Throughout history, humanity has always had a fascination with competition and sporting events. It’s in our DNA.  Over time the sports may have transformed from the barbaric to the civilized, but the goal has remained the same, to WIN. No matter what discipline, every great athlete aspires to be the best. So, it’s no secret that athletes look to gain an edge on their competition by training and conditioning their bodies to perform at their optimum level. Recently, athletes in the action sports trifecta of surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding have seen an advantage in this training.

While action sports may have been created by the desire to have fun, they have evolved into billion dollar industries that thrive on competition and superstars just like mainstream sports. In the past, surfers, snowboarders and skaters rolled up to the contests solo and tried their best. Nowadays, the world’s best action sports athletes have an entourage of trainers, managers, and agents that make sure their clients are firing on all cylinders. Some athletes have discovered training after career threatening injuries have left them sidelined.

With so many top action sport athletes (especially surfers) living in or near Santa Barbara, it makes sense that one of the best training programs in the world is located nearby. This program is called the Peak Performance Project, or P3. Their new action sports segment is run by trainer Andy Schmiess. Andy has been training SB’s finest pro surfers for years and is excited to be a part of the P3 team. Recently, we had a chat with Andy about training, P3, and its advantages.

What are the benefits of training programs to action sports athletes?

I think it’s safe to say that there is no argument that when properly applied, scientifically based training can improve the performance level of any athlete in any sport. For years, training has been a very integral part of all traditional power-based sports (baseball, football, basketball, etc.), but has been fairly neglected by the action sports athletes for a number of reasons.  The Peak Performance Project, over the past few years, has emerged as one of the leading training facilities for professional athletes including teams such as the Utah Jazz, New Jersey Nets, Seattle Mariners, and the United States Olympic Water Polo Team, but P3 founder Marcus Elliot and I saw a gaping need for properly applied training in the world of action sports and especially surfing.  Out of this need, the Action Sports division was born, and immediately began working with some of the top athletes in surfing, snowboarding, and even skateboarding.

Some of the biggest benefits our athletes experience are higher performance levels with a decreased risk of injury.  We accomplish this by looking at each athlete completely individually, and generalizing no part of their training program.  Each athlete begins by going through an extremely comprehensive assessment that allows us to gain an understanding of the individual’s movement patterns, strengths, weaknesses, and any muscular imbalances that are limiting performance.  Based on our observations as well as the objective assessment data, we design a program created to provide everything the professional action sports athlete needs to prepare for the highest level of performance, rehabilitation and prevention of injuries, as well as to optimize career productivity.

Who are some of the action sports athletes that you train?

We work with a really wide number of athletes, some of whom live here locally, some who come up for a couple days every few weeks, and others who travel in for a few weeks to a month to train. Yadin Nicol (Hurley), the Coffin brothers, Sage Erickson, Kilian Garland (Volcom), and the Currens are coming in today to name a few… The Nitro International Snowboard Team as well.

What is your and P3’s philosophy and approach to training programs?

Training must be completely individualized.  It would be criminal for me to design a one sized fits all “surfers workout,” and expect it to help everyone.  Parker Coffin (Volcom team rider) is obviously a much different surfer than say Kilian or Sage – Physiologically their needs are completely different.  They have different strengths, they move differently.  The first thing that we work to do is create muscular balance in our athletes while developing proper movement patterns that if left alone would leave the athlete vulnerable to injury. And again, this will look different with nearly every athlete that walks in the door.  A corrective exercise for one guy could actually reinforce an unwanted result in another.  That is why every movement, every exercise, every complex must have a purpose.  Nothing at P3, in regard to program design, is left to guesswork or chance.

What equipment do you utilize to carry out this philosophy?

P3 is very technologically advanced in regard to the type of equipment we have at our disposal.  We are actually developing some very exciting new tools that we hope to be using this year already, but in the meantime our facilities are some of the most advanced around.  We use tools such as force plates that are buried in the ground and attached to a flat screen on the wall that provides instantaneous, objective feedback as to an athlete’s force production from multiple planes.  We can look at exactly how much force Yadin is putting into the board coming down from four feet above the lip!  We use video analysis software to provide our athletes with feedback after each set to teach proper technique and chart progress.  We’re also using brain training software now where we can provide our athletes with full QEEG brain mapping as well as training to teach the brain how to respond and handle a number of stressors that are commonly faced in competition.  Pretty exciting stuff!

How is your and P3’s program different that others? 

We exist to give our athletes the best training, rehabilitation, and highest levels of performance possible.  In regard to other trainers and training programs, we don’t really look around too much. As Marcus often says, “we may not have all the answers, but we’re putting ourselves in the positions to ask all the right questions.” And as long as we’re continuing to push the envelope and move forward, we’ll continue to lead the paradigm shift in training among action sports athletes.

Even if you are not an elite action sports athlete you can still take advantage of the benefits of physical training. More stamina and strength at the surfspot, skatepark, or snow resort is just a start. See for yourself at www.p3.md

Article by:  Ryan Richardson