“The body knows nothing of muscles, only movement.” –Paul Chek (Movement That Matters). The body coordinates movement in packets of information that Paul refers to as Generalized Motor Programs.
Posture is specific to movement. There is a huge difference between how your body arranges itself when standing still, when bending, and when moving. It’s all different! So just looking at static posture on a plumb line, and isolated joints on a treatment table has very limited carry-over to our sport. Surfing requires the seamless integration of many movement patterns all at the same time on an inherently unstable and changing surface. Floor-based exercises have no carry-over to our sport. You heard me. None.
The aim of a corrective program is not to just strengthen muscles in isolation but to teach your control system how to communicate with bits of your body that aren’t playing enough. Then you must integrate them into the movement patterns you need to be a surfer to create effortless surf with speed, power, and in this case, flow. Simply training muscles in isolation exclusively builds strong, useless muscle if you don’t integrate it into your movement programs!
So what are they:
So what?
- Look at what you are currently teaching your body with your exercise program. If you want to be a better surfer, then you need to recreate the movement patterns that you will need when surfing.
- Get someone who knows how to move to teach you to do it with strict form. Then do it with proper sequencing and flow.
- Repeat this until it becomes automatic (what people refer to as muscle memory).
It is time to stop exercising for the sake of it if you want to surf better. Every exercise is a lesson. What are you teaching your body today–to be a 10k runner, a body builder, or a surfer? For more information, go to my website: www.weekendsurfwarrior.com or e-mail me: ash@boddylanguage.com.
