John John Florence tries to stay ahead of the incoming tidal surge in large surf in France; all images are video screen grabs
Kids at the beach do it almost every day: charge down the sand with the receding water, and back up the sand as quickly as possible, trying to stay ahead of the incoming surge.
But John John Florence, the world’s eighth-ranked professional surfer, has taken this playful art to an extreme level.
//www.youtube.com/embed/BM6YXWnSVbM?feature=player_detailpage
The surfer’s new workout was invented after he had discovered that he left his workout materials at home.
Florence, during some down time before the start of the Quiksilver Pro in France, thought, along with his trainer, that this would be a fun way to build strength in his legs.
But this was hardly child’s play. The shore pound creating the surge was ominous-looking and powerful enough to treat even the strongest humans like mere driftwood.
John John Florence: “If the wave catches you, you lose.”
John John Florence: “You always feel like you’re going somewhere, but you’re never really getting anywhere.”
Florence says in the video, “If the wave catches you, you lose. The trick is to get sucked down and run back up, and get sucked down and run back up.”
It figures that Florence, who will turn 22 in late October and is one of the youngest surfers on the Association of Surfing Professionals’ World Championship Tour, is the athlete who came up with this workout scheme.
John John Florence: “I’m sore and I’m tired.”
But it’s not as silly as it might seem. Surfers are fairly creative with their workouts, and many big-wave specialists will run with large rocks along the ocean floor, holding their breath, hoping it will help them build lung power needed during prolonged hold-downs.
But Florence, who lives on Oahu’s North Shore, is not known as a devotee of rigid workout routines, and is still trying to figure out if trying to outrun the ocean in wet sand is a worthwhile endeavor.
“You always feel like you’re going somewhere, but you’re never really getting anywhere,” he says.
He then pauses and adds, jokingly, “I’m sore and I’m tired. Come to think of it now, it’s not a very effective workout.”
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