Cable Pushing and Pulls
12 comments| by Cris MillsCable Machines, Core Training, and Surfing. Nearly all gyms have a cable machine, and there are some really beneficial movements that all surfers should be working on. Here's a few key cable machine exercises that will help you build integrative and dynamic core strength, that will carry over to more strength in your surfing.
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I'm Cris Mills with surfstrengthcoach.com and surfing-waves.com showing you a few things you can do with your body to make you a stronger all around better surfer. If you can move with more strength and more efficiency and more coordination, you surf better. Surfing is movement, it is so much dynamic movement so that again if we're stronger in the way that we can move and utilise the body it creates almost a larger buffer zone for performance and athleticism. So a lot of surfers, well intentioned, trying to do some stuff in the gym are doing a bunch of silly stuff.
Cable machine: nearly every gym has got this. So I am going to show you a couple of things you can really start doing with single arm pressing and pulling. So a lot of surfing is standing, it is integration of movement head to toe. It's lots of rotational movement obviously. Turns, all of that paddling is a rotational movement with what's going on through the spine. So if you can control rotation and transmit force for rotation, force through rotation, again you're just stronger through fluid movement. So cable machine. I'm going to show you some kneeling versions and some full standing versions.
Pretty much with any of this, I'll have people start with kneeling. So it's really core controlled. Yeah I'm going to be some pushing and pulling, but you're working on keeping a really solid base. One hip's in flexion, so this is flexion, another hip in extension. This is the lunge position, of flexion and extension. How much of surfing is in the lunge position and its dynamic, but, we need to be able to control a static lunge position as well, just to build efficient core strength. So kneeling... everything is nice and tall, stacked up.
(Presses)
Press. So I'm not arching my back excessively, I'm not curved forward, think tall spite.
(Presses)
Those are the pushes.
So that chain, you're pressing tricep, peck, lats - not lats - external oblique, internal oblique, adductors. It's this chain of muscle integration you're strengthening. You can do the same thing with the pull. So kneeling position, everything stacked, nice tall.
(Pulls)
When you pull, don't shrug up. Think of trying to pull the whole shoulder to here OK. So a lot of times people pull here where they are too tight in the front of this chest. You need to just stretch out that chest tissue. Check out some stuff on surfstrengthcoach.com, loads of anterior chest and shoulder mobility work. Pull that whole shoulder back. Tall position.
(Pulls)
Those are awesome.
Kneeling. Great, great core movement. Pretty much everybody should start there. I still do a lot of kneeling stuff, working on some hip stability through this right one, gets a little funny. We eventually progress all this stuff to standing.
So for any type of athlete, any of this single arm pulling or pushing is good. Again, it's for rotational strength and movement. You're not just sitting there doing a silly bunch press or something. You're getting your chest strong with the core, with the legs. With pulls you're getting your lats strong, core and legs. So... feet everything stacked, nice and tight.
(Pushes)
All this is controlling OK. With slight rotation to the side. Push.
Pull. Same kind of staggered setup of the feet. Nice tight position. Tall spine.
(Pulls)
You see how I've got the alternate arm going as well. That just helps kinda drive motion and mobility through the spinal column. So instead of being rigid, tight, get to where you can control movement. Cable work. Start using it single arm push pulls. Again, you're just getting stronger and more fluid and coordinated through overall movement rather than just doing some stuff in the gym that's just isolated training and focusing on one muscle group. You start thinking more function, dynamic movements.
Awesome. Some presses. Pulls.
I'm Cris Mills again, Surfing Waves, a lot more videos to come. Check out surfstrengthcoach.com. Get strong so you can move. Eat good food so you can live well. Surf. Surf pain free. That's what it's all about. Enjoy yourself. Use this stuff. Leave some comments. Peace.
About the Author
Cris Mills is the man behind surfstrengthcoach.com. Cris is an avid surfer, traveller, and fitness/health coach who works with surfers using movement, exercise, manual therapy, and nutrition coaching to keep them surfing as much as possible. He's spent the last great portion of his life travelling to surf incredible waves, and he now resides in Sydney Australia.
Thanks once again Cris. Another great addition to the Surf Fitness section.
I hope everyone can make use of the exercises Cris demonstrates here, let's us know how you get on.
Good exercises. I'd really like to do them but I don't have access to a cable machine (no $$ for gym). Could I do these with a resistance band or something?
use a band for sure man... check this out http://surfstrengthcoach.com/top-surf-exercises-full-body-moves/
I'll be trying these out next time at the gym. Simple and easy to follow. Thanks man.
cheers man! they're a really efficient movement to develop some dynamic strength. you'll dig em'. Good training!
Good instructive video, I am now clear on what to achieve with this. Thanks
Right! Yoga is a good way of training: wavesisters.com/en/wavesisters/yoga
julika, yes I would agree yoga is great training for flexibility, which obviously carries over to surfing. Yet not everyone needs more flexibility. I see a number of personal clients (especially women) that are extremely flexible, and some that are exceptionally hypermobile, so they need more actual strength training to benefit their surfing. But yeah, overall, most people would definitely benefit from some yoga.
Cris you just might be the key to rewinding the hands of time ( at least a bit). As a 59 just about to turn 60 yr old. A lifetime of activity has caught up.... I have to rethink, rebuild and redesign how I put myself in a position to glide with grace. Thanks Cris for helping me keep the stoke alive.
Cheers jonathon... movement. get flexible, and then layer the necessary strength in movement!
Thanks Cris! Great post about surf fitness and exercise. We hope to get more good articles from you in the future.
Great article, video makes technique perfectly clear. Thanks for putting this together.