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Pilates for Surfers
Anika Seible
December 15, 2012
Oceanside, CA
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Abstract
Growing up in coastal Southern California, surfing has been and will remain a very prevalent
hobby amongst our community. This sport has captured the passion and love of many, despite the
possible outcomes or accidents that can result from surfing, whether it be the calming serenity surfing
can offer or the intense adrenaline rush one can experience. While surfing offers many positive effects
for the body, it can also potentially result in a wide array of injuries and ailments. Pilates can be of great
benefit to surfers in many different ways ranging from strengthening core muscles, to correcting
imbalanced alignment, and even focusing a surfer’s breathing and mental state. I chose to use myself as
the case study for this subject. After years of surfing, both recreationally and competitively, and training
my body to accommodate the sport, I suffer from a slight case of Lumbar Hyperlordosis. This may be a
result of muscular imbalances due to the position that is held most often in surfing: paddling. Similarly
correlating, lower back pain is one of the most common injuries encountered by surfers.
Anatomical Description
The Lumbar portion of the spine consists of the five vertebrae in the third major region of a
person’s spine and connects to the top of the sacrum. In medical terms, the Lumbar vertebrae are most
commonly referred to as “L1-‐L5”. The Lumbar portion of the spine is where the spine begins to curve
inward towards the abdomen. ““Lumbar” is derived from the Latin word “lumbus,” meaning lion, and
the lumbar spine earns its name. It is built for both power and flexibility (i.e. lifting and bending). The
lumbar spine has several distinguishing characteristics:” (Davis) The Lumbar region of the spine is
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considered to be part of the Pelvic Complex. The Pelvic Complex is controlled and moved by the
following muscle groups: spinal flexors, spinal extensors, hip flexors, hip adductors, hip external
rotators, spinal lateral flexors and rotators, hip extensors, hip abductors, hip internal rotators, and the
pelvic floor. (BASI, 8)
The Lumbar portion of the spine can be protected by strengthening the “core” muscles. The
“core” is comprised of the following muscle groups: the multifidus, the abdominals, and the pelvic floor
(BASI, 18). Spinal tension can be lessened by proper alignment and posture, along with core strength,
because the intention of the core muscles is to protect the spine and retain vital organs inside the
human body.
When the pubic symphisis (PS) and the two anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) are in the same
horizontal plane, when lying either prone or supine, or are all within the same coronal plane when erect,
is when the pelvis is considered to be in the neutral pelvic position. The importance of exercising in the
neutral position “encourages balanced muscular development of the pelvic complex and correct muscle
recruitment. Using the neutral spine position teaches efficient posture and ideal alignment, particularly
important while standing, and re-‐enforces functional and positive movement patterns.” (BASI, 8)
Photo Credit: Roberts
The term “core” or “core strength” is heard frequently throughout the sport of surfing. The
“core” is comprised of the following muscle groups: the multifidus, the abdominals, and the pelvic floor
(BASI, 18). According to Surfline.com, “Until the surfer becomes stable (stability before strength) in their
core and posture, they will possess little or no control of their lower back health – ever.” (Brown) This
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idea directly correlates to one of the main concepts of Pilates; stabilization. Without stabilization,
functionality of exercises aimed toward strengthening the core can be lost.
How BASI Principles Relate to Surfing
Surfing shares many similar ideas to those of Pilates; specifically speaking, many of the ten BASI
principles. The ten major BASI principles consist of: awareness, breath, balance, control, concentration,
center, efficiency, flow, harmony, and precision. Speaking from my own experiences, I have applied
every single one of these principles into my surfing. While all of the ten principles can be applied, a few
that I find particularly prominent in surfing would be balance, breathing, and flow.
Balance seems to be one of the most synonymous concepts linked to surfing, mostly because of the
sheer difficulty of mastering standing on a small and unstable surface which is moving while you are
floating across a body of water. Good balance must be attained by surfers in order to maintain an erect
position on a surfboard while moving.
