Some of the most well-known surfing films of all time, such as
North Shore, Point Break, or
Blue Crush, would have you believe that these athletes are aloof, territorial thrill-seekers simply looking to cling to the last vestige of their youth — that they resist authority at every turn and use the local break as refuge from a cruel and unforgiving world. But the reality is much different.
Today, surfing is a recreational epidemic, with newbies heading to the water every day hoping to catch the ride of their lives. The pro ranks are also responsible for the surge to the sand. Top finishers on the World Championship Tour (WCT) for the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) can pull down six figures a year, with bundles more possible through endorsements. The potential for big paydays has triggered an evolution in the way that surfers train, eat, and think. Nowadays, this pleasurable pursuit is much more about business.
"It's like night and day," says PowerBar
® Team Elite™ surfer Kai Dilling, who has more than 25 years' experience on the board and now runs his own surf shop
(www.solsurfers.net) in South Carolina. "Today, surfers are athletes and they're behaving like athletes. There is a lot of money in surfing now, and so in order to separate oneself from the rest, one has to get an edge over the competition. Training and nutrition are vital to this."
But you don't have to be a prize money–chasing wave rider to start taking the sport more seriously. Training hard and eating right, Dilling says, are the keys to performing better and avoiding injury, regardless of whether you're getting towed into a 40-foot monster at Peahi, Hawaii, or paddling hard to catch a ripple in South Beach, Florida. So be a thrill-seeker with purpose. Paying more attention to how you prepare out of the water, as it turns out, can make your transcendental relationship with the tides that much better.
Kai Dilling
Birthdate: May 17, 1967
Birthplace: Heidelberg, Germany
Hometown: Isle of Palms, South Carolina
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 172 lbs
Competitive highlights — 2009: Eastern Surfing Association East Coast Champion; Masters Longboard, Third Place. 2008: USA Championships Senior Men's Competition, Third Place.
Website:
www.solsurfers.net
Q: Where did you grow up and how did you get into surfing?
Kai: I grew up about a hundred yards from the ocean on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina, and spent most of my youth on the beach and in the water. I was fortunate to have parents who traveled a lot, and so I was able to be exposed to waves in many parts of the world. We made many trips by car to Central America, California, and of course up and down the East Coast. My parents moved to the U.S. from Germany shortly after I was born, and my dad got into surfing a bit. We sailed quite a bit too.
Q: So you used to be a science teacher? What happened?
Kai: I graduated from the College of Charleston in 1993 and began teaching that same year. I taught mostly eighth grade science and I loved it. I taught all of the things I'm interested in: meteorology, oceanography, astronomy, and geology. I also, later in my teaching career, taught a bit of physical science and mathematics. I love kids and feel that I can relate to them. I didn't like the bureaucracy and the leadership in education, and that prompted me, after 10 years of teaching, to quit teaching in schools.
Q: When did you first surf competitively?
Kai: I surfed competitively as a kid, probably 13 or 14. I enjoyed being with my friends but I didn't enjoy the restrictions that competitive surfing placed on an individual. Consequently I was not that good at it. I went into competitions and heats very nervous.
Q: What do you love most about surfing?
Kai: I love everything there is about surfing! I love the freedom of taking off on a wave and looking down the line and anticipating the entire ride. I love that surfing is so simple to do yet so complicated to master. I love the oneness with nature that surfing offers. I love the physical aspects of surfing. I love watching my wife and kids surf and how it lights them up. I love getting barreled and I love completing a nice turn on a wave. I really love a good barrel. I love that I will, hopefully, surf for the rest of my life.
PowerBar note: Getting barreled — Riding inside the hollow curl of a wave (also: tube riding).
Q: Describe what's going through your head as you see a good wave approaching. Be as detailed as you'd like!
