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How many calories burned surfing?

Author

James Craig

Published Jan 11, 2026

Surfing – up to 250 calories per hour

Popping up on the surfboard and the actual riding will hit your core and leg muscles (hamstrings, quads, glutes). A 130-lbs person will burn 180 calories surfing for one hour. A 175-lbs person will burn 240 calories per hour.

How many calories does 30 minutes of surfing burn?

30 minutes of Surfing burns 249 kcal.

Is surfing good for weight loss?

While “losing weight” may be a misnomer since muscle is heavier than fat, surfing will definitely help you burn fat and excess calories. The average surfer burns 400 calories an hour while surfing. Since surfing is so fun, you're likely to spend more time doing it opposed to other grueling or boring forms of exercise.

Is surfing good exercise?

As well as building muscle strength in your upper body and legs, the cross-training effect of surfing is a brilliant workout for your core, making it a full body workout. A lot of surf research suggests we use our trapezius, rectus abdominis, latissimus dorsi, obliques, triceps, biceps and deltoids.

Does playing in ocean waves burn calories?

Hit the waves

You don't have to embark on a strenuous ocean swim in order to burn calories. The simple act of being in the water, fighting the waves, is a great way to work your muscles. You can burn up to 400 calories in an hour of working against the ocean's currents.

43 related questions found

How many calories do you burn swimming in the ocean for an hour?

Burning Calories at the Beach in the Water

Swimming – This is a strong exercise that will give you a calorie burn rate of about 410 calories per hour.

Does swimming in the ocean burn more calories?

Even just leisurely swimming around the ocean for an hour can burn more than 300 calories. But add in some wave jumping and you can really boost that number. An hour of kayaking will help you build upper body strength while also burning 272 calories per hour. Boogie boarding can burn close to 140 calories.

Why are surfers so ripped?

Surfers get lean for many reasons. It is a combination of aerobic and resistance training work outs. Aerobics use fatty acids for fuel and recovery from intense muscle use also incorporates fatty acids for restoring energy, repairing, and rebuilding muscle.

Is surfing considered HIIT?

By nature of the demands of surfing, the surfer is also then performing many minutes of high-intensity sprint paddling (~5 min/h of high to sprint intensity paddling). That is, in essence, quite a lot of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) happening before we practitioners come in and 'intervene'.

Why do surfers have abs?

Each time a surfer stands up they're basically doing a push up. Going even further, really talented surfers will build muscle in their core and thighs while they're on a wave. The constant pumping up and down the wave engages these muscles by contracting and expanding the limbs.

Why are surfers so healthy?

Surfing provides many health benefits including: cardiovascular fitness – from paddling. shoulder and back strength – these muscles will strengthen from the paddling. leg and core strength – once you're standing up on the board, strong legs and a strong core will keep you up.

Are surfers happy?

Surfers release a lot of adrenaline and endorphins while they are riding the waves. These hormones cause an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. A surge of adrenaline makes you feel very alive. Endorphins resemble opiates in their chemical structure and have analgesic properties.

Can surfers be fat?

Yes, they can! Not only can fat people surf but some fat surfers like Jimbo Pellegrine, Shawn Briley and James Mitchell have been the best to ever do it. Fat people may have a steeper learning curve and benefit from a larger board but can certainly still learn to surf.

How many calories does 2 hours surfing burn?

TL/DR: Surfing in small or relaxed waves = about 250 calories per hour. Stand up paddling in small waves = about 300 to 450 calories per hour. Surfing in good waves = about 400 calories per hour.

How do I get a surfer body?

Click through to see our full five-step workout for building the ultimate surfer's body (without actually having to surf).

  1. Knee-to-Chest Burpee. Stand straight, arms at your sides. ...
  2. Plank With Diagonals. Begin in a push-up position, elbows on the ground. ...
  3. Spider-Man Push-up. ...
  4. Extended Side Angle. ...
  5. Single-Leg Squat.

How many calories does wake surfing burn?

The number of calories burned per hour-long session depends on the effort exerted. Someone simply coasting could burn as little as 150 to 200 calories a session, while those consistently executing a line-up of tricks could burn from 500 to 1,000 calories in the same period.

How can I get surf fit faster?

Here are the best surfer exercises you can do to improve your fitness and endurance.

  1. Chin-ups. Getting up on a surfboard and keeping your balance has more to do with your upper body than you might think. ...
  2. Front squats. ...
  3. Running exercises. ...
  4. Pushups. ...
  5. Mobility drills. ...
  6. Dumbbell drills. ...
  7. Planking.

Why do surfers get blonde hair?

The hair of surfers is often damaged and bleached, brought about by frequent exposure to sunlight, humidity and salty water. Blonder or red headed individuals tend to be more affected, given that their pheomelanin is more sensitive.

Is surfing considered cardio?

In addition to providing a good cardio workout (try paddling over waves and see how hard your heart pounds), surfing is a whole-body workout. Murphy says that paddling mostly works the upper back muscles and the deltoids (shoulder muscles).

Do surfers have good bodies?

A professional surfer is lean without looking weak, and muscular without the bulk. Sharp muscle lines are perfectly symmetrical, and overall body balance creates that enviable athletic physique. Paddling builds shoulder definition, strengthens the lower back muscles, and increases cardiovascular fitness.

What sport burns the most calories?

Running and Cycling

Running statistics show a pace of 10 mph burns the most calories per hour, according to Harvard Health Publishing. Similarly, cycling statistics show biking at 20 mph is your best bet for calorie burn. A 185-pound person burns 1,466 calories, while a 125-pound person burns 990 calories per hour.

Which swimming stroke burns most calories?

“The butterfly stroke is the most demanding, working the entire body and will burn the most calories,” says Hickey.

How many laps do you have to swim to burn 500 calories?

Let's work out how many calories you burn with each length of the swimming pool. The average breaststroke swimmer swims some 30 laps (of a 50-metre pool) in an hour. One hour of swimming breaststroke burns approximately 500 calories (see the above table), so: 500 / 30 = 17 calories (kcal) per lap.

Does swimming burn belly fat?

However, it should be noted that regular swimming doesn't specifically target belly fat. Rather, it burns any excess fat that your body has reserved for energy, regardless of whether this fat is located on your stomach, hips, thighs, or other parts of your body.

Is swimming better than running?

Swimming is better than running for cardiovascular exercise because there is greater resistance in water than in the air. Both are forms of aerobic exercise (increasing your heart rate and promoting better cardiovascular health), but it takes more effort to kick in water than to take a step while running.