In Pilates, breathing is huge part of proper practice. Pilates puts emphasis on using the method
of “intercostal breathing” or “lateral breathing”. A large purpose behind using intercostal breathing
while practicing Pilates, is “is to facilitate and maintain abdominal contraction while performing
exercises, particularly pertinent during inhalation.” (BASI, 10) By allowing the abdominals to remain
engaged throughout exercises, the integrity of the exercise is heightened. This method of breathing can
be extremely beneficial to surfers because constantly engaging the abdominals will play a huge factor in
gaining core strength. Breathing remains a crucial factor to any sport, but surfing especially because
being held under water is an inevitable part of the sport. Professional surfer Benji Weatherley explains
that “breathing is the most important part of surfing because it is what’s going to keep you alive. As a
surfer you need to know when to take your breath, and even more importantly when to release it.
Nobody expects to be held under the water for a minute or two at a time, but it happens. A Lot. A few of
my best friends have died while surfing, and each friend died drowning.”
Flow plays a huge role in surfing, because, if thought of in applicable terms, nothing flows better
than water. Pilates incorporates flow into the concept in multiple ways. A constructed workout should
have a nice flow from one exercise to another, as well as flow should be present in the movement itself.
Many spinal articulation exercises, when done correctly, should demonstrate a rather aesthetically
pleasant flow. While surfing, the surfer must surrender to the ocean and be willing to move with the
waves; thus, the surfer must adapt to the flow of the waves. If the ocean’s flow is resisted, it is more
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likely that the surfer will fall. Of course in the contemporary world of surfing, we see professional surfers
launching themselves six feet above the wave before landing back on the wave and continuing to ride it.
The flow must be resisted in order to accomplish something so extreme, but in order to get there, the
surfer needs to use the wave’s flow to get enough momentum to launch them self, but also must re-‐
discover that flow when they land in order to continue riding with the wave.
Benefits of Pilates for Surfers
Pilates can play a huge role in correcting some of the structural issues that result from surfing.
One of the most common injuries amongst surfers, is Lumbar spine pain. “Low back injuries affect, and
will at some time debilitate, over 80% of the adult population in the industrialized world. What's up with
that? We're SO fit as surfers -‐-‐ or so it might seem...” (Brown) Lumbar spine pain can range drastically
from person to person that suffers from it in as far as how intense it is. Most cases of back injuries are
caused by muscular imbalances and movement imbalances. Luckily, if worked on correctly, muscle
imbalances can be retrained over the course of time with dedication and the right approach. While
correct exercise and an appropriate Pilates routine will not “cure” lower back pain, it can certainly help
to control it. (Brown) According to Dr. Tim Brown, it is important to condition your body in the neutral
pelvic position because it “will put the least amount of stress on your spine and protect your back.”
Stability is a huge benefit to preventing lower back pain and to strengthening the core muscles.
The main goal of working to stabilize your core and posture is “to correct a static imbalance (postural
alignment) or dynamic dysfunction that can lead to or increase the risk of injury.” (Brown)
Another main factor in how surfers create muscular imbalances in their bodies, aside from paddling, is
the actual standing and riding of the wave. Surfers are either “regular-‐footed” or “goofy-‐footed”
meaning that they either stand with their left foot in front of the right (regular-‐footed) or they stand
with their right foot in front of the left (goofy footed). The foot that is placed in front, typically does
most of the leading and steering. According to Tim Brown D.C., “Surfing causes tight hip flexors. The
front foot hip rotates forward pulling the spine, hips, knees, and ankles out of alignment.”
Along with stability, muscular endurance is extremely important surfing due to certain positions
that must be held for extended periods of time, such as paddling. As a result of surfing almost my entire
life, my back extensor muscles are extremely tight. Resulting from training my body to hold the paddling
position for a couple of hours every day, oppositely of my tight back extensors, I also have very tight hip
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flexors and fairly weak abdominals. Because of this, I would structure my Pilates workouts to work off of
these strengths and weaknesses and try to balance this functional posture deviation out.
