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Breathing Exercises for Surfing

The breath that matters most in surfing is the one you do not get: the hold-down after a wipeout. Staying calm underwater for a few seconds longer, without panic, is a skill you can build on land and take into the water.

Safety first

Breath-hold drills here are for dry land or a supervised pool only. Never practise breath holds or the breathe-up alone in open water, and never hyperventilate before going under — shallow-water blackout gives no warning.

How to use them

Train CO2 Tolerance Hold and the Hypoxic Swim Ladder on land to make the urge to breathe less alarming. The slow Freedive Prep Breathe-Up is useful before paddling out into bigger sets. Keep breath holds on the beach or in your living room, and in the water focus on relaxing during a hold-down rather than fighting it.

New to this? Start with CO2 Tolerance Hold: Extend breath-hold for swimming, freediving and combat sport.

Every day: build the base

Train daily, away from the action.

• CO2 Tolerance Hold — Extend breath-hold for swimming, freediving and combat sport.
• Wim Hof Style Breathing — 30 deep breaths followed by a retention. Energising and resilient.
• Hypoxic Swim Ladder — Stroke-timed holds that train relaxed swimming on less air.

Game day: before and between efforts

Before and between efforts.

• Freedive Prep Breathe-Up — Slow, long exhales to prepare for a single deep breath-hold.

Get the app

dubchi is free in the browser at dubchi.com (it installs as an app and works offline) and on Android, on Google Play. No account is needed to practise.

Other sports

Breathing Exercises for Swimming · Breathing Exercises for Freediving · Breathing Exercises for Running · Breathing Exercises for Trail Running · Breathing Exercises for Cycling · Breathing Exercises for Triathlon · Breathing Exercises for Rowing · Breathing Exercises for Weightlifting · all sports

General information about breathing practices, not medical or coaching advice.