Get Your Fit On- Prepping for NZ

This is me the last time I went on a trip and encountered good waves (Montauk, NY during the Katia swell). For the record, I did not make this silly looking airdrop. In fact, I got kinda worked.

On this trip, I went from wearing trunks and catching that really fun Irene swell here in the Auggie, to being in a 3/2 and finding even better waves. Unfortunately, my arms felt like concrete, and I was out of shape and out of sorts. This type of trunks-to-fullsuit scenario will present itself again in NZ.

Nothing bums me out more than saving up for a trip, finding really good waves and not performing up to my potential because I didn’t get my body in better shape (not the first time this has happened). My goal is to not let that happen this time.

There are some really good options in St. Augustine that target training for surfers, and the key is finding what is right for you:

Local ripper and longtime buddy Chris Ropero and his dad Sal have a great program: http://www.salomonservices.com/
There is an MMA training option I hear great things about: http://www.mma4florida.com/
and even Bikram yoga http://www.bikramyogastaug.com/

I decided to give Crossfit a try with DrivFitness: http://www.facebook.com/DRiVFiTNESS?sk=wall&filter=2

I’ve already felt a positive change in the way of paddle power and over all fitness, and I’ve even dropped a few lbs with the help of a program from healthyusa.

Here is a little taste of my journey so far:

Meet the Driv Fitness crew. Jared (far left), Todd (2nd from left) and AJ (far right with baby) are the experts and run classes 6days a week. They are world class athletes who happen to be really good friends (you might recognize Jared from the Reebok Crossfit commercials “I got next”).

I think one of my major weaknesses physically was my inability to produce that needed quick burst of paddling to get into a decent wave early (see exhibit A above from New York). This focuses on being able to sustain those bursts over a long period of time using targeted movements. Pull ups, pushups, squats, dead lifts, presses, situps, box jumps, rope climbs, running, wall balls, etc. are all basic stuff that are incorporated in to some of the workouts.