Case Study
I chose to use myself for my case study. My name is Anika Seible, and I am a 23 year old
bartender who grew up with a passion for surfing. After surfing for the past fifteen years, and competing
in surfing for over six years, my body has adapted to my sport in many different ways, one of which
being that I now have a functional posture deviation of a slight case of Lumbar Hyperlordosis, along with
rotated hips, and an extremely tight back. For training my body to stay in a good paddling posture, I now
have an increased curve in my lumbar spine, which is accompanied by slight anterior tilt of my pelvis.
Because of these deviations, the conditioning program for myself is one that focuses on strengthening
the abdominals, but also stretching my low back extensors and my hip flexors. I also want to focus on
stabilizing the core along with achieving a proper neutral pelvis in order to strengthen all of these areas
ideally. I also think it to be a good idea to by, using assists in some cases, really try to focus on the
evening out my alignment while training through these Pilates workouts in order to obtain the most
ideal results. If the exercises are practiced in ideal alignment, eventually the muscles in the body will
even out in order to maintain this ideal alignment while working out or during any other functional
activity.
Workout
• Roll Down
o The Roll Down is used as an assessment of muscular imbalances, muscular
developments, or different compensations that my body has triggered. My roll down is
getting a bit more balanced, whereas in the beginning of my Pilates training it was much
more noticeably off balance. One side of my back was typically higher than the other,
and my hips were almost always swiveled.
• Warm Up -‐ Mat Work on Cadillac
o Pelvic
o Spine Twist Supine
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o Double Leg Stretch
o Single Leg Stretch
o Criss Cross
Notes & Reasoning:
At this point in my training, I feel equipped to follow an intermediate warm up format. I replaced the roll
up in the intermediate warm up with the pelvic curl , because the pelvic curl really helps to focus on
lengthening the hip extensors and working the abdominals. The rest of the warm up also challenges my
abdominals and has more hip extension than the standard fundamental warm up would have.
• Foot Work -‐ Wunda Chair
o Parallel Heels
o Parallel Toes
o V-‐Position Toes
o Open V Heels
o Open V Toes
o Calf Raises
o Single Leg Heel
o Single Leg Toe
Notes & Reasoning:
All foot work is extremely important for hip extension. I chose to do the foot work on the Wunda Chair
because sitting upright and maintaining the correct form throughout the series promotes excellent
strengthening of the abdominals, multifidus, and pelvic floor (the core). I may challenge myself by
raising my arms over my head for part of the series as well.
• Abdominals-‐ Wunda Chair
o Full Pike
o Torso Prep Sit
Notes & Reasoning:
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The full pike on the Wunda Chair requires maintaining flexion in the lumbar spine throughout the entire
exercise. This would be particularly good for somebody with a really tight lumbar region to counteract
the habitual movement pattern that has been created from the constant paddling position.
• Hip Work-‐ Cadillac
o Frog
o Down Circles
o Up Circles
o Walking
o Bicycle
o Bicycle Reverse
Notes & Reasoning:
Hip work in general, typically, typically promotes good hip extension, so hip work is extremely
important. All hip work requires correct abdominal engagement as well in order to maintain a neutral
pelvis throughout.
• Spinal Articulation-‐ Reformer
o Bottom Lift with Extensions
Notes & Reasoning:
The spinal articulation will help to alleviate some of the tension in the lumbar spine. The bottom lift with
extension will help to strive towards good hip extensor control is a great exercise for abdominal focus as
well as hip extension.
• Stretches-‐ Reformer
o Kneeling Lunge
Notes & Reasoning:
Because of the hyperlordosis in my back, the kneeling lunge is an excellent choice because it focuses on
stretching both the hip flexors and the hamstrings. Stretching the hip flexors while in a slight posterior
tilt is extremely important in realigning the hyperlordorsis in my posture.
