Surf Guide • Famara since 2010 Watch any lesson at Famara and the pattern is the same: the first forty minutes are full of energy, then the arms go, the take-offs get late, and the last half hour is spent sitting on the board watching good waves go past. Nobody runs out of technique. They run out of shoulders. The good news is that surfing fitness is narrow and specific. You do not need to be an athlete; you need a paddling engine, a clean pop-up and enough calm to sit under two waves without panicking. This page covers exactly those three, plus a six-week plan you can start from your living room. Lessons every day of the year in Famara since 2010 · usually up to 5 students per instructor · video analysis on 4-hour courses · lessons in English and Spanish · 4.8 Google · 4.9 Tripadvisor Surf lesson 2 h from €50 · 4 h from €70 · Surf Camp with accommodation from €229 / 3 nights Everything below can be done at home or in a pool, with no gym membership. Two sessions a week is enough to feel the difference by the time you land in Lanzarote. A realistic build-up for someone who currently does nothing. If you already train, compress it to three weeks and add load instead. None of this replaces time on a board. Two weeks of lessons will do more for your surfing than two months in a gym — see the lessons, or come for a full week at the Famara surf camp where you are in the water twice a day. A beginner hold-down at Famara lasts three to six seconds. It feels like twenty because of adrenaline, and that is the real problem: panic burns oxygen far faster than the wave holds you down. What helps is knowing the routine — relax, protect your head with your arms, let the turbulence pass, then follow your leash up. Calm breathing on land helps: a few minutes of slow nasal breathing, four seconds in and six out, before a session settles the heart rate and carries over into the water. One safety rule, and it is absolute: never practise breath holds in water on your own, and never hyperventilate before one. Static apnea training causes blackouts without warning, and a blackout in a pool or in the sea alone is fatal. Breath work on dry land, sitting down, is the only version worth doing unsupervised. Long paddles, and a lot of them. The waves break far out on the sand, the beach is six kilometres of walking with a board under your arm, and the wind picks up through the afternoon so the surface gets choppy just as you are getting tired. Add a wetsuit you are not used to and a board bigger than anything you have carried before. Practical consequences: train the swim, not the bench press. Bring reef boots or sandals for the walk. And book a morning session — the sea is glassy, the paddle is easier and you will surf twice as long as you would at four in the afternoon. Conditions month by month are in the Lanzarote spot guide. One more lever that costs nothing: ride enough board. Volume does more for your wave count than fitness ever will — choosing your surfboard has the numbers. Coming with an injury, a long gap from sport or any condition your doctor keeps an eye on? Tell us when you book. We run small groups and adapt the session — the beginner course starts in waist-deep whitewater and nobody is pushed past what they can do. I spent about a week taking surf lessons! I have nothing but positive things to say about this experience! The instructors are very patient and knowledgeable, they're right there with you in the water, they give you real-time feedback, and they support you every step of the way to give you the best advice! The instructors are very kind and always have a smile on their faces. I highly recommend them; you'll leave with a smile! 3rd visit here, this time for the kids. Great lessons again from people who teach well. Sent my son on the intermediate lessons, had him taking off in some big swell, huge boost to confidence Excellent service from the lady who works there! We rented boards and the experience was fantastic!! Definitely recommend to anyone who is visiting! What an amazing and unforgettable experience\! 🌊🏄♂️ My 9\-year\-old son took just two surfing lessons, and we were absolutely thrilled with the results\! The instructor was incredibly friendly, patient, encouraging, and supportive\. He really helped my son build his confidence, and after only two lessons, he managed to surf on his own\! Absolutely amazing\! I highly recommend booking a lesson here, especially for children\. Thank you so much for this wonderful experience and the beautiful memories\. We will definitely be back\! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Absolutely perfect experience for my 10 year old son and 14 year old nephew. They learned a lot and had a wonderful time. Everyone at Red Star is great to interact with, and the instructors are great with kids. We will definitely be back for more lessons in the future. Highly recommend! The guys at RSS gave us a great week of surfing and fun in Famara. We were a group of 8 people, staying in their accomodation and taking the half day and full day surf lessons in their school. They divide everyone into groups based on their level and give so much attention to everyone. The progression can really be felt each day. Amazing team !!!! Thank you so much for the amazing surf lesson! It was my very first time surfing, and I had such a great experience. You made us feel welcome and helped us enjoy every moment. We’ll definitely remember it! 🌊🏄 We had such a great experience today! My sister and I took a surf lesson and absolutely loved it. The instructors were super friendly, patient and really good at explaining everything. We felt very comfortable and had so much fun during the lesson. We would definitely recommend this surf school to anyone looking for a fun and enjoyable surf experience! "The teachers are very nice, there is good teaching methodology that respects everyone's pace and there's no pressure. Thank you very much to Mariano for his good mood and for allowing me to finish the courses on a success. I can't wait to come back." We booked on to a two day course and could not fault the quality of the instructors across the days we were there. You cannot fault the scenary when out surfing with Famara cliffs in the background! We really appreciated the community vibes this surf school had created which made our trip highly memorable. We had a 2-hour lesson with the Red Star Surf guys on Friday and it was fantastic! We were surfing for the first time and the guys did a great job of getting us up on the boards and going on our first day. They were also very safety conscious. Would definitely go to them again. No. Beginners spend their first sessions in waist-deep whitewater where the instructor pushes the board, and that is genuinely accessible to almost anyone. Fitness decides how long your session lasts and how fast you progress, not whether you can start. Swimming front crawl. It trains the same muscles in the same plane with the same breathing pattern as paddling, and nothing else on land comes close. Six weeks is comfortable, three weeks makes a visible difference, and two sessions a week is enough. Starting the week before mostly produces sore shoulders on day one. Usually position rather than strength: hips too far back, chest not lifted, arms pulling wide instead of close to the rail. An instructor fixes this in one session, and it is worth more than a month of push-ups. Very. It covers the hip and ankle mobility that makes the pop-up easy and the shoulder range that keeps paddling efficient. Balance work helps too. Yes, and we teach that group every week. Use a bigger board, pick smaller days, take longer breaks, and build the paddling base beforehand. The limiting factor is almost always shoulder endurance, which trains at any age. Choosing Your Surfboard · Surfing Etiquette · Surf Slang & Terms · Surfing Lanzarote
Fitness for SurfingPaddling · Pop-up · Breath
Surfing is ninety per cent paddling — train for that
The wave is the reward. The work is the paddle out.
