Characterization of Activity and Cardiovascular Responses During Surfing in Recreational Male Surfers Between the Ages of 18 and 75 Years Old

Abstract

Participation in surfing has evolved to include all age groups. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether activity levels and cardiovascular responses to surfing change with age. Surfing time and heart rate (HR) were measured for the total surfing session and within each activity of surfing (paddling, sitting, wave riding, and miscellaneous). Peak oxygen consumption (VO) was also measured during laboratory-based simulated surfboard paddling on a modified swim bench ergometer. VO decreased with age during simulated paddling (r = -.455, p < .001, n = 68). Total time surfing (p = .837) and time spent within each activity of surfing did not differ with age (n = 160). Mean HR during surfing significantly decreased with age (r = -.231, p = .004). However, surfing HR expressed as a percent of age-predicted maximum increased significantly with age. Therefore, recreational surfers across the age spectrum are achieving intensities and durations that are consistent with guidelines for cardiovascular health.

Characterization of Heart Rate Response During Frontside and Backside Wave Riding in an Artificial Wave Pool

“…[2-3, 6-7, 10] Specifically, average heart rates during wave riding have been reported to range between 140 and 150 bpm in recreational surfers. [2,[6][7] Interestingly, average heart rate during wave riding in the current study was 174.1 ± 12.6 bpm, or approximately 85% of the age predicted max HR. One can speculate that these reported differences between average heart rates during wave riding in the ocean and artificial wave pool are likely the result of increased wave riding duration in the wave pool (33.2 ± 8.4 seconds) compared to those previously reported in the ocean (5 and 14-seconds).…”

“…Several studies have described physical activity that occurs during a typical surfing session, yet much remains unknown regarding a surfer's physiological response to wave riding itself. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] This is due, in large part, to the unique challenges associated with making measurements in the ocean. Surfing occurs in an environment that is inherently complex and unpredictable; storms, swell direction, wind, bottom contour, and tide are all factors that impact the shape of each wave.…”

“…Average wave ride duration in the ocean has been reported to be between 5 and 14 seconds per wave, and observational data collected in the field suggests that wave riding constitutes approximately 5 percent of the total time spent surfing. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Recently, an artificial wave pool was developed that generates repeatable, high-quality waves, with durations of up to one minute (The Kelly Slater Wave Pool). [9] The wave generated by this technology travels in both directions in the pool, which allows a similar wave to be ridden both frontside (facing the wave) or backside (back to the wave).…”

“…However, these data should be interpreted with caution since the majority of studies sampled heart rate at a frequency (5 to 15 seconds) that was lower than the duration of the wave ride. [2,6,7,10] Currently, no data exist with sufficient time resolution and wave duration to thoroughly characterize the kinetics of the heart rate response during wave riding. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to characterize the heart rate response of surfers performing frontside and backside wave riding in the Kelly Slater Wave Pool.…”

Skin Temperatures in Females Wearing a 2 mm Wetsuit during Surfing

“…Surfing presents a unique challenge to thermoregulation when compared to other aquatic sports because various regions of the body interact with the water at differing degrees across the surf session. During an average surf session, the recreational surfer spends only 4–8% of the time wave riding, while 44–58% and 28–42% is spent paddling and stationary in the water, respectively [1,2,13,14,15,16]. These behaviors lead to inconsistent rates of convective heat loss through both water and air.…”