Surfing Enhanced: Breathwork for Ocean Enthusiasts

In surfing, regular breathwork training sets the true watermen and waterwomen apart from the amateurs and wannabes. Breathwork helps you stay calm and focused in the water to improve your performance and survive situations like wipeouts (falling off your board midway through your ride) and hold-downs (taking multiple large waves on the head). Breathwork improves your lung capacity and overall fitness. If you want to surf bigger waves or go on a surf trip, breathwork gives you the capacity and confidence to challenge yourself in the ocean.

Breathwork training for surfing aims to increase your lung capacity and build your tolerance to CO2. Use the exercises below as a starting point for breathwork to improve your confidence in the water. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you must train with a competent buddy in the water. Never train alone and keep training limits to 70% of your maximum.

4 ways to train breathwork for surfing:

1. Apnea walk: This technique involves holding your breath while walking on dry land. Start with short distances and gradually increase the distance as you improve. It’s a good idea to walk on a soft surface like gym mats, grass, or sand.
   • Take 2 minutes to relax your breathing.
   • Then take a full inhale (belly – chest – neck & throat).
   • Exhale until you have neutral lungs.
   • Start walking slowly. Remember, the quicker you move the more oxygen you use. Count your steps as you go. Pinch your nose if needed to prevent air from escaping.
   • When the urge to breath becomes to strong to bear, inhale.
   • Record the number of steps you take and repeat a couple of times per week. See if you can get to 100!
2. Surf burpee ladder: This exercise involves doing a series of surf burpees while holding your breath. You can do it on your own but it’s more fun with a buddy.
   • Stand facing your buddy about a meter apart.
   • One person does 1 surf burpee (ie lay on ground in push up position, then pop-up into your surf stance), then returns to their feet and holds their breath while the other person does 1 surf burpee.
   • Repeat – 1 surf burpee for each partner followed by a breathold, then 2, 3, 4, up to 5.
   • Then go back down the “ladder” – 4, 3, 2, 1 surf burpees alternating between partners and holding your breath during the rest.
3. Co2 tables in pool: All pool training requires that you have a buddy. This technique involves holding your breath underwater for short periods of time. Over time, you will increase the length of time you hold your breath and decrease the length of time at rest. You may find static (not moving) holds in the pool to be easier than on land. That’s because of our innate mammalian dive reflex. When a mammal holds in breath while submerged in water, a series of physiological changes occur. The body and brain go into survival mode. This results in a cessation of breathing, decreased heart rate, and an increase in blood flow to the brain and heart while simultaneously limiting flow to non-essential muscles.
   • Breath normally for 1:00 minute as you relax and prepare for your breatholds.
   • Exhale all air and take a full inhale (belly – chest – throat & neck). Hold for 1 minute or longer depending on your max hold.
   • Exhale and bring breathing back to normal for :45 seconds.
   • Hold for 1:00.
   • Rest for :30.
   • Hold for 1:00.
   • Rest for :15
   • Hold for 1:00
   • Exhale and inhale once and hold for 1:00.
   • Rest for 2-3 minutes and then go for your maximum full lung hold.

4. Underwater swimming: Remember when you were a kid and you swam underwater laps to see who could hold their breath for the longest? That’s what you are going to do here except instead of frantically kicking, paddling, twisting for speed and distance, you are going to slow yourself down to conserve energy and oxygen. This type of training involves “survival swimming” underwater while holding your breath. “Survival swimming” is gliding through the water with minimal kicking and slow arm movements like a professional freediver. Your aim is to keep your heart rate calm and comfortable and your airways aligned and dry.
   • Begin by preparing for your swim by slowing your breathing.
   • Next take a deep, long inhale through the mouth and swim underwater for as long and as far as you can. You can use the wall to push off at the start and every time you turn around.
   • Count the number of laps or meters you travel on a single breath.
   • When you surface, do 3 sharp recovery breaths to exhale as much Co2 as possible.
   • Next, rest for 3-5 minutes before trying again. Start with short distances and gradually increase the distance as you improve.

To legendary big wave surfer Laird Hamilton, breathwork is ‘anytime we isolate the respiratory system.’ You should train to isolate your respiratory system in different ways – i.e., at rest vs. at work and on dry land vs. in the water. Using a variety of training techniques allows you to safely and comfortably increase your CO2 tolerance over time. Your aim is to challenge yourself in a way that it enjoyable so you will continue your training. If you do, your reward is a newfound confidence in the ocean that will serve you well whenever you surf.