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Building a Home Gym for Surfing

It's not that there aren't plenty of shredders who rock a beer belly or light a smoke up after a sesh, as the once lively party lifestyle still does maintain a small grasp on surfing culture. But in general, surfers are a new breed of a health nut.

Being physically fit does nothing but progress and enhance your surfing, and who wouldn't want to get better at their passion?

Building an at home gym for surfing is extremely accessible, affordable, and one of the best ways to improve your surfing beyond just your time spent in the water that doesn't require four trips to a smelly gym every week. I mean, if that's what you dig then more power to you (literally), but for the guys and gals who enjoy becoming a better version of themselves from the comfort of their own home; we got ya covered.

The Beginnings of How to Create a Home Gym

When you first begin to think of how you plan to create a home gym for surfing, keep a few things at the forefront of your focus.

You don't have to invest a ton of money off the bat. In the end, you can create an entire surfing working from home using only your body weight, so just know that building your home gym for surfing doesn't have to be immediate and can grow upon itself by purchasing individual pieces of surf training equipment at a time.

An important factor in building your home gym for surfing is location. Ask yourself where you see yourself enjoying a workout.

If your climate tends to be fairly moderate year-round, an outdoor workout space will do great as long as the surf training equipment is properly stored.

If the indoors is the only option, you're going to need at least enough room for a yoga mat. Dedicate a specific area to your home gym so that you do not have to rearrange the furniture every time your workout. Stay close to the windows to open them up and enjoy some outside aesthetics.

Garages are often the best place to build a home gym for surfing. Not only do garages give you an area that is slightly away from the busyness of the house, but they are also weatherproof. When it's nice and sunny out, open up the door and soak up some fresh air. When it's wintertime, keep it closed and toasty.

The Best Surf Training Equipment

Workouts that best benefit your surfing target a nice balance of aerobic and cardio exercises with light to moderate strength training to your arms, your legs, and most importantly your core, as your core is the base to your balance and overall power. Let's get into the equipment needed for exactly these surfing-focused workouts.

And what's cool about surf training equipment is that it doesn't have to be standard gym equipment! Surfing is unique in what it requires from your body, and because of such sometimes the best approach to surfing fitness is also a unique approach, so enjoy balancing aspects of a standard home gym with those of a surfing home gym.

A Longboard or a Carving Skateboard

If you're going to exercise, why not mimic exactly the same movements as your surfing but when on dry land?

A longboard or a carving skateboard that allows for consistent cruising turns might seem more like a simple and enjoyable side hobby to some, which it totally is; but the truth is that it's also a form of workout that shouldn't be ignored. Mainly because it's fun and feels like surfing, but also because skateboarding is a great way to target leg and core strength while practicing the mechanics of your bottom turns and hacks.

That, and a few laps around the block should have your cardio taken care of for the day.

A Balance Board

Balance boards are so rad. Similar to a skateboard, balance boards allow for a variety of workouts that double as surf training.

Nearly all of your ability to balance and initiate directional changes on a surfboard comes from your core. If your core is not strengthened, you won't be able to properly direct the power of your legs into a big turn.

And a balance board is a core builder.

Performing small workouts while balanced forces your core into working extra hard to keep you stable. Think to hold yourself in a squat or perform twisting ab movements with a medicine ball all while balanced.

You will enhance your core strength while also enhancing your fundamentals of balance while standing positioned on a board.

If you can keep a balance board stable with a twenty-pound medicine ball, then keeping stable on a wave will simply be that much easier. Plus, balance boards are a ton of fun, so why not make fitness enjoyable?

A Slackline

Talk about an affordable, fun, and beneficial whole body workout. A slackline is such a solid addition to a home gym for surfing.

Slacklining in itself is a sport that many take very seriously, but it can also be approached as a simple hobby and addition to your workout routine that will showcase multiple benefits to your surfing.

First off, slacklining requires extreme levels of balance. Practice perfecting stability on a slackline and a surfboard will feel like nothing!

Slacklining requires quite the level of core strength to keep yourself fully balanced and mobile, and it will also target your lower body, especially your calves and ankles.

Your ankles initiate a ton of your face turns, and making sure they are flexible and strong will allow for sharp and precise hacks.

