Lakey Peterson has a 13-minute surf mobility routine we should all be doing. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
Not so long ago, “surf workouts” were simply not a thing. Surfing is thought of as more of a sport these days, and people do things out of the water to make their in-water time better. It’s tough on the body — all that back arching and shoulder spinning and torso rotating — so eventually, more and more people started to realize that if you wanted to surf until you’re old, you’ve got to make sure you’re able to surf until you’re old. Lakey Peterson is one of the fittest surfers out there, and she is making sure that she can surf for as long as possible. The 13-minute stretching routine you see here is something she does pretty much every morning.
“Whether you’re just getting out of bed or warming up before a surf session,” she says, “this 13-minute full-body mobility flow is designed specifically for surfers to unlock stiff hips, open up the spine, and move better in the water.”
Stretching is a pretty good thing to do, whether you’re a surfer or not. This particular routine has a lot of benefits, including improving spinal mobility and rotation, which helps with turns and paddling, unlocking tight hips, which is essential for pop-ups and staying low, reducing back stiffness, and building movement control and injury resilience.
You don’t need any equipment for this, either. Just your body and 13 minutes. Peterson says you should do it as a “warm-up before surfing, in the morning to loosen up, as a recovery flow post-surf, or anytime you’re feeling tight and stiff.”
