List of Exercises for Wakeboarding Enthusiasts: Stay in Condition and Minimize Injury

List of Exercises for Wakeboarding Enthusiasts: Stay in Condition and Minimize Injury
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Wakeboarding is a water activity that requires skills and abilities that can be developed with regular exercise, practice, and good nutrition habits. You need great strength for riding off the water, and you always need to be in condition so you can wakeboard safely and keep away from injuring yourself. Here are some exercises for wakeboarding to keep you in top shape for the activity.

Wall Seats

This is a fairly simple wakeboarding exercise that develops knee strength. The wakeboarder sits against a wall, feet shoulder width from each other. The feet should be 18-24 inches away from the wall. From this position, the wakeboarder starts to slide down the wall slightly and holds that position for about 30 seconds. The wakeboarder then moves down farther and holds the position again for 30 seconds. Finally, the wakeboarder moves down to a position where the knee has a 90 degree angle and holds that position for 30 seconds. After this, the wakeboarder moves up to his original position in the same manner they slid down. For more advanced wakeboarders, they can double the time of stopping between moving down to 60 seconds.

Core Raw

In this exercise, the wakeboarder holds dumbbells on each hand in a push up position. With the back completely flat, the wakeboarder moves one of his hands while holding the dumbbell toward the chest in a rowing motion and then puts that hand back down to its original position. He then does the same thing to the other hand. Variations of this exercise involve no dumbbells, usually for beginners, and heavier dumbbells, usually for more advanced and stronger wakeboarders. This exercise improves a wakeboarder’s control of the body while he’s in the air, usually involving twisting the hips.

Trampoline Training

This is a fun way to train your body and develop new wakeboarding moves while still being safe. Trying out new wakeboarding tricks using a trampoline minimizes the risk of injury. This lets you try out new moves and tricks without ever going into the water. This way, when you’re already in the water, your body’s muscles are already familiar with the moves you are about to perform. This is also a wonderful way to warm up before actually going into the water. Wakeboarders can set up trampolines near the water so they can do some trampoline training to warm up.

The Stability Ball Leg Curl

This is a simple exercise that requires the use of a stability ball. It involves the wakeboarder lying flat on the back with feet mounted on the stability ball. The wakeboarder proceeds to move the ball towards them by bending the knees. This simple exercise strengthens knee joints and improves stamina and mobility in the knee area. Strengthening this area reduces the risk of hamstring and knee ligament injuries, which are the most common injuries in wakeboarding.

References

Wakeboarder.com: 5 Wakeboard Exercises You Should Perform This Off-Season

Wake to Wake Fitness’s Blog: Wakeboard Workup Wednesday #7 - Core Raw