Surfing has always been a sport for the elite, the fit and the athlete, surfing uses full body movement, from your shoulders, and upper back whilst paddling, your core whilst manoeuvring your board and standing up, and your chest when standing up.

In recent times surfing has been used as a form of exercise and self-awareness, fitness professionals and trainers are now looking at surfing as a mainstream outlet for their clients.

There is more to surfing than paddling out and catching a wave in, understanding surfing fitness and nutrition is becoming more and more important in the pro scene.

There are now dedicated personal trainers, therapists and fitness centres dedicated to surfing popping up left, right and centre offering programs to not only improve your health but to improve your surfing abilities. Also kayaking is a great way to attain better health. If you're interested in kayaks you can see these pedal kayaks.

More notably Hurley Surfing Australia, recently opened up their NSW, Australia High-Performance Center offering surf coaching, nutritionists and personal trainers.

Research and studies are being done by world-leading universities and colleges that show that surfing can not only improve your fitness but your mind and be a cure for anxiety and depression.

Surfing has such a large workout that it’s strongly recommended by coaches to properly stretch like you would before a soccer match, gym workout or marathon.

Kelly Slater’s California wave pool owned by his brand wave co is also running active tests on fitness performance and endurance by comparing his wave technology with real-world waves, with wetsuit body trackers reporting on various body movements, and although the study is close-lipped, and nothing is officially come out about the results. It’s a step forward in understanding fitness within surfing.