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Wakeboarding Workout

November 2, 2005 Print This ArticleShare

Author: Michael Greeves


Wakeboarding - The Sport

A highly dynamic water sport, young in its life but growing in popularity, wakeboarding is a combination of surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding and water skiing. The boarder doesn’t simply “ski” behind the boat, but he carves through the water and jumps the wakes that the boat leaves behind. While in the air he performs amazing tricks involving spins, rolls, flips, and a host of other stunts, such as various grabs and a combination of several maneuvers. He also may grind, sliding his board over and along a rail made of metal, PVC, or wood. He may also perform tricks across the surface of the water or jump ramps to get air.

Top riders are pushing the sport to new limits constantly, adding new elements borrowed from skateboarding, snowboarding and gymnastics. They aren’t jumping off just wakes but are jumping ramp-to-ramp gaps that spread forty feet in distance or more. They are performing grinds not just on rails but on almost all objects sticking out of the water such as docks and buoys. They are even jumping over rock outcroppings. Almost everyday, newer and younger riders bring more innovative approaches to the sport, and these riders can only go bigger and bolder.

Wakeboarding - The Demand

The dynamic environment of water, wakes, big air and tricks demands awesome physical fitness of the wake boarder. The countless body positions a rider gets into require strength, quickness, agility, and suppleness. The legs must be strong to extend straight (almost a perfectly “timed” jump) to pop off a wake, and supple enough to absorb a landing impact, especially on the flat. They must have power endurance to jump wake after wake, as well as strength-endurance to withstand repeated carving across the water. Their torso must have strength, power and flexibility to perform air tricks. Their shoulders must possess not just strength but also flexibility-strength to perform handle-passes, where the rope handle is passed quickly from one hand to another, often behind the back while spinning, flipping, being inverted, and landing blind (where the holding arm is literally behind the body while being towed!). The arms and upper back must have tremendous strength and endurance to hold the handle close to the waist, and adequate power to tug, pull and maneuver the handle for certain air, surface and grind tricks. Because no great rider can avoid losing control and wrecking, the entire body must be strong structurally. No one can predict how a fall will happen, at what speed, at what angle, and onto what body part, so it is wise for all riders to prepare the body for this inevitable occurrence by strengthening the entire body for structural strength.

Wakeboarding - Injuries

In 2004 the American Journal of Sports Medicine cited that the most common injuries reported in wakeboarding were ACL tears, shoulder dislocations, and ankle sprains. Additionally, 21% of all injuries in wakeboarding are fractures of some kind. These injuries are often the result of unsuccessful flips, jumps or other tricks, leading to awkward falls. The additional height gained from jumping the wake and the rotational forces gained from the spin or flip can contribute to the high velocity and twisting mechanism of a fall. Apart from traumatic injuries, muscle aches are also common, especially in beginners, who are unaccustomed to the forces of falling. Muscles that tend to be strained include the upper and lower back, the forearms, and the thighs. The solution, together with lots of training in the water, is participating in a solid strength and conditioning program in the gym.

The Wakeboarding Workout

The wakeboarding workout focuses on whole-body strength and conditioning, addressing qualities of strength, power, endurance and flexibility. The program is designed with appropriate periodization of exercise types, intensity and volume to accommodate tour and competition seasons. It is divided into phases: the general physical preparation phase and the specific physical preparation phase. This strategy allows maximum development of fitness qualities for the wake boarder and minimizes the potential for overtraining.

Time in the water is critical to gaining sport-specific skills, but it alone won’t quickly deliver you the elite performance witnessed in today’s progressive display of talent, nor will it maximize injury prevention. To meet the demands of wakeboarding, you must participate in a well-developed strength and conditioning program that addresses the kind of forces you’ll encounter and the kind of physical ability that you must demonstrate in order to perform at your best and with the lowest risk of injuries.



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