Kai: It's a bit difficult to put into words. As a wave approaches, you are boiling a bunch of things inside your head. You have your experiences from the day, how the waves are breaking, the conditions, the size of the waves. Then you have the individual wave itself, and you pay attention to the water in front of the wave, and you pay attention to the direction you aim to surf it, and then you take off. It's as much instinct as experience that gets you into the wave, but once you have caught it, time simply stops for the time you're riding the wave, and your instincts and experiences all become a blur.
Q: Surfing is an inherently dangerous sport — sharks, rip currents, shallow reefs, etc. How important is physical training when it comes to minimizing these dangers?
Kai: Physical fitness simply gives you confidence. If you have confidence, you can do anything. Much of your physical fitness translates into mental fitness. And when the two have been trained, your abilities reciprocate. You're going to wipe out, but when you wipe out charging, you're far better off than when you wipe out hesitating. With sharks, I think it's much like dealing with people, dogs, mosquitos, etc. Animals have a sense of fear and weakness — if you emit fear, animals sense it. You make your luck through confidence and a positive outlook. I think this is possible through mental and physical fitness.
Q: What kind of dry-land training is recommended for surfers? Core work? Weights? Running?
Kai: Running is great — in sand, barefooted is even better — and helps, obviously, with the cardiovascular system. I often run short distances before a heat because it allows me to find a rhythm. Weights are good and can especially help with areas that need specific training, but I think exercises using your own body weight are the best. I work a lot with a stability ball. I also work out standing on one leg or standing or lying on unstable surfaces. These types of exercises really promote the use of stabilizer muscles and also the core muscles. It's amazing the confidence one is able to achieve when your core and stabilizers are conditioned. Pull-ups are great for paddling. Push-ups are great. Yoga is fantastic!
Q: What is your typical dry-land workout like?
Kai: A light jog, followed by 45 minutes of work on the stability ball, stretching, surfing. Some days I will spend more time on strengthening exercises, but mostly my regimen involves staying limber and fit from the core outward. I have been using the paddleboard as a tool for training, especially on small-surf days. It's a great core workout, and once I have caught the wave, it becomes a great classic longboarding practice tool.
Q: Is there any particular exercise that adequately trains the muscles you use most on the board?
Kai: Stability ball exercises for working the body inside out and yoga for flexibility. Both really work the mind as well.
Q: What types of soft tissue injuries are typical for surfers?
Kai: The knees often take a beating over a long period of time. Ankles too. My shoulders are beginning to feel the stress from years of paddling. I think that by staying fit, surfers can often avoid back troubles.
Q: What type of preventative or rehabilitation-type activities do you recommend?
Kai: Simply staying fit for surfing can go a long way to guaranteeing your longevity. Stretching is key! I believe doing light weight exercises and concentrating on form rather than amount of weight is key too. Using a stability ball and other exercise equipment that incorporates many muscles working together are extremely beneficial. Massage is awesome. I have recently been going to an acupuncturist, and that has been extremely good for me. I believe relaxing properly is very important, so sleeping on a good bed helps.
Q: Like a lot of extreme athletes, surfers seem to have caught on to the concept of nutrition for performance. What do you typically fuel up with before hitting the beach?
Kai: I believe in eating whole-grain cereals for breakfast. I supplement my diet with PowerBar
® products daily.
Q: How, exactly, do PowerBar products fit into the nutrition of elite surfers? How do you use them?
Kai: They are a great way to quickly get what you need. At a competition, it's often difficult to get what I need. PowerBar products fill that void perfectly.
PowerBar® Performance Energy Bars are awesome for getting quick fuel, as are
PowerBar® Energy Blasts gel filled chews. I supplement my protein intake with
PowerBar ProteinPlus® protein bars and I love
PowerBar® Recovery bars.
Q: What do you like to do as far as hydration during training or competition?
Kai: I generally stick to water.
Q: Name something that you wish more surfers took into account when it comes to their training and nutrition.
Kai: Too many of my friends have lousy diets. Training-wise, I would like to see them stretch more.
If you're interested in learning about PowerBar
® Team Elite™ athletes or how you can join the ranks, click on the
Team Elite link at PowerBar.com.
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