The Red Bulletin EN

SURFING/CAROLINE MARKS
GET GREAT
AT PADDLING
“I have to be in great
paddling shape, and you
can’t get that unless you
surf a lot. If it’s flat, I find
it’s super good to bring
out a bigger board and
go for a long paddle.
That helps me stay in
paddle shape.”
SPEED
“I do tonnes
of footwork to
keep me fast”
MENTAL FOCUS
“I have to be
ready to go with
the flow”
PAT NOLAN/RED BULL CONTENT POOL, JONAS JUNGBLUT/RED BULL CONTENT POOL JEN SEE
American surfer
Caroline Marks must
be ready for anything
each time she paddles
out for a 30-minute
contest heat
“Ideally, I surf and do gym work
each day – that’s where I work
on balance and fitness. Let’s
say I’m going to a long-point
break like Jeffreys Bay, South
Africa. I have to make the last
turn as strong as the first turn.
It’s really hard to do, because
my legs get tired. Sometimes,
I have to surf four heats in a
day, and I obviously can’t just
stop. There’s a big agility ladder
at my gym and I try to keep
my feet going as fast as I can.
I want to keep my heart rate
up as long as possible. It’s a lot
of fast-twitch motions, too.”
NUTRITION
“I pretty much
eat whatever
I want to eat”
“I just did some tests with Red
Bull, because I want to learn
more about what I should eat. If
I eat something in the morning
and I win, then I’ll eat that again.
Avocado toast is my go-to in the
morning right now. I just do a
piece of organic toast, avocado,
salt and pepper and cherry
tomatoes. I definitely bring
snacks like trail mix and protein
bars everywhere I go. I don’t
have set things I have to have. If
I really want avocado and turkey
on a rice cake, I’ll have that.”
“A lot of the most important
work is done before the contest
even starts, but I also don’t
like to over-think things and
I always try to keep it simple.
As a surfer, it’s hard to make
a game plan, because you
never know how the waves are
going to be. I have to be on it
even when I’m fatigued during
a heat. At the gym, I stand on
a balance ball on one leg. My
trainer will throw a medicine
ball to me and I have to catch
it one-handed. He doesn’t tell
me which side he’s throwing
to – it’s super random.”
FLEXIBILITY
“I have to make
sure to stretch
every day”
“I try to surf four hours a day
minimum – it’s a really good
work-out that makes you use
your whole body constantly.
I stand really low on my board
and I’m always using my legs.
They get tight, but fortunately
rolling out [my muscles] with
the foam roller helps. I’m still
young and I don’t feel pain or
anything, but I want to avoid
that. Being flexible also makes
my turns better. I stretch my
whole body and use the roller
just about everywhere.”
THE RED BULLETIN 33