Surfing is one of the extreme water sports developed by mankind through the years. It is an exciting, exhilarating, and stimulating sport that many people around the globe love. Moreover, to surf is to enjoy one of the gifts of nature – the waves, making it as one of the pleasures in life that is considered priceless.

But surfing is not just about riding the waves and going to different surf countries. The sport itself is a very complicated lesson to learn and requires you enough time to prepare yourself. Some of the groundwork that you need to pass are the physical and mental programs for conditioning for surfing.

But have you ever thought of how other sports can help you prepare yourself for surfing? Athletics, swimming, and cycling are only some of the sports performed in dry land that can help boost your ability to ride the waves.

If you haven’t noticed some secrets about them, here are some eye openers for you.

Athletics. This sport requires running around the oval, maybe five to ten times. It is a simple sport, but it is very exhausting that it can deprive your body with sugar, fluids, and other vital nutrients that can be lost through excessive sweating. But running is an ideal exercise to tone the muscles of your legs, which is a big plus in surfing. Your leg muscles should be strong enough to counteract the force that the waves are producing.

Swimming. It is a water sport just like surfing, but the obvious difference is that the player is not on top of the surf board. If you are a good swimmer then you should be thankful enough since you can save much from physical conditioning for surfing programs offered by some surfing agencies. This sport allows you to feel the water and helps strengthen almost all your muscles that are involved in the sport.

Cycling. Just like athletics, cycling is one tough land sport that can increase the power and stamina of your leg muscles. Once you are on top of the wave, you can ride on top on it like a pro since you have accustomed your calf and thigh muscles to neutralize the increased levels of pressure applied on them through cycling.

Soccer. Everyone’s favorite ball game can also be a training ground for surfers-to-be. Just try to look at how soccer players swing from side to side to avoid the approaching opponent or to pivot the ball around the clustering foes. Playing soccer will give you many benefits for you to surf well. And one of those is how to help your body curl, bend and turn.

There are some sports that you may have played since high school that can help you in your physical conditioning for surfing. If you don’t believe these, why don’t you try riding the waves and apply the principles you learned from your favorite sport?

Damian Papworth loves to surf and does anything he can to improve. He does surf yoga