Tracks also spoke to Parko’s trainer Wes Berg before he left to Hawaii to defend his Pipe Masters crown.
Q. What areas do you think surfers neglect when it comes to keeping fit?
Wes Berg: Training for surfing is different to training for other professional sports, you train on land to perform in the water so it is important to understand the bio mechanics of surfing. Surf training involves a lot of co-ordination, neural stimulation, mobility and agility work. It is a lot of core & rotational exercises built around the moves of surfing.
Q. How can these exercises and training routine help the average surfer?
Wes Berg: The Joel Parkinson Pro Surf Training app was built for all surfers. It gives grommets through to World Champions the tools and confidence to be the best surfer they can be. Each exercise replicates the way the body moves when surfing, so what people do in the gym directly translates to the way they perform in the water. It’s based on what Joel does in the gym and what the average surfer can do too.
Will Parko win back to back Pipe Masters titles? Swooping on a Backdoor cave. Photo by ASP/Cestari
Q. What would you say to someone that thinks training is too hard or they don’t need it to surf their best?
Wes Berg: Being fit and confident in the water makes surfing more fun no matter what level you’re at. The average surfer will benefit from training the most. It improves performance, so people can surf for longer and make turns that couldn’t have in the past. Plus it increases enjoyment making those moments of “froth” more frequent, which is why we all surf in the first place. For a pro it offers confidence and consistency. Confidence that they are faster, stronger and fitter than the person they are surfing against. Consistency to surf at higher level, they way they want on each wave at every event.
Q. What are three exercises from the training routine that you feel has given Joel his biggest improvement?
Wes Berg: If I had to pick three key exercises it would be ‘two hand cable rotations’ – this compliments Joel’s signature carve. All the medi-ball work for coordination and the way the body releases at the end of turns. Clock lunges build leg strength and improve the range of movement through knees and ankles that are critical to surfers.
Q. If you were a traveling surfer and couldn’t get access to equipment or a gym what exercises would you recommend they do to stay in peak condition?
Wes Berg: The app has heaps of body weight exercises. A lot of them don’t need typical gym equipment so they can be done anywhere with no weight and still be very beneficial.A lot of the WQS’ guys I train use the app whilst on the road, to stay fit and prepare for heats.
See Joel talk about his training, the challenges of surfing Pipe and the significance of Surfing in Hawaii in the January issue of Tracks out now at all good newsagents.
Check out more surf specific training in Joel Parkinson’s new app:
Download it here: http://www.appstore.com/joelparkinson Read more here: http://www.prosurftraining.com
