Fit for summer

Make a splash

The best way to get fit for any sport is to do it regularly. But unless you’ve got a truly massive wave machine at your local swimming pool, the chances are you haven’t been doing a lot of surfing recently. In fact, it’s far more likely that you spent the winter doing the same thing as most British people – in a state of semi-hibernation, wrapped up in jumpers and safely cocooned in a public house.

However, when that two-week warm snap we call summer finally arrives, you can still be ready to strip off your shirt and take to the sea without needing to be rescued by the lifeguards or harpooned by a passing Japanese whaling ship. All you need to do is incorporate the following moves into your regular gym workout to get into shape for your favourite watersports. See you at the beach.

Shape up for surfing
Do this workout twice a week. Warm up with ten minutes on the rowing machine, then perform one set of exercise one before moving on to exercise two without resting, and so on. At the end, rest for two minutes before doing another circuit. Start with two circuits and build up to four or five. Finish with some light stretching. Aim to swim for 15 minutes twice a week as well. Do one length as fast as you can for every five lengths at a slower pace. Increase the length of your session by five minutes a week.