Table of Contents

How To Practice Surfing At Home

In this article, we will find out whether there is a way for how to learn to surf without water.

In another article, we discussed how hard learning to surf is. Now, here, we shall see whether you can continue with your surfing practice even when you are away from the water.

Have no doubt here at all, but the best way to practice surfing is by hitting the water and riding that wave to the shore.

How to learn to surf without water

This is about how to practice surfing at home. Believe it or not, it is possible. Of course, it will not give you the kind of experience that you would get on 5-foot waves.

It will get you in good shape for surfing when you next get to the ocean. Keep reading to see how:

1. Build your core strength

Just like stand up paddle boarding, surfing also involves the core muscles a lot. The core muscle groups are somehow attached to the spine, including the abs.

When you are turning the surfboard, when you are trying to find your balance, you will engage the core muscles a great deal. If you have a weak core, you are going to have a very hard time staying put on the surfboard.

There are tens of home workouts to strengthen your core. These mostly target the lower, middle and upper back as well as the abdomen muscles.

One of the simplest, no-equipment core strengthening exercises that you can do at home is the abdominal crunches.

To get started, just lie on your back close to a vertical wall. Lift your legs up at the hips and then stretch the legs such that they touch the wall.

That way, your legs are at an angle of 90 degrees at the knees and your legs are parallel with the floor.

Also read: How to transport paddle board without a roof rack

Cross your hands at the chest and then try to lift up your head and chest or back off the ground. Do a few reps of this workout, rest and do it again.

This is just one of the core workouts that you can do at home. There are many others. Also, as you do the workouts, try to hold in your breath. You want to simulate the surfing conditions as much as possible.

2. Watch surfing videos and documentaries

This is one of the ways for how to learn surfing without water and from the comfort of your living room.

If you have never surfed, start by watching documentaries about surfing. They will give you an idea of what surfers do, what the waves are all about and how the surfers keep their balance.

Of course, until you get on the board, you will never get hands-on experience, but it helps a lot.

3. Use a balance board

As the name suggests, this is a simple contraption that comes with a board and carved wheel (a cylindrical roller made of wood).

You set the board on the roller and then try to stand on it, maintaining your balance. It is hard, but it is also a lot of fun.

It will help you learn how to find your balance on water, when you eventually get to use a surfboard in the ocean.

If you are wondering how you can do balance exercises for surfers, using a balance board is one of the best ways. Practice on it for as long as it takes to stand balanced.

4. Start skateboarding – balance exercises for surfing

Skateboarding is one of the best ways for how to practice surfing at home. A skateboard is going to give you almost the same experience you would feel on a surfboard.

First, skating is all about a balancing act. The skateboard is going to give you the best challenge for your balance.

Also read: How to transport a surfboard without a roof rack

Secondly, the skateboard is going to compel you to use your core muscles, giving you core strength and enhancing your stability.

When you get into the buoyant water, you will need a strong core to help you maintain your balance in the water.

How to practice surfing at home in the swimming pool

So much for practicing to surf without water. It is hard! If you have a swimming pool, you are better off because you can have a true hands-on experience, well, almost, of surfing. Here are a few ways that the swimming pool is going to help you:

Surfboard practice at home in the swimming pool

If you have a swimming pool, you can practice surfing. You cannot do this in a public swimming pool though.

There are many benefits of practicing surfing in the swimming pool. One of them is that you are in the water, so buoyancy helps you to experience the conditions that you might experience in the ocean.

You can practice paddling in the pool and you can practice popping. To pop is the point where you get to stand on the board.

Hip mobility exercises

There is a lot of hip rotation and movement exercises involved in surfing. Thus, strengthening your hips with simple exercises at home can help you surf.

On the surfboard, there is a lot of hip movement when trying to find your balance, when turning and so on.

Read: Do you need to know swimming for snorkeling?

Some of the hip rotation exercises that you can do include butterfly stretch, kneeling lunge, frog stretch, the 90/90 stretch and many more. You can learn about them here.

How to practice how to pop-up in a swimming pool

Pop-up is hard to do in and out of the ocean. However, when you practice it enough, it grows on you.

To start on the pool, first, find out where the surfboard balances out. Place it on a pivot (like a seesaw) and then find out where it balances out completely.

Mark that spot because that is where you will pop-up. Lie on the board in the water and then paddle out to the middle of the pool.

Keep your body straight on the board, and keep your head looking forward. With your hands at your ribs position on the board, with the legs touching the tail of the board, pop up with one motion, and don’t leave your hands behind.

Try to land on the center of the board, with the left foot forward. Both legs will be bent at the knees. This is harder than it sounds, but repeat as many times as you can.

