With skateboarding, you’re navigating the land and concrete, and with snowboarding, you’re gliding over a blanket of snow. Surfers have to navigate and maneuver on a board that’s floating on top of a constantly moving ocean, which is why it’s one of the more challenging sports. In the words of a band I happen to love, the Beach Boys, surfin USA is a fun pastime, hobby, and physical activity for many Americans. Most avid surfers would rather ride the frothy curling waves than power through a round of jumping jacks or run on a treadmill indoors.
You have to maintain a certain level of physical fitness, muscular strength, and endurance to stay sturdy and balanced on top of that surfboard and ride the waves to the shore. Once you develop enough fitness, strength, and technique to surf in the ocean, you can enjoy being outdoors on the water while getting in a full-body workout. So, what muscles does surfing work? Let’s check it out.
What muscles are worked while riding the waves?
Researchers used electromyography (EMG) to identify the main muscle groups worked when surfing and analyzed muscle activity during both paddling and performing. It turns out, surfing pretty much works your whole body and builds strength, stamina, balance, and stability.
Here’s a more detailed look at the muscles worked:
- Arms
- Back and shoulders
- Core
- Legs and glutes
Your legs and glutes help you maneuver on the wave, and you have to keep your core engaged throughout for stability. You’ll also activate the muscles in your feet and ankles to provide balance and control on the board, particularly for the pop-up and riding maneuvers.
The different maneuvers of surfing
There are different maneuvers involved in surfing, and performing these swift maneuvers shifts emphasis to certain muscle groups.
Paddling
Surfers lie on their front on the surfboard and use big arm strokes to help move the surfboard through the water into the perfect position to catch those waves. Surfers navigate the ocean currents and paddle their way deeper into the ocean, ready to surf back to the shore.
It’s essentially a repetitive pulling motion heavily involving your upper body and the following muscles:
- Pectoralis major in your chest.
- Latissimus dorsi and rhomboids in your back for the pulling motion and stabilizing shoulder blades.
- Shoulder deltoids and triceps in your arms.
- Rotator cuff muscles in your shoulders.
- Erector spinae in your spine to help keep your back arched and your body on the board with your chest up.
The pop-up
The pop-up is a technique that involves moving your body from a lying-down or prone paddling position to a standing surfboard stance, ready to go. It’s a rapid movement where you have to push your body and swing your knees and feet under before landing in a balanced position on the board. Lest we forget, surfers are on moving water — a constant challenge in itself.
These are the muscles worked during ‘the pop-up’ phase:
- The pectoralis major chest muscles and the deltoids in your shoulders help you push off the board.
- Triceps in your arms.
- Abdominals and core muscles to help bring your feet under and forward.
- Quadriceps in your thighs.
- Hip flexors help move your legs into the surfing stance.
- Muscles in your feet and ankles also play a role in helping you pop up to the surfboard stance.
Riding the wave
Of course, the most familiar maneuver is the act of riding that wave to the shore, which requires the activation of your:
- Abdominals, obliques, erector spinae, and those important core muscles to stabilize your torso and help you twist and turn as needed.
- Quadriceps and hamstrings in your thighs to stabilize you in that squatting position.
- Glutes in your derriere to help you stay upright and turn.
- Gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in your calves to maintain control with your feet and generate necessary force.
- Muscles in your feet and ankles to absorb impact and keep you stable.
