5 Key Surf Mobility Drills to Unlock Your Surfing

Written by Jon Addison, Performance Coach

Jon Addison is a specialist in surf and snow sports performance. As the founder of Mtnwave Fitness, he provides tailored online fitness coaching for ocean and mountain sports, in addition to organizing adventure coaching tours that integrate his rider-focused training with incredible surf and snow experiences.

Surfing is all about fluid movement. From the rhythmic strokes of paddling to the grace of a smooth pop-up, then the compression, extension, and rotation as you carve through turns, your ability to move freely decides how well you perform in the water.

But when your shoulders are stiff, your hips feel locked, or your spine won’t rotate smoothly, everything feels harder. Paddling becomes heavy, pop-ups get delayed, and your surfing looks restricted instead of effortless.

That’s where mobility comes in. True mobility isn’t just about stretching. It is about training your joints and muscles to move through greater ranges of motion with strength, stability, and control. Build this kind of freedom, and your surfing transforms. You paddle with less effort, glide to your feet, and flow through maneuvers with power and style.

My story: Unlocking flow through mobility

My relationship with mobility isn’t just theory, it comes from personal experience. Years ago, I suffered a fracture dislocation of my ankle in a skateboarding accident. On top of that, I dealt with tight hips after an abdominal operation and years of prolonged desk work. The result was a body that felt restricted, with stiff hips and a limited squat pattern that carried over into my surfing.

What changed everything was making mobility a non-negotiable part of my training. Regular hip mobility drills and low back mobility work restored my ability to move fluidly, which made a huge difference to my pop-up and overall movement on the board. By focusing on targeted ankle drills, I rebuilt stability and range of motion in my lower body, which improved my squat pattern, strengthened my surf stance, and allowed me to get low when I needed to drive through turns or tuck into cover-ups under the lip.

Mobility work hasn’t just freed up my joints. It has given me longevity in surfing and the ability to ride with flow, confidence, and style for years to come.

1. Free your shoulders and spine for pain-free paddling

Your shoulders and thoracic spine are the engine room of paddling. When they’re stiff or locked up, every stroke demands more energy, and fatigue sets in faster. Limited mobility here also increases the risk of neck and shoulder pain that can cut sessions short.

Think of surfing as running a marathon powered almost entirely by your arms if your shoulders are stuck in a closed position because your spine is rounded forward, every paddle stroke grinds through poor mechanics, thousands of reps that wear you down. On top of that, your back and neck get cranked back in isolation instead of your whole spine extending evenly to share the load, which quickly leads to compression, strain, and fatigue.

But if your back extends freely, allowing your shoulders to sit open in a stronger, pulled-back posture, the shoulder ball-and-socket joint can rotate without restriction, your neck is decompressed, and you get a healthier, more efficient paddle stroke that saves energy and reduces pain.

The fix is simple mobility work. Shoulder, neck, and spinal CARs (controlled articular rotations), side-lying shoulder clocks, segmental cat-cow, and thoracic spine rotations keep the joints moving smoothly, restore lost range of motion, and build strength and control through that range.

Freeing up your shoulders and spine makes paddling lighter, more efficient, and less painful. You’ll last longer in the water, recover faster between efforts, and protect yourself from the nagging aches surfers often carry.

2. Open up your hips for no-hang-up pop-ups

Tight hips are one of the biggest barriers to a fast, fluid pop-up. If your hips don’t open, flex, and rotate freely, the transition from prone to standing becomes clunky and delayed, often leaving you hung up halfway or a step behind the wave. Hours of sitting, driving, desk work, or even the constant hip flexion of sitting on your board waiting for waves only add to the restriction.

Mobility drills like 90/90 transitions, front-foot-elevated lunges, hip flexor openers, hip CARs, and half-kneeling stretch combos restore freedom in your hips, making it easier to drive your front knee through to your chest and plant your foot in a balanced position. These movements also build stability in low positions, so you can compress and extend through your surf stance, stay relaxed, and drop low when the wave hollows out.

Open hips mean faster, cleaner pop-ups and more freedom once you’re riding. No hang-ups, no hesitations, just smooth, powerful transitions from paddling to performance.

3. Unlock your surf stance with healthy ankles and knees

Your ankles and knees work together as the shock absorbers of surfing. When either joint is stiff or restricted, you’re forced to flex at the lower back instead of through the lower body. That restriction limits your stance, throws off your balance, and reduces your ability to adapt to the wave. In barrels or tight, critical turns, poor ankle or knee mobility can be the difference between holding your line and getting clipped.

Drills like banded plantar flexions, deep squat dorsiflexion isometrics, full-range calf raises, and targeted ankle CARs and FRC work help restore mobility while also building strength and control. Pair this with knee-friendly stability work such as step-downs, clock lunges, split squats, single-leg hip hinges, and knee CARs to bulletproof the joints and support your stance.

With mobile ankles and healthy knees, you can sink deeper into your stance, absorb impact more effectively, and stay sure-footed in the heaviest, most demanding sections of the wave.

4. Put it all together with dynamic flow drills

Mobility isn’t just about opening joints. You also need the strength and posture to support that new range. For surfers, that means building upper-body posterior strength to maintain a strong paddle position, plus soft-tissue release and long-hold stretches in the lower body to keep the hips, knees, and ankles open and resilient. This foundation lets you move freely without collapsing under fatigue.

Once that base is in place, it is time to test it. Dynamic mobility flows are a fun and challenging way to link everything together, teaching your body to move as one fluid system instead of isolated parts. Movements like surf pop-ups, lateral and rotational lunge variations, 90/90 transitions into hip openers, and Animal Flow-style sequences connect the shoulders, spine, and hips into smooth, coordinated patterns.

By combining mobility, strength, stretching, and flows, you not only unlock better movement but also train your body to apply it where it matters most, in the surf. The result is a looser, more powerful, and more efficient style in the water, with faster pop-ups, smoother turns, and pain-free movement so you can keep going session after session.

Unlock your surfing potential with better mobility

Surfing at your best isn’t just about raw strength or endless hours in the water. If your body feels stiff and restricted, all the practice in the world won’t help you move with freedom and style.

True performance starts with mobility. When your shoulders, hips, spine, and ankles can move through their full range with strength and control, you unlock the movements surfing truly demands. Smoother paddling, faster pop-ups, deeper stances, and more fluid flow on the wave.

Whether you’re chasing barrels on your next surf trip or just building confidence in your local lineup, these five mobility drills will help you move better, surf stronger, and keep your body resilient session after session.

If you want a clear path to follow, our new 30Days/30Ways Surf Fit Series is dropping soon. It’s designed to give you practical tips and proven strategies to build the strength, endurance, and confidence you need in the surf. No guesswork, just methods that help you catch more waves, recover faster, and surf pain-free.

Click here to join our 30Days/30Ways Surf Fit Series.

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Read more from Jon Addison

Jon Addison, Performance Coach

Jon Addison is a Performance Coach, Surf and Snowboard Instructor, and former Snowboard Athlete specializing in fitness, rehab, and readiness for ocean and mountain sports. As the founder of Mtnwave Fitness, he helps athletes and enthusiasts overcome frustrations, plateaus, and pain through personalized coaching programs designed to elevate their performance. Jon’s own journey of injury recovery and sustainable fitness has fueled his commitment to helping others unlock their potential. With a focus on functional movement and sport-oriented fitness, he is dedicated to helping riders reclaim and enhance their abilities in surf and snow sports.