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• Full Body Integration 1-‐ Reformer
o Stomach Massage
Notes & Reasoning:
By maintaining lumbar flexion throughout this exercise, it is a good way of stretching out that region and
counteracting the habitual movement pattern that I have formed. This exercise also focuses on a lot of
abdominal work and knee extensor strength, which would also be beneficial considering the bent-‐knee
stance that is typically assumed while riding a wave.
• Arms-‐ Reformer
o Rowing Back 1
o Rowing Back 2
Notes & Reasoning:
Rowing Back 1 and 2 from the rowing series are good for me because of how much lumbar flexion is
involved. My arms are already rather strong from paddling all of the time, so focusing more on lumbar
flexion is great because it rarely occurs in the sport of surfing. The rowing series also promotes
abdominal strength and shoulder mobility.
• Full Body Integration 2-‐ Reformer
o Balance Control Front
Notes & Reasoning:
Balance control front requires trunk stabilization, scapular stabilization, and shoulder flexor strength,
while working the abdominals and the deltoids. The plank position is not one that is often held in
surfing, so in order to maintain the plank position while achieving trunk stability is a good focus for a
surfer in order to cross train my muscles. The front support position also requires that I do not have an
anterior tilt in my pelvis in order to execute the exercise properly.
• Additional Leg Work-‐ Reformer
o Parallel Position-‐ Jumping Series
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o V-‐Position-‐ Jumping Series
o Single Leg Parallel-‐ Jumping Series
o Leg Changes-‐ Jumping Series
Notes & Reasoning:
The jumping series is a good way to focus on maintaining pelvic lumbar stabilization throughout the
entire series. Another benefit of the jumping series is the required hip extensor control. This series is
also a nice way to incorporate a small bit of cardiovascular work into the workout.
• Lateral Flexion/ Rotation-‐ Reformer
o Mermaid
Notes & Reasoning:
Surfing is a sport that doesn’t involve a huge amount of spinal rotation, so this is a great exercise not
only to cross train for that, but also focus on strengthening and stretching the obliques.
• Back Extension-‐Wunda Chair
o Back Extension Single Arm
Notes & Reasoning:
Back extension is focused on back extensor strength. While my back extensors are typically very tight,
the benefit of the single arm back extension is that I can strive toward symmetry and evening out both
sides of my body.
• Roll Down
Notes & Reasoning:
The final roll down is a way to recenter my focus, concentration, and breathing. It is also an optimal time
to see how ailments or small alignment issues may have even balanced out a bit throughout the session.
Conclusion
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Despite the possibilities of harmful outcomes on my body, surfing has been and will forever
remain a huge part of my life. Discovering the ways in which Pilates can help to correct and prevent
certain imbalances in my body, has been an incredible experience. A sport like surfing has so many
habitual movement patterns that typically result, so the concept of cross training through Pilates is
irreplaceable. The Lumbar spine tension and displacement due to the anterior tilt of my pelvis and
weakened abdominals, can eventually be balanced and brought even closer to ideal alignment by
creating symmetry and harmony in my body. The more harmonious the body is working, the less likely it
is to encounter functional injuries in everyday activities, and in my case, surfing.
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Bibliography
BASI, Study Guide Comprehensive Course, BASI 2000-‐2008
Brown, Tim DC, Surfer Magazine
Brown, Tim DC, http://www.surfline.com/surf-‐news/tim-‐brown-‐-‐team-‐offer-‐advice-‐on-‐back-‐injuries-‐
in-‐surfing_38952/
Davis, Eben DC, http://www.spine-‐health.com/conditions/spine-‐anatomy/lumbar-‐spine-‐anatomy-‐and-‐
pain
Weatherley, Benji Jordan, Professional Surfer, Interview November 28, 2012
Image Credit
Roberts, Phil, Surfer Magazine
http://davidlasnier.com/2010/the-‐inner-‐core-‐the-‐forgotten-‐part-‐of-‐core-‐training
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00329
http://atlantaspineinstitute.com/lumbar-‐spine-‐anatomy.php
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