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I recently began surfing,
and I have to say that I love it! Surf Divas in La Jolla specializes
in teaching women and girls how to surf, and they do an excellent
job at it while having a great time. One thing I did notice, however,
was that many of the students lacked upper body strength.
The sport of surfing requires
the surfer to paddle out into oncoming waves to get to the outside
area beyond the breaks. This requires upper body strength in the
shoulders, chest and upper back regions. While most girls can
perform the maneuver, the task could be made easier, for this
sport as well as others requiring upper body strength, by performing
some simple resistance training exercises.
The deltoids, or shoulders,
are the primary muscle groups firing when paddling out, so the
overhead shoulder press serves as a great exercise to perform
to increase strength in this area. You can use either dumbbells
or a barbell, starting with one set of 12 repetitions and gradually
increasing to 2 and then 3 sets of the exercise as you progress.
You should choose a weight challenging enough that won't allow
you to do more than 12 repetitions; otherwise the weight probably
isn't heavy enough.
Another great exercise
is the chest press and the incline chest press to focus in on
the secondary muscle groups involved in surfing. I would suggest
starting out with dumbbells for these exercises, once again performing
one set of 12 repetitions to begin with and then increasing gradually.
The bench press is performed on a flat bench preferably, but you
can substitute the floor if you don't have a bench. This exercise
works the chest, otherwise known as the pectoral muscles. The
incline press should be performed on an incline bench at an angle
not greater than 45 degrees, and works the upper pectoral muscles.
Of course, I would suggest you perform an exercise for each major
muscle group in the body for an overall, well-balanced resistance
program.
A lot of women are overly
concerned with exercising their lower bodies, and while this is
important, you cannot neglect your upper body. So don't be afraid
to lift weights, girls. Another selling point to upper body strength
training is that by building your shoulders and upper back area,
you will give the appearance of a narrower hip region. This alone
may be enough to convince many of you to give it a try!
So for all you women out
there, I highly suggest you try surfing. It's challenging, a great
form of exercise, and most of all fun! The instructor staff at
Surf Divas are very well qualified as well as diversified, ranging
from marine biologists to lifeguards to professional surfers.
They offer beginning weekend clinics at an affordable price that
is well worth the experience you will take away with you. So try
these new exercises today if you aren't already doing them, and
just watch the results!
Melissa Allen is a certified
personal trainer, Blackbelt & fitness consultant, as well
as the owner of Optimum Condition— personal fitness training
and kickboxing instruction. She is a regular columnist with various
newspapers and welcomes input from her readers. Please contact
her with any questions or comments that you may have by calling
(619) 252-4993, email her at Opticondit@aol.com, or visit her
website at www.optimumcondition.com. |
