This book is about helping you move as nature intended, to move more efficiently and to maximise not only your surf performance but also your physicality for anything and everything in life. Every person is born with the same basic skeletal structure and design. We all have an optimal shoulder position which is stable, and optimal spinal posture which reduces wear and tear on joints and discs, optimal knee positions to avoid injuries and many other optimal body alignments.

In Fluid Surfer, you can learn techniques for keep each of these body areas nimble and ninja; Neck, Upper back, Shoulders, Upper Arms, Forearms and Wrists, Front of Chest, Lower Back, Hips, Front of Thigh, Back of Thigh, Inner Thigh, Outer Thigh, Knees, Lower Leg, Feet. At the beginning of each chapter, you will see a summary of why problems may arise for a particular body area, followed by a list of specific techniques covered in that chapter.

There is nothing else like this book specifically available to surfers (published in 2016 and still stands true). There are loads of fitness programs, stretching or general strength building programs targeted at surfers, but nothing that addresses the health of our body’s soft tissues and optimal movement positions. This book is individualised and allows you to access chapters based on the initial assessment page. You are provided with clear photo demonstrations, key points for exercise technique and reasons for for implementing these exercises.

If we understand the basic movements we need to surf, and learn how to perform them with correct joint positions and technique, then we are better prepared to actually get into the surf and throw our bodies into desired positions without too much thought. An example of this would be how to crouch in a barrel without blowing your back leg knee joint. With a solid body maintenance routine, you’re able to perform the imperfect movements that surfing requires, with enough movement buffer to avoid ripping muscles, popping capsules and tearing ligaments. Sounds like it could be a good idea! Just as we regularly need to eat, drink, sleep and exercise, we also need to work on improving our movement and tissue health. If you surf everyday, you’re stressing the same muscles over and over again, whilst the others are taking a break. Mobility and soft tissue work will help balance your body out and ensure that your next surf will feel easier, looser and more athletic.

“For anyone serious about body maintenance, Drielsma’s book has a section that helps you diagnose your own trouble spots and shows how to improve them with techniques that include stretching – including lunges to loosen up tight hip flexors, mobility exercises using exercise bands and small weights or the use of a simple tennis or golf ball to massage and free up tight muscles and ligaments.” – The Sydney Morning Herald. Read this Fluid Surfer review by The Sydney Morning Herald.