Ready to try it in the water?
What surfing actually demands of your body
In the water
What it uses
Why it runs out
Paddling out and into waves
Lats, shoulders, upper back, and the endurance to repeat the motion for hours
It is 90 % of your session. Untrained shoulders fatigue in under an hour, and a tired paddler is always a late paddler.
The pop-up
Chest, triceps, core, and hip and ankle mobility
It is one explosive push repeated dozens of times. Stiff hips turn it into a slow crawl to your feet, and slow means the wave has gone.
Duck dives and pushing through whitewater
Full-body strength and timing
Every failed duck dive sends you backwards and costs another paddle. On a big day this is where most energy disappears.
Staying out for two hours
Aerobic base
Without it your heart rate never comes back down between sets and everything else degrades.
Wipeouts and hold-downs
Breath control and the ability to stay calm
Panic burns oxygen faster than the hold-down does. Calm is trainable.
Balance and board feel
Ankles, hips, small stabilisers
This is what makes the difference between standing up and actually riding.
The five exercises that transfer straight into the water
Exercise
How to do it
What it buys you
Front crawl swimming
Start at 20 minutes of easy laps, twice a week, and build to 40. Breathe every third stroke.
The closest thing on land to paddling: the same muscles, the same rhythm, the same breathing pattern.
Prone paddling holds
Lie face down on the floor, lift chest and legs, arms extended forward. Hold 20–30 seconds, 4 rounds.
The lower back and shoulder position you hold for two hours on a board. This is why beginners get sore backs, not sore arms.
Pop-up practice
On a towel on the floor: paddle three strokes, push up, jump both feet under you in one movement. 10 reps, 3 sets, slowly and correctly.
Speed and shape of your take-off. Repetition on land is free; repetition in the water costs you waves.
Push-ups
3 sets of as many clean reps as you manage, twice a week. Knees down is fine to start.
The push half of the pop-up, plus the strength to hold your board in shore break.
Hip and ankle mobility
Deep squat hold, hip flexor stretch, ankle rocks. Ten minutes on non-training days.
A low, stable stance. Most “bad balance” is actually stiff hips.
Six weeks to arrive ready
Week
Cardio
Strength
Mobility
1–2
Swim 20 min ×2, or brisk walk or cycle 30 min ×2
Push-ups and prone holds ×2 sessions
10 min, 3 days
3–4
Swim 30 min ×2, with 6 × 50 m harder efforts
Add pop-up practice, 3 sets ×2 sessions
10 min, 4 days
5–6
Swim 35–40 min ×2, keep the intervals
Same, but slower and cleaner reps — quality now, not volume
10 min, daily
Travel week
One easy swim
One light session, nothing heavy
Daily, especially hips
Breath and calm under water
What Famara asks for specifically
Relaxed atmosphere, good waves and a really good time. Thanks to the entire team, we'll be coming back soon!🤙☀️🌊
Unbelievable spot !!!
Wonderful housing in the beach house !
A treasure !
Want to come back asap to learn more from Gerry, Umberto et Mariano !
Best classes ever !
Will never forget : Stance ! Balance!
Positioning ! Timing ! Looking where I wanna go !
Gerry, I swear I won’t lie to myself
Thanks mates
See you soonFrequently asked questions
Do I need to be fit to learn to surf?
Which single exercise helps most?
How long before a surf trip should I start training?
Why do my arms burn so fast when paddling?
Is yoga useful for surfing?
I am over fifty — is surfing realistic?
Continue the guide
Written by local instructorsUpdated September 2026
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