The addictive pull of surfing and satisfaction of complete immersion in the elements spoils surfers for other activities; surfers for the most part don’t make good gym rats. As in life, finding balance is the key, a missing element in many fitness regimes. One surfer who simply sought to keep himself tuned up between swells in Florida turned that desire (and over 30 years of tinkering) into a fulltime crusade for balance. Known to friends and colleagues as the “Balance Sensei, Balance Whisperer and even Indo Man,” Hunter Joslin developed the “Indo Board” from a single balance trainer in 1998 into a full range of indoor core fitness products.

Dry Land Surfing

Hunter basically taught himself to surf by using a balance board back in 1966: “I was a swimmer and not able to go to the beach very often. I did my homework standing on the balance board and rode it constantly. I learned to cross-step and surf better than most of my friends. Now that I’m 56 and running a business, water time is hard to find. The Indo Board has kept me ready to surf at a consistent level regardless of how infrequently I get to surf. It is invaluable, especially in cross-stepping, which on the Indo Board translates directly into smooth footwork.”

In its first incarnation, the balance trainer was basically a combination of a small plywood plank with back-stops on the bottom that perched atop a heavy plastic tube, hopefully with rider attached. Joslin discovered the apparatus as a competitive swimmer in his youth, a primitive version used by his coach to add variety, balance and strength to training regimes. An avid surfer and skateboarder since the 60’s, Hunter originally refined the deceptively simple tool by placing an oval skimboard on a roller. He ran with the concept from there, fully loading his stable of products with over 22 different offerings tailored to athletes of different sizes, skill levels and sporting activities.

The variety of Indo Boards includes the “Original, Mini Original, Pro Deck, Mini Kick Tail and Mini Kick Tail Pro.” That range runs from larger boards for beginners and longboarders to smaller boards designed for skaters and wake boarders aiming to perfect their bag of tricks. The “IndoFlo Cushion” also offers stand-up paddlers and others a means to improve their skills, with an inflatable 14-inch diameter cushion placed under the board, designed to simulate 360 degrees of gimbaled instability, rather than plain old lateral fun.

Going with the IndoFlo

Hunter reckons the IndoFlo set-up is the closest simulation to stand-up surfing on dry land, being very targeted at core balance skills. He even advocates holding a paddle or broomstick while balancing on the board and cushion. For the truly advanced, the cushion can be placed on a small step stool to keep the board from touching the floor. And among the most respected watermen in the world is the C4 Waterman group, who actively use the Indo Board for their land training. Joining forces to refine and develop the stand-up tradition and equipment are Hawaii’s Brian Keaulana, Todd Bradley and Mike Fox who formed C4, along with respected shaper-journalist Dave Parmenter. They are aiming to bring the original beach boy tradition together with a range of modern high-performance equipment to broaden the appeal of the sport. (For more information, visit www.surfline.com.)

Joslin has seen the C4 team in action and marveled at their skills, feathering the paddle either side of the board in the wave face and changing directions as if they were on much smaller equipment. For a glimpse at who’s having all the fun in soft surf, check out this YouTube video of the C4 Watermen in action in April, 2007, at Val’s Reef on the North Shore. Even tow-in pioneers Laird Hamilton and Darrick Doerner have employed the Indo trainer as part of their bag of training tricks in preparation for balancing on the very unstable hydrofoil board in XXL surf, as has Kauai legend Titus Nihi Kinimaka. (See www.hawaiianschoolofsurfing.com)

Indo Therapy

My landlocked surfing brother-in-law gave me a classic version of the Indo Board several Christmases back and I have incorporated it into my intra-swell routine ever since. After suffering a minor meniscus tear in my right knee, strengthening the muscles around my knees became a high priority. Rather than just tipping it back and forth, riding the nose, etc., I added a twist: doing squats while balancing to simulate pumping down-the-line and toning the very same muscles (just add a little hand jive for style points). Likewise, “Indo” push-ups can imitate the technique of popping up to the standing position on a board. Simply place your hands at both ends of the roller and grip the sides of the board as if you are about to push to your feet, or place them perpendicular… and feel the burn! This is just scratching the surface of the tool’s versatility.

In fact, the tube itself can be used like a jumbo rolling pin to iron out post-surf kinks in your back. Place it under your spine on the floor, exhale and gently pull forward on your neck as you slowly work your way down your back and even roll your hips. Your vertebrae will thank you. Releasing tension has become part of my daily routine, alleviating rigor mortis from being chained to the computer desk before getting in the water. Incorporated into a regular stretching routine, the roller can even be applied under tight lats and triceps après-surf to loosen up small muscle tears in that typically overdeveloped area of the surfer’s anatomy. Posture and ergonomics are critical to the longevity of older athletes, especially in our increasingly desk-bound society.

Hunter Joslin made that discovery after lugging 60 pounds of luggage on his back through the Heathrow airport in London one year, when one side of his body went completely numb. Being in the balance business, he researched his options and found that incorporating an IndoFlow cushion and balance board into a standing position at his desk was the solution. To do that, however, he had to order an adjustable desk that levitates into position at the flip of a switch, keeping him mobile and his spinal discs floppy, not hard. Joslin swears by the work routine and even when doing paperwork he balances on a backless stool with a flexible shaft that keeps his spine limber as well. Comical-but-effective, a video of the set-up can be found on his website:
www.indoboard.com.

