202 Magazine September 2013 Edition September 2013 | Page 48

/ 202 FITNESS / living well
Written by wu Emily Johnson

Surfs Up! Arizona
Get a Surfer’s Body in the Desert

If you’re anything like me, Shark Week has made you swear off ever dipping your toes into the salty ocean waters—even if you could get a

...the “ board forces you to balance and engage more muscles.” —Heidi Paley
good workout from it. Surfing, as you could imagine, is one of the best workouts, as it engages your entire core while you maintain balance against turbulent waves. Now, thanks to a new fitness craze, eventhough we don’t have shark-infested seas in Arizona, you can still get that killer surfer’s body with surfer moves like, “bop To learn more, go to SurfFitArizona.com. the shark on the head” and “shark kick.” These are moves SurfFit Arizona Master Instructor Heidi Paley uses to engage her students in a fun, 45-minute fat burning session, but on dry land! The unique surf board used in the class intensifies basic fitness moves like squats, lunges and jumps. “On one
48 202 MAGAZINE / SEPTEMBER 2013 / 202magazine.com

apparatus you can work everything,” says Paley. “By incorporating the board it forces you to balance and engage more muscles,” she adds. “By engaging your muscles in this way it tones and gives you a long and lean surfers body.” You definitely feel it the next day, I know I did. Not only do students benefit from the intensity but the class is engaging and enjoyable. “I hate running so coming to a class that’s fun where I can focus on the moves is a great way for me to get a workout in,” one student tells me, as I test out my first class at Marlborough Mesa Park in Mesa. And, eventhough we’re no where near the ocean, Paley makes you feel as if you’re genuinely at the beach with funky moves called, “rock jumps,” “starfish” and “hot sand.” The workout will not only make you sweat but you’ll feel like a Baywatch babe in the making! The surfing class, which was the brainchild of SurfSet Fitness Founder Mike Hartwick, can be modified to cater to anyone’s fitness level and goals. “Any shape, any size can do SurfSet,

8