Any Surfers Surfing Swimmers following GB: BtGB Foundation F1 H1 etc Programs?

Any Surfers Surfing Swimmers following GB: BtGB Foundation F1 H1 etc Programs?

Are there any around here/ on forums or off the forums? 

I've had some join injuries so my progress on F1 has been slow/ hampered as well as irregular due to some unstable life circumstances and travel. 

Hoping to get a better hold of things, but was wanting to add Swimming to my schedule for few reasons:

1. Impact free Cardio & Fat Burn

2. Lose some fat around the mid section

3. Help me make better progress on F1 (less load on joints)

4. To eventually Surf.

I'd like to learn and take it up as a Lifestyle add-on sometime later this year/ next year once my life stabilizes. 

-- Any tips on leveraging stuff from of GB towards your Surfing would be nice to know/ learn/ hear about.. 

-- Maybe I can add those things as focus areas towards Swim/ Surf

Anyone on here ??

What swimming programs would you recommend? 

My dad has been swimming daily for 20/30 years. I used to swim as a child/ school times but college and work life I lost touch with that. Always loved the water. 

I think I might have a decent hold of my stroke or get it on track with some feedback from dad/ others. 

Mostly, I'd like some kind of GRADUAL .. BUILD UP program / app like the Couch to 5K / 2K for Swimming.. ? 

Goal: 0 to decent Swim Strength & Endurance

Thoughts? 

Swimming is a great complement to GB.  It's great cardio and really loosens up the shoulders after a hard training session.

Ruth Kazez has a 0 - 1650 program:  http://ruthkazez.com/swimming/ZeroTo1mile.html

My typical workout is from her "50 swim workouts"  http://ruthkazez.com/swimming/50swimworkouts.html

She has a bunch of good information on her site.

For technique, I highly recommend Terry Laughlin's "Total Immersion" technique.  I learned most of my technique from the drills in his book.

I second "Total Immersion". I was a competitive swimmer from age 8 - 18 and TI dramatically improved my technique.

Thank you. From my research Total Immersion takes the cake for technique. 

Jeremy - Do you also Surf?

I was hoping/ wondering if there were any Surfers on the forums who were leveraging GB/ GST? 

Especially since I found this.. As I was searching for gymnastics & surf

Coach you may like this

Laird Hamilton - Big Wave Surfer - Trains like a Gymnast 

http://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/exercise/why-laird-hamiltons-trains-like-a-gymnast-20140926

Jeremy Huston said:

Swimming is a great complement to GB.  It's great cardio and really loosens up the shoulders after a hard training session.

 

Ruth Kazez has a 0 - 1650 program:  http://ruthkazez.com/swimming/ZeroTo1mile.html

My typical workout is from her "50 swim workouts"  http://ruthkazez.com/swimming/50swimworkouts.html

She has a bunch of good information on her site.

 

For technique, I highly recommend Terry Laughlin's "Total Immersion" technique.  I learned most of my technique from the drills in his book.

bigB said:

I second "Total Immersion". I was a competitive swimmer from age 8 - 18 and TI dramatically improved my technique.

I was a competitive swimmer up until college. Would like to get back into it and maybe get into open water swimming. 

I've heard about "Total Immersion" swimming from a few sources. What's so special about it?

TI focuses on technique through progressive drills. It's not just flailing through the water for long distances.

I surfed once on a vacation in Hawaii 10 years ago. Living in Wisconsin I don't have much opportunity

Thanks everyone for the inputs. It surprises me that there are no Surfers that are leveraging Coach's programs..

I swam through high school and taught lessons to kids and adults. I personally do not like the total immersion program and have found many clients in the past with what I would say were bad stroke habits from that program. To be honest swimming laps and paddling out on a surf board are very different so you need to train for what you want to do. It is also hard to put a program on paper without knowing your efficiency in the water. Good tests for ability in a pool are stroke count added with time for 25yards i.e. 7 strokes +11 seconds. Another is timed 20 minute swim for distance i.e. 1800yrds in 20 minutes. Also an easy test is to push off the wall with no kick and no arms and see how far you can go (it will depend on how balanced your streamlined position is; which is very similar to a straight handstand position with the head tucked in. wish I would have trained handstands when I was competing.)

