Ian Walsh surfs enormously big waves. It’s his job, and like any professional athlete, he trains hard for it. Training for surfing is a strange thing, though. Yeah, the best way to practice surfing is to surf, but when you need to practice surfing giant waves, it’s not like you can just head out and do it whenever you feel like it. One of the most important parts of surfing giant waves is being prepared for the inevitable wipeouts, and those wipeouts are far worse than average. Learning to hold your breath while exerting energy is extraordinarily important, so here’s what Ian Walsh does.
“Progression finding comfort in that underwater world,” he wrote. “On the third lap, I take a quick moment to soak in that urge to breathe and settle. Recognizing that the urge is definitely a bit physical, but there is also a giant mental aspect to it.”