Outdo Skills

When you consider the hours surfers spend in the water paddling and just waiting for waves, compared to the mere seconds of unbridled joy actually riding, anything that skews that ratio toward vertical time is of benefit. Frankly, in addition to improving balance and therapeutic effects from regular use of the Indo Board, the tool can improve your surfing. More precise footwork, dynamic lower body positioning, tucked-in hips and relaxed upper body can all be practiced and learned. Envision your favorite pro surfers; even their highly individualistic styles have many such elements in common.

Short-boarders can strengthen surf-specific muscle groups and simulate crouching in the tube, switching stance and popping to their feet. Even small foot placement changes have a big place in new school maneuvers—forward for speed, back for shedding it quickly, widening your stance before an aerial. A training video that comes with the package also holds a trove of tips on maneuvers and techniques, such as flipping the board up on the roller, 50-50s, round-the-worlds. Hanging 10, cheater 5s and cross-stepping, on the other hand, are of obvious value to the longboarder. Why not practice that elusive move on land first, before attempting it in the water?

Land Training

Personal trainers have jumped on board the Indo trend as well, and it just depends how much effort you want to put into your land program to take it to the next level. If you are going to put in the time, you may as well make your routine surf-specific. Pumping light free weights in lifts, curls and presses while balancing on the board prime the body and mind for the impact zone and poise on the wave face. The video even features a pair of Indo riders facing each other and tossing a small medicine ball back and forth while balancing. That other rider can represent the wave throwing sections at you and the ball a lip or chandelier falling in front of you. The best surfing is reactive and instinctual—anticipating what’s just ahead while maintaining balance, and with practice comes precision.

Pros like current ASP World Champion Mick Fanning proved last year that core fitness can make all the difference in consistency of results and performance. Often discovered as part of rehabilitating an injury, balance training in combination with cardio work, speed, and strength work, all make eminent sense for those who genuinely want to improve their skills and wave count in the water. Surfing three times a day on multiple boards like Mick, along with gym and balance training, may not be an option for us working stiffs; nor is bronco busting a large Swiss Ball a safe maneuver for other than the most nimble among us. While we all don’t have the time to “Train like the Champ” (Surfer Magazine Surf Tip, May 2008), we can clearly spice up our regimes on a more stable platform like the Indo board. The only downside is the risk of falling off, which is boldly stamped into the non-skid deck grip: “Warning: Use at your own risk.” Staying on carpet and away from furniture will help avoid injuries.

The Sultan of Smooth, Rob Machado, says his personal trainer has him stand on the Indo Board with his eyes closed at the end of his workout session. Lasting only 10–20 seconds per attempt initially, after two months Machado was able to sustain his position for over three minutes—that equates to a lot of tube time with salt water in your eyes. Pros C.J. Hobgood, Shea Lopez and Sunny Garcia all used the Indo Board as a serious part of their knee rehab routines over the past few years.

Olympian Ideals

Hunter Joslin has donated equipment to several Olympic training centers and formed a close bond of friendship with backstroke Olympic gold medalist and world champion swimmer Aaron Peirsol. Originally from Newport Beach, California, Peirsol is not only a world class swimmer, but more importantly a surfer. As a swimmer-surfer himself, Hunter could relate on many levels to the gifted athlete and recommended the Indo Board to Peirsol’s trainer. Peirsol found it made his kick-turns more explosive in a sport where hundredths of a second separate gold from silver and bronze.

Even the elite CrossFit training craze for hardened athletes has adopted the Indo Board as part of their non-regime. Variety is the name of the game for this ultra-intense combat-style training program, which relies on strength and conditioning at its core to challenge participants at all levels and scrupulously avoid the routine. If you care to try inverted push-ups, the clean-and-jerk, or truck tire hoist on an Indo Board, watch this video (These people clearly have a lot of time on their hands and probably no children.).

Wiindo into the Future

The electronics and gaming industry is taking notice of the balance trend, with Nintendo offering a highly in-demand Fit and Balance Board trainer version of its popular Wii game, designed to entertain players and get them moving at the same time.

Early reviews have been mixed, with the set-up aimed at a weight-loss program of body mass indices and charting goals, along with a limited game selection outside of imitating your personal Mii trainer in a cyber gym or yoga studio. Sure you can virtual hula-hoop, snowboard or head soccer balls… if you like that sort of thing. These exercises may have spawned a whole new genre of YouTube demonstration videos that may improve your Internet surfing, but won’t get you more cred in the line-up.

For the great hoards of the landlocked unfit, the Wii may be an ideal solution, but for more serious athletes and surfers the flat balance pad that resembles a bathroom weight scale doesn’t seem to offer sufficient challenge. With that in mind, perhaps Nintendo will enlist “Balance Sensei Joslin” to help develop the next-generation Kelly Slater Pro Surfer version of the Wii series? Can you picture a Wii board floating on top of an IndoFlow cushion or roller, while riding a simulation of the world’s best breaks? Some Indo fans can and have already taken a small step that direction by playing video games while balancing on the Indo Board.

Until that time, take your land training to the next level with surf-specific exercises that emphasize core fitness, explosive strength, flexibility, and the most important and often overlooked element in surfing… balance.

Mike Wallace has surfed for over two decades on the East and West coasts, Hawaii, Europe and NorCal. Currently a resident of Moss Beach with his family of four, he can often be found haunting the beaches south of Devil’s Slide in search of the perfect sandbar with his blind dog, Moose. Comments? Mike(at)surfpulse.com