If you want to surf well, and especially pain free, you need to keep your hip joints flexible. Think about the simple act of a pop-up, to a few down the line pumps, a big roundhouse cut back, a few more pumps, and if you haven't bonked it at this stage, let's throw in a floater for good measure. Every single one of those movements is requiring some extreme flexibility and mobility out of your joints, and especially your hips.
This is just essential to surfers, but also something EVERYONE should do.
Our hips are where our centre of gravity lies, this means the muscles, ligaments & tendons around our hips are responsible for keeping us stable and for creating our anchor point for all of our movements. Maintaining good hip mobility is the key to better movement and training and decreases the risk of injury.
Here’s my favourite hip mobility flow to include in your warmup before surfing or even working out:
10 Reps Each
LONG LUNGES
From plank Step your right foot to the outside of your right hand. Sink the hips and lift the chest (look up). Repeat of left side.
HIGH SIDE LUNGES
Keep your legs wide and feet parallel. Keeping the torso inline with the earth walk the hands left and right lunging into each knee.
HIGH SIDE LUNGES Repeat as above, extend the arms in line with the shoulders. Find your expression.
LOW SIDE LUNGES Keep the legs wide and squat deep into a side lunge to the left and right. This is fairly advanced, if its too much for you, stick with the high side lunges.
DEEP SQUATS Sit into a squat position. Push your elbows into your inner thighs to help lower the hips and lift the chest. Rest your heels on a rolled up yoga mat or towel for an easier modification.
LUNGE TWISTS From lunge position, reach the right arm up and back. Roll the right knee open until you are resting on the blade edge of the foot. Lower the hips and lift the chest. Repeat left side.
Like any mobility exercises. The more committed you are the easier it will become. Try this every day for a 14 days and see the improvements.