A Day at the Beach

— D.J. Ward, Palo Alto, California

As outdoor sports go, surfing has never really gotten the recognition it deserves in terms of the required level of fitness. Considered a fringe and even party sport for years, it has now made its way into the mainstream of spectator sports and become an American pastime in the process. And as anyone who has tried to paddle onto a wave can tell you, it's nowhere near as easy as it looks.

A few hurdles could be preventing you from becoming the next Kelly Slater, or even from being able to last more than half an hour in shoulder-high surf. One could be your breathing patterns. Breathing, like other bodily functions regulated by the autonomic nervous system, is typically something we don't worry about—our bodies do a good job of it most the time and we try not to interfere. In your case, however, the anaerobic nature of surfing combined with the time you undoubtedly spend under water might be causing your body to react rather inefficiently. Going full-boar to catch the perfect wave could quickly result in you taking many shallower, labor-intensive breaths in an effort to rapidly resupply your muscles with oxygen. Follow this up with a good wipeout— and add in a healthy fear of drowning or even sharks— and you're pooped.

By focusing on your breathing from the outset of a wave-riding session you can train yourself to take slow, deep breaths that will help you save energy for paddling and give you more air so that you can comfortably tolerate both planned and unplanned submersions. You'll still take some short breaths during and after the high intensity portions of your outing, but if you breath deeply when you get the chance and save your energy for when you need it most, you'll find your tank empties slower.

As surfing tends to push your body to the limit one minute and let you casually float the next, working some intervals into your pool swimming might also be in order. Interval training is a powerful fitness tool, one that will improve your ability to tolerate the high levels of lactic acid you're producing as you sprint for a wave. Rather than doing laps at an even pace, sprint at full speed for a lap, then relax until your breathing and heart rate return to normal, resting rates. About 20 laps of this twice a week is a good starting point. As your training progresses, rather than adding more laps, reduce the resting time between laps. By the time you reduce the rest period to 30 seconds, going surfing will feel, well, like a day at the beach.