Even if you do not have a swimming pool for surfboard practice at home, you can still practice your pop-up technique on the sand. Just remove the fins of the surfboard.

Surfboard paddling practice

You must perfect your paddling skill on your board at home. This also means that you have to practice how to lie down on the surfboard.

Now that you have learned how to find the balance spot of the surfboard, you can go ahead and lie on the board. Make sure that most of your weight is on that spot. When you are fully stretched on the board, the tail should not tip into the water.

If it does, shift your weight a bit towards the head. If the head tips into the water, shift your weight towards the tail.

Once you master how to lie on the board, you can practice how to pop-up. Remember, you can never be perfect at pop-up so the more you practice it the better.

Practice swimming and paddling

In your swimming pool you can still continue to practice surfing at home. Swimming is a good aerobic exercise that helps you to control your breath.

It also strengthens your core muscles. You cannot be a good surfer if you are not a good swimmer. Thus, try to perfect your freestyle technique, which is the most helpful for surfing.

If you are in the pool, practice paddling, well, by paddling in the water. You can follow this by doing a pop-up.

If you do not have a pool, you can still practice paddling in the sand. It will be harder since you have to lift your hands higher as you do the paddling motions, but it will be worth it.

How to Learn To Surf Without Water FAQ

If you have been wondering whether there is a way for how to practice surfing at home, the answer is yes. To shed more light on this, read our section on the frequently asked questions, and their answers.

How can I practice surfing at home?

You can practice in the swimming pool or on the ground. Some of the things that you can do include learning how to paddle, how to lie on the surfboard and how to pop-up. You can also work out to build your core strength.

How do I learn to surf on land?

First, you will need your surfboard and then you can remove the fins or place them on a pillow for safety.

You can then practice the pop-up technique. You can also learn how to keep your balance on a surfboard by practicing on a balance board.

Can I teach myself to surf?

You can but you have to be very dedicated to the course. The first thing is to inform yourself from surfing videos, documentaries and books.

You also have to buy the best surfboard for beginners and practice in your swimming pool. When you feel confident enough to go to the ocean, have an experienced friend accompany you.

What should I practice before surfing?

Balance! This is what the surfboard is all about. You can practice how to maintain your balance on a balance board.

You can also practice swimming, how to paddle your surfboard in the swimming pool and so on. Also, practice the pop-up technique as this is the highest thing to learn.

Can non swimmers do surfing?

Honestly, swimming is easier than surfing. Thus, it makes sense to start by learning to swim first and then learn how to surf.

You cannot be able to paddle to a wave if you do not know how to swim. So learn to swim first!

How do you train for surfing without waves?

You can train how to surf without water by doing workouts such as core workouts because the core is used a lot when you are surfing.

Skateboarding and using a balance board also help a great deal. You can also practice how to pop and paddle in the swimming pool.

Engage in a few exercises that target your hips, because there is plenty of hip rotation involved in surfing.

Generally, keeping fit as a whole keeps you in great shape for surfing. This is not a sport for people who can hardly haul their weight around.

Can surfing be self taught?

Of course, even swimming itself can be self-taught. But there is a lot of trial and error involved in the entire learning experience. Thus, if you want to master the skills faster, please find a surfing trainer.

Knowing the basic things such as how to swim will help you learn how to surf faster, because you already have the confidence. You don’t fear the water.

Also, engaging in the exercises we have outlined here such as planks, skating, core workouts, hip workouts and others helps.

Do make sure to watch several videos to get some handy tips for surfing. Don’t be in a hurry to get into the water. Do as much learning as you can on land, before you get to the water.

Do you need to be fit to surf?

Surfing is like kayaking or paddle boarding, an energy intensive sport. Thus, if you are not fit enough, you will make slow progress.

You do not need to be extremely fit, but burning that belly fat can help. You also need to engage in core workouts, leg and arm workouts. These will give you the strength you need to surf.

Surfing itself burns fat, so you can burn up to 290 calories and lose weight. To answer the question of how fit you need to be to enjoy surfing, just be reasonably fit, or very fit if you can. It will prevent you from feeling very exhausted after surfing.

Final Thoughts: How to Learn to Surf Without Water

How to learn to surf without water is very possible. However, what is even better is to learn with some water, for instance, in a swimming pool.

Start practicing the pop-up technique because this is the hardest thing to learn for surfing. You can practice this from the comfort of your backyard, but you need to have a real surfboard.

You will need to remove the tail fins so that you do not break them. Finally, you really cannot learn how to surf without water, so make a point of going to the ocean as soon as possible to hone your skills.