The big-wave legend’s 12-week course targets strength, mobility, paddle endurance and pop-up speed in 30-minute sessions, prompting a fitness renaissance among surfers who last trained in 1998

Just Press Play, Then Lie Down

NEWPORT BEACH. Big-wave surfer Shane Dorian has created a free 12-week training program for surfers, according to The Inertia’s report on Shane Dorian’s free training program. Developed specifically for surfers and hosted on the Skool platform, the course focuses on strength, mobility, paddle endurance and pop-up speed, in sessions of about thirty minutes. The program’s own description promises the things that actually help in the water, with no complicated programming, just press play and train.

Across Southern California, thousands of middle-aged surfers pressed play. Many are now lying on living room floors, staring at the ceiling and reconsidering their life choices.

The Target Market

While the program is designed for surfers of all kinds, it has struck a particular chord with a demographic that surf industry insiders refer to as the dad bod paddle-out crew: men aged forty to sixty who surfed hard in their twenties, got jobs, had kids, bought minivans and now surf on weekends with the enthusiasm of teenagers and the shoulders of retired accountants.

A Newport Beach dentist, 52, said he had started the program on Monday. Day one was mobility, he said. I discovered I do not have any. Day two was strength. I discovered I used to have some. Day three was paddle endurance. I discovered my wife filming me and sending it to the family group chat.

Why Surf Fitness Matters

Surfing looks effortless when done well, but it demands a peculiar combination of fitness. Most of a session is spent paddling, which requires shoulder and back endurance. Catching waves requires explosive power to pop up quickly. Riding waves requires balance, flexibility and leg strength. Big-wave surfing, Dorian’s speciality, adds breath-holding and the ability to survive wipeouts that would test a submarine.

For recreational surfers, training out of the water can mean more waves, fewer injuries and longer surfing lives. Many older surfers find that their biggest limitation is not technique but paddling stamina and the speed of their pop-up, which tends to slow down at roughly the same rate as their metabolism.

The Pop-Up Problem

Pop-up speed has become a particular obsession. In Southern California lineups, where waves are crowded and competition for each set is fierce, a slow pop-up can mean the difference between catching a wave and watching someone younger take it. A San Clemente surf coach said many older students had developed what she called the three-stage pop-up. First the knee, she explained. Then the other knee. Then a short prayer. By the time they stand up, the wave is in Dana Point.

The Inspiration Factor

Part of the appeal is Dorian himself. A legendary big-wave surfer known for his fearlessness in giant surf and his contributions to safety equipment, he represents the kind of surfer many weekend warriors secretly imagine themselves to be. The fact that his program is free has removed the usual excuse of cost, leaving many surfers with only their traditional excuses: work, children, the tide and a mysterious pain in the lower back that appears whenever exercise is mentioned.

A YouTuber recently documented his attempt to keep up with a professional surfer’s training regime, a video The Inertia also highlighted, and the results were humbling. Southern California surfers have watched it with a mixture of laughter and fear, recognizing themselves in every gasp.

Household Reactions

Spouses across Orange County have reported mixed feelings about the sudden fitness craze. A Laguna Niguel woman said her husband had cleared the living room to make space for his workouts. He has done the program for six days, she said. He now talks about mobility at dinner. He showed our children how to do a pop-up on the kitchen floor. He has also bought new boardshorts, a resistance band and a foam roller. So far, the only thing that has improved is his enthusiasm for buying things.

Local surf shops have spotted an opportunity. Several have begun stocking resistance bands, foam rollers and balance boards alongside wax and leashes, while one Huntington Beach shop has reportedly put up a sign reading Dorian Program Support Group, Thursdays, Free Coffee, No Judgment. Attendance has been strong, mainly because of the coffee.

The Long Game

Experts in sports medicine generally agree that structured strength and mobility training can help surfers reduce injury risk and extend their time in the water, especially as they age. Shoulder injuries, back problems and knee issues are common among long-time surfers, and a sensible program can help. The key, as with any exercise, is consistency rather than intensity, a concept that many surfers, accustomed to going all out whenever a swell arrives, find difficult.

The Last Word

At the end of week one, the Newport Beach dentist reported progress. My pop-up is faster, he said proudly. Not much faster. But I feel it. My paddling is stronger. My hamstring is angry. My wife says I am more insufferable than before. But on Saturday, I caught a wave I would have missed last month, and for one beautiful second, I felt like Shane Dorian. Then I fell off. But the second was worth it. Week two starts Monday. I have already stretched for it. Twice.