heel to your buttocks. 
• Clasp your ankle behind your back with both hands. 
• Hold your leg up for a few seconds, then let it swing from the hip. It looks like the funky chicken dance, but it’s super elasticizing to your joints. 
• After a few swings, return your foot to the ground and swap sides. 
• Do three repetitions on either side. 

8. Toe Lifts

Don’t forget to warm up your ankles and introduce some toe strength to your feet. There are various toe lifts, and you can choose to do one or all of them — they’re that good. 

How to do it: 

•  Start by turning your foot and letting your toe make a circle as you rotate it to the left several times and then to the right. Repeat with the other foot.  
• Variation one: Raise your body upward, letting the soles of your feet leave the ground until you are standing on the toes and balls of your feet. Raise up and then gently lower yourself downward. You can hang onto a rail or tree for support while raising and lowering your body if your balance is unsteady. 
• Variation two: Raise your body upward, swinging your arms forward until they are shoulder height. Your arms should remain parallel to the ground as you stand up on your toes. Hold for a second, then lower yourself downward as you stay on your toes and bend your knees. Keep your heels off the ground and your arms level with it.
• Do several repetitions of each toe lift variation. Other exercises include picking up a seashell with your toes and raising it to your hands with each foot while remaining up off your heels.  

9. Finger Pinch and Release

Your fingers are an essential part of your hands, influencing the strength of your grip. Holding your board while swimming out to catch the next big one requires strength in your hands, especially if there’s a strong current. 

Studies have shown that increased grip strength correlates to lower mortality rates, especially from heart conditions, and less risk of disabilities. Ensuring a powerful grip is essential for anyone interested in improving their health.

This is a deceptively simple exercise, yet it prepares your hands, fingers and forearms for a great day of surfing. 

How to do it:

• Kneel or squat down comfortably on loose sand. 
• Extend your left hand, snatching a handful of sand. Hold the sand tightly for several seconds, then release your grip one finger at a time. Unclench each finger as slowly as possible. 
• Once the sand is gone, flick your fingers and shake your hand out. 
• Repeat with the other hand. 
• Variation: If the sand is loose enough, fill a bucket with it. Insert your hand, letting the sand cover up to your forearm. Clench it between your fingers and palm in the bucket, trying to knead it like dough. Do this for several seconds, then swap hands. 

Alternative Warmup Ideas

Some people love to do a traditional warmup, but there are other ways to prepare for your morning surf. Here are a few additional methods to increase mobility and agility before hitting the waves. 

• Jog in place: A simple five-minute jog in one place can loosen up most of your muscles and get the blood flowing for improved circulation. 
• Beach obstacle course: Beaches usually have a colorful menagerie of things to step over and slide under. You can repeatedly step over bike stands or curbs in the parking lot. Follow this with a few leopard crawls under upside-down beach chairs. 
• Rope skip: Gentle rope skipping is fabulous for building rhythm and warming your muscles. Aim for low-level foot lifts to prevent strain on your joints. 
• Pick up shells: Take a leisurely stroll along the beach, stopping every five steps to bend and pick up a shell. Only bend until your back is horizontal to the ground, extending your arm to grasp items. Then, raise your arm and squat. Put a foot forward and step out of the squat as you raise yourself upward. Rotate sides for each of these bend, squat and step movements. 
• Drawing game: Find a level section of beach sand and trace various figures with your toes. Rotate to the outside, back and front, and trace diagonal lines to the opposite side of your body. Use both legs. Next, make designs with your hands. Sit down on your haunches while keeping your back straight. Swap sides, stretching forward and across your body.  

What about strength-building for your next surfing challenge? Follow your warmup routine with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) using squats, burpees, pushups, tuck jumps, split lunges, side planks and jumping jacks. The best part is that these HIIT exercises don’t require any equipment, and you can do them right on the beach to increase your fitness for the next surfing competition. 

Ready, Set, Surf 

Warming up before engaging in a strenuous activity like surfing is essential to prevent injuries and check for any signs you aren’t feeling right. You can activate nerve and sinew fibers with simple stretches to ensure your body operates at its best. 

Any professional surfer will encourage you to do warmups before heading into the water. Knowing your body is ready for the next fantastic wave crest is better than wondering if you’ll wipe out due to a cramp.