Pilates Enhances Performance Of British Surfing Champion
Sam Lamiroy is Britain’s top male surfer being crowned twice as British Surfing Champion at the O’Neill British Surf Championships in Devon and in 2007 Sam won the UK Pro Surf Tour. He has been a star on the world circuit for seven years.
How doe he stay in shape? “Yoga Pilates seems to be the ideal thing for me”To thoroughly warm up the spine, using surfing related movement patterns as well as learning about body mechanics is hugely beneficial when taken to the water.
Performed on the floor, on the beach or where ever you go, Pilates exercises lengthen and strengthen the deep core muscles of the body. These stabilizing muscles hug and protect our bones, thereby improving balance and preventing injury — both essential for healthy surfing
Lamiroy “I spend a lot of time traveling and sitting on airplanes, which makes me get really stiff – it’s handy to have a routine to fix it. I guess it’s partly psychological and partly physical, to make you feel like you’re doing something.”
“I have a very broad training scheme. Yoga Pilates seems to be the ideal thing for me. As the name suggests, it’s a mixture of yoga and Pilates. I find Pilates can be too dance-oriented and technical, and yoga is a little too static for my lifestyle. Yoga Pilates is the perfect medium – it’s really good at strengthening your core muscles and helps to fire up your nervous system.
“It’s difficult to emulate the movements that you do in surfing, so all you can do is practice with things like skate-boarding and tennis to try to work the muscles. It’s all focused on keeping your muscles active but at the same time keeping them smooth. If you build up muscles too much, they will get in the way of your surfing.
“I am trying to get in the water as often as possible in preparation for this month’s Highland Open contest, which is one of the biggest in the world. I try to surf as often as I can and top up my fitness with a bit of cycling, running and just general exercise. Last night I played some football with friends.
“Day to day I try to eat very healthily: lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, lean meat, chicken and fish. During the competition I tend to eat very little because I’m quite big for a surfer. On a competition day I eat only a couple of bananas and drink some Red Bull and plenty of water because I find if I eat too much I get really sluggish. I don’t drink can after can of Red Bull but a little bit helps sharpen my mind, giving me the right level of focus: not over-excited and not bored.
“On the whole I don’t take any supplements since I don’t really get run down. When I’m not in the freezing cold sea, that’s when I tend to get ill”.
“At the heart of it, it is important to have a nice, healthy, balanced lifestyle. Some people accuse me of not training enough but I don’t think spending about eight hours a day on a bicycle is particularly good for anyone either. It doesn’t have to be back-breaking work. “Yoga Pilates seems to be the ideal thing for me”. “I can do it anywhere in 15 minutes”.
Sam Lamiroy is appearing at the O’Neill Highland Open by Swatch from April 23-30.
Engage your core like never before improve your performance with Pilates today
written by PalmBeach
