Training for surfing was relatively unchartered territory until the last decade or two. It was more about calories consumed at the pub, rather than calories burnt on the ski erg. However, since the turn of the century, surfing has become less of a counter culture movement and with the introduction of the WSL and now the sport’s inclusion in the Olympics, professional surfers train like elite athletes in order to improve their performance.
This attitude trickles down through to aspiring pro’s, hungry groms and the general population. On Sydney’s Northern Beaches, all three of these cohorts have access to surf specific strength development at Chocolate Box Training. Sam Church, who is an ASCA Level 2 Strength & Conditioning Coach, Physiotherapist (Doctor of Physiotherapy) and resident surfer at the gym, runs the Strength and Conditioning (S&C) for the Northern Beaches High Performance Program for professional surfers in the area and an S&C Program for the general population, both of which are endorsed by Surfing Australia and Surfing NSW.
“Given my passion for surfing, physio and training, I always knew surf specific training was an avenue I wanted to explore. We started the surfing S&C program for the general population about three years ago. Through my surfing related connections, I was already doing physio and rehab work for a number of the pros in the area, as well as some one-to-one training stuff. I’d voiced my interest in doing some more surf specific training to a few colleagues, the gym caught wind of it, and they encouraged me to start the program. So it all began to evolve from there. Last year we teamed up with Surfing Australia and Surfing NSW to become an S&C provider for their Northern Beaches High Performance Program.”
The Surfing Australia Northern Beaches High Performance Program offers coaching, performance support and competition travel support to selected athletes in the area. Launched in 2024, the program will pilot over three years and provide sponsorship to a small number of surfers who are on the pathway to competing in the WSL CT, CS and QS for both shortboard and longboard.
Under the program Sam currently trains CT surfer George Pittar, up and coming QS surfers Axel Curotta and Xavier Bryce, as well as World Longboard Tour competitors Declan Wyton, Tully White and others.
“It’s about giving the surfers the physical qualities they need in order to do what they want to do in the water,” said Sam. “It’s also about long term athletic development. So it’s not just the physical side of things, but it’s also about looking after their bodies, developing their careers and educating them in and out of the water to make the best surfers and best people they can be.”
Sam is given full control of programming each surfers training. He explained that their workouts can feature a mixture of strength training, power work, mobility and cardiovascular endurance.
“Since training has become a central part of surfers’ lives there’s been a lot of misconceptions that have come and gone. The biggest one and the most classic being that resistance and strength training is going to make you big, bulky and move like a fridge. If you have an understanding of exercise prescription and volume, you’ll know that there’s no chance of that unless you’re doing huge volumes of hypertrophy work in the gym and eating like a horse. The other misconception is that training should mimic surfing in terms of movement, that’s why you used to see a lot of people doing yoga based stuff, work on swiss balls and stuff like that. Exercises shouldn’t mimic surfing for the sake of it. The expression I like is that you should get out of the gym, what you can’t get out of your sport. Yes, some surfers will benefit from aerial awareness on the trampoline and doing gymnastics related stuff. But for the majority it’s about developing strength, power and mobility in movement patterns that are relevant to surfing. We do a lot of bread and butter type training with squats and deadlifts, as well as a number of rotational elements. You don’t need to be pumping around the gym doing turns or paddling and popping up on a bench.”
One of the other major benefits of strength training for surfing, according to Sam, is injury resilience.
“By exposing surfers in the gym to heavy forces and different planes of movement we can help build up their injury resilience and help absorb heavy landings and withstand the end of range, unique and sometimes awkward positions involved with surfing. Surfing has become so progressive in terms of the airs and turns the top guys are doing now, it’s important that their body is primed to be able to deal with the stress it’s being exposed to when throwing an air into the flats or doing some type of aggressive turn that can test the limits of bones, joints and soft tissues.”
The biggest success story to come through the High Performance Program currently is George Pittar, who is now in his rookie year on the CT. The North-Steyne regular footer has been working with Sam for a number of years and Chocolate Box recently flew Sam to Hawaii to support GP during the first event of the season at Pipe.
Sam said that prior to George’s first full year on the CT, they worked together to help pack on some extra muscle.
“I won’t say too much about George as an individual, but our main overall focus together was to put on a bit of muscle while keeping him fast and fit. You need that extra bit of muscle to compete against the big boys, especially when you’re surfing heavier waves and you’re expected to throw buckets on every turn. George also worked with a sports dietician and coaches at Surfing Australia while he was on the Gold Coast to help him get to his target weight.”
He added that it’s equally as rewarding training the general population as it is guys like George.
“On that CT level, it’s amazing, we all get to share his success together. Everyone watches and cheers him on, it’s so rewarding to see because I know first-hand how much work George has put in. At the same time, when I coach the everyday surfer and you get crew coming in who may have never trained before, or have been battling injury, and they’re able to reach their goal or overcome any problems, it’s a super rewarding feeling.
“Training can improve your surfing and if you improve your surfing, you improve your mood and your life.”
So whether you’re an average joe or an aspiring pro, it’s clear that strength training can serve a purpose to your surfing. Keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks as Tracks join forces with Sam and Chocolate Box Training to provide you with some surf fitness concept that could help improve your time in the gym.