 I'd suggest warm up swim of 5-10 minutes what ever distance that may be while be focusing on body alignment.

3 sets of 4 x 25 yard sprints with 10 seconds rest between reps and 1min between sets.

2-4 200yrds or mid distance of your choice at increasing speed of 60% of max effort to 80% max effort

light cool down

I`ve been surfing for the past 10 years, mostly at summertime. So I`d surf for 2, 3 months and then stop. I always wanted to have fun while surfing, so by no means I`m a pro surfer or something like that. 

I just joined GB this week but 2 years ago I started doing crossfit and some gymnastic movements/training/stretching by myself.

My surfing became lighter and loose, my cardio resistantce was better, even though I don`t swim at all while not surfing. 

Well, I think all the cardio / strengh / mobility would help a lot, of course. But, surfing is more than arms, swings, hips, etc. You gotta deal with the ocean, waves, timming, learn how to read the swell, and face fear, drops, learn how to bail, and so on.

So, my advice would be just go for it. Try to find a partner or even take some surfing classes.

I`d start with a longboard, try to catch white stuff (broken waves) and always have someone with you, at least nearby.

There are some really nice surfing "tutorials" on youtube too.

Low bodyfat % is key too..try to get as lean as you can and that would help A LOT in every BW stuff.

Have fun!!!

Been doing GB for just over a year now. I started with F1 and am on F2 for some elements. I’ve been surfing for 15+ years (although certainly not a pro) and I would wholeheartedly recommend GB to anyone who surfs. The benefits in mobility, balance and strength quickly translate to better surfing. Although I’ve not been able to get in the water as much as I’d like (ave twice a month) I still feel that I  improve nearly every time I go for a surf and I put this down to GB training.

Time to revive this thread

In the last couple of months, I have really come to enjoy swimming and I think it goes alsong with the GB program quite nicely, there seems to be quite a bit I can "transfer".

Not only is it the "cardio activity" that I enjoy most, it is also the one I have made the best "gains" with so far - a couple of weeks ago or so I went for a short run and found that I barely even felt anything after a distance that in the past would have had me breathing quite hard already. Also I like that it's involving the whole body.

Besides, I feel it is really helping with my shoulder problems (subacromial impingement of sorts). And I have been losing weight "like crazy" (that is, until the end of 2015, from then on my diet has been really crappy and a constant struggle).

Currently, I'm working on Ruth Kazez' 0-to-1650 program and am making some good progress with that, I'm just repeating week four for deload and it feels easy enough to progress to week five next week. I'm really excited to finally be back at 1000m straight; I had it in December but lost it after Christmas...

Not surprisingly, the GB-"blue collar work ethic"-method is paying huge dividends here, can't thank Coach and the community here enough for that. I try to make sure to always have more laps "in the tank", especially during deload, how tempting it may be to do some extra work - also, GB is my main focus and I don't want to ruin the gains I'm finally making there by going all out with another activity. Been there, done that, realised it's stupid. Also, a lot of things from HS and F are coming in handy.

For the future, I'm planning on finishing the 0-to-1650 and then building it up to 2000 m from there. After that, I would really like to learn front crawl/freestyle, as well as improve my form in breast stroke (which I'm doing right now since it is the only stroke I learnt as a kid). Also, I'm looking forward to using the 50m outside pool in the summer

I actually wouldn't be using TI as it really focus on gliding in your stroke, gliding makes a pause in your stoke and slows you down as your momentum is dying. And you are constantly starting and stopping every stroke. Instead I recommend http://www.swimsmooth.com/. It also has a whole section devoted to open water swimming, so you can pick whether you want to do Open Water/Triathlon style Swim, or Laps in the Pool/Competive Swimming. It addresses stroke problems, gives drills to work on these, has videos covering multiple angles of the drills. And even has workout to help you improve your freestyles. Overall I recommend it more than TI, as you will not be going fast if you are constantly pausing in your stroke.

Thanks Dylan, I'll have a look at it - to be honest, I really haven't thought about how exactly I am going to learn freestyle, I played with the thought of joining a club though.

Leonhard Krahé said:

Thanks Dylan, I'll have a look at it - to be honest, I really haven't thought about how exactly I am going to learn freestyle, I played with the thought of joining a club though.

They cover that too