If you want to surf giant waves, you need to be able to hold your breath, and international big wave surfer Billy Kemper explains the best way he