Professional bodyboarding or Competitive Bodyboarding started in the infamous Pipeline in Hawaii in 1982 and since then, the major extreme sport has evolved and slowly grown global popularity in the recent years having an increasing number of participants from all over the globe. This popularity is because of the media reach from international competitions and as well as social media platforms.
Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Hawaii, Australia, South Africa, and Brazil were the major countries that were involved in the world tour. This tour aims to showcase to the world that Bodyboarding is a sport hosting different competitions such as the APB Men’s World Tour and the APB Women’s World Tour. They aim to discover the world’s greatest bodyboarder and promote the sport to a wider audience every year. It is like the World Cup, where the best of the best players and teams from different countries compete to be the very best.
And thanks to these world tours, we now see a diverse range of athletes hailing from different parts of the globe such as in Central America, Morocco, the Caribbean, Japan, Europe, and Chile as the years pass. Bodyboarding as a sport continues to expand at a rapid rate and it’s future looks very promising. It is not only for the elite athlete but also for the ones who want to have a healthy lifestyle while enjoying the basking in the sun and riding the ocean’s waves.
How To Train for a Competitive Bodyboarding
Not only do bodyboarders handle chunkier and heavier waves, but they also do it in environments that aren’t too friendly for a human body such as coral reefs and sharp rock edges. This can put a big strain on anyone’s body that’s why when it comes to training to be an elite bodyboarder, you need to have an interesting blending of time while you surf and practice injury prevention at the gym. Aside from that, you need to remember these things:
- Your mental strength is a must – Aside from training your body physically to endure the strong waves and cold water, you should also have a mental psyche that is as rock-solid as your body. And this is important especially in competitive bodyboarding because you’re always going to deal with a court or a pitch that is constantly changing. You could be looking at a flat ocean and the next minute you could be riding a solid eight-foot wave.
- Keep track of what you eat – Even if surfers of all different kinds of crafts are considered to have the world’s worst diet because they could live with just beers and cigarettes for weeks, experts say that if you want to have the best performance possible, you should fill up your body with the right and healthy foods.
- Keep in mind of the strength-to-weight power rules – You may have noticed that the physiques of some of the world’s professional bodyboarders look like it came from the same cookie cutter. They are slender, defined, and seemed to be built for punching through big waves. But keep in mind that it is important to have the same amount of endurance fitness and strength.
- Cross train – Like any other technical sport, most of the success that you will get comes down to the number of hours and efforts you put it. Make sure you keep your flexibility and fitness by having a well-planned fitness routine that can fill in your days or hours when there are no waves to ride on.
Do You Want to Be a Professional Bodyboarder?
If you want to be a professional bodyboarder, aside from having the right equipment and training properly, you should also consider joining the Association of Professional Bodyboarding or APB. This is the only governing body of professional bodyboarding. And they aim to promote elite Bodyboarding to a growing audience, supporters, fans, and spectators all over the world. They also crown bodyboarding’s world champions by hosting different tours such as the APB Women’s World Tour or APB WWT, the APB Men’s World Tour or the APB MWT, the Pro Junior World Championships, and the ABP Dropknee. They are indeed dedicated to present the world’s elite bodyboarders and they are supported globally by seven different regions like Hawaii, South America, North America, South Africa, Europe, Japan, and Australasia.
Bodyboarding continues to gain popularity all over the world and it has the reputation of being one of the most exciting action sports to watch. That’s why what are you waiting for? The ocean and the waves are calling your name.