So seriously, don't sleep on this special piece of home gym equipment for surfing that can be stored with virtually no space and that will take you outside and into the fresh air for your workout.

A Medicine Ball

We mentioned medicine balls in conjunction with balance boards, and there's also a massive variety of whole-body workouts that you can perform with just one simple ball. You could essentially create an entire workout routine just with a medicine ball by utilizing this variety, so if you could buy only one piece of home gym equipment for surfing, this should be the one.

You know your fitness levels best, but a great place to start is with a ball that weighs around 20-30lbs. And for a bonus, medicine balls aren't crazy expensive and they last forever.

Use a medicine ball to enhance your squats. Get some anger out with some powerful arm slams. Twist and turn with the ball in hand to build up those abs and your core. There's endless workout potential, and all of them are perfect to ameliorate your surfing.

A Simple Dumbell Set

If you're asking yourself how to create an at home gym, then the equipment that allows for the greatest amount of versatility with affordability is always the most appealing.

A simple dumbbell set might seem like an obvious addition to an at home gym for surfing, and it should be, because dumbbells are the key aspect to ensuring that you do get enough strength training added into your routine.

If you're really going for a beach bod, then sure, a bench with a bar and heavy weights is great. But for those that want to workout to specifically make sure that their body is shaped for surfing, the truth is that all you need is a pair of dumbbells to get a heck of a lot accomplished in terms of building muscle.

A set of dumbbells will allow you to create an entire fitness regime for your arms and your chest, which will of course promote your paddling and duck diving abilities.

Dumbbells also add weight to all of your lower body routines, such as squats, lunges, and farmers carry to turn droplets into buckets out the back when you turn.

Kettlebells

You might think kettlebells to be similar to dumbbells and therefore not add them to your at home gym for surfing, but let me take a moment to set the two entirely apart and showcase why kettlebells are absolutely essential.

Aside from the fact that they target literally every muscle in your body, kettlebell routines are an excellent and effective form of aerobic exercise that will strengthen your lungs and heart for long breath holds and surf times.

Kettlebell routines are like a more workout-oriented version of tai chi. They involve flowing movements that twist and turn your body in intricate manners while utilizing the weight for strength training.

These routines directly promote your body's flexibility, and the connective flow of these workouts helps you to form a type of mental focus and clarity that will directly benefit your ability to eye down fast-moving sections on waves and line up your turns.

Shoes!

Remember, in the end, all you need is dedication and a willingness to do what is necessary to benefit your health and physical fitness and a pair of shoes to get outside and get it done.

Even if you don't want to build an entire at home gym for surfing, things like hiking or going on a trail run are simple and applicable ways of which you can supplement your surfing with other outdoor activities that benefit your entire body.

Because to benefit your body is to benefit your surfing, and I think that any surfer would agree that they are willing to do anything possible to shred harder than the day before.

An At Home Gym for Surfing Versus a Standard Gym

When comparing your two available options to become physically fit, some of us still might lean towards a simple gym membership. And that's totally great, as you can achieve extremely high levels of fitness through the gym. But just keep a few things in mind when considering an at home gym for surfing instead.

First of all, your at home gym is an investment. Some gyms charge anywhere from $40 to $100+ per month of membership, and you could take this same amount and invest it into your very own equipment that you have forever. Just a few hundred bucks spent over a few months is all you need to build an entire surfing home gym, and you can take everything with you should you move.

Once you have all you need, there's no more spending involved, so instead, you can put those savings towards the new board you've been drooling over.

Home gyms are also super accessible. You can literally hop up off the couch and get to working out, and they don't require a trip in the car to get there (go green!). As well as that, I think we can all agree we'd prefer our own shower for a post-workout shower than a gym shower, as home gyms are always more sanitary.

And the most important aspect of all is the fact that you can customize your gym specifically for surfing. As this article has highlighted, surfing equipment for fitness doesn't have to be standard workout equipment, and the best exercises for surfing are those that target specific muscles while mimicking the feelings and motions of a surfboard and a wave.

You probably won't have a balance board or a skateboard at your gym, and if you want to practice the mechanics of your surfing simultaneous to working out, then it's better to buy your own surfing-focused fitness equipment and to build a home gym instead.