The Benefits of Strength Training

The benefits of strength training will be obvious to you because your body will respond to strength conditioning by:

Strength Training

• Increases in muscle fibre size
• Increased muscle contractile strength
• Increased tendon tensile strength
• increased ligament strength
• increased bone strength            

- and as a result, this will lead to changes in your physical appearance, your physical capacity and your metabolic function.

Its important to remember that the type of conditioning you are doing will determine which of the 5 benefits of strength training are most emphasized.

What does this mean to us as surfers?

Increased work capacity:

Well, greater maximal muscle strength allows us to push against our boards with more force, and to put more force into each paddle-stroke, allowing us to paddle faster.

Greater strength endurance allows us to paddle for longer period of time at a moderate pace.

Greater postural strength allows us to maintain a stable position for longer periods of time - also against other forces acting on the body - allowing other muscles and limbs to function more effectively.

Boosts metabolism:

Because muscle tissue is metabolically active,  the more you have, the higher your metabolism (the amount of calories your body burns) will be  - and this is a great benefit for those wanting to lose body fat (less non-functional mass to weigh you down in the water)

Decreases the risk of injury:

Greater tendon, ligament, connective tissue and joint-stabilizing muscle strength - helps to brace our joints and act as shock absorbers.

Strong, balanced ,supple muscles help keep your posture aligned - a reason why flexibility training  should be part of your overall conditioning process.

A balanced physique will help prevent injury - if certain muscles are very weak and tight, they become the "weakest point in a muscle chain" and  can cause injury to the joints they support.

Anti- ageing:

Strength training is possibly the most reliable "elixir of youth".
Obviously, the type of injuries often seen in older people due to decrease of mechanical function are minimized when strength is maintained or increased.

Because of the 5 benefits of strength training, as mentioned above, the functional capacity of anyone will increase, regardless of their age, when they maintain a good strength training routine.

Strength training decreases the risk of osteoporosis and its associated injuries, by increasing bone strength.

For more on  training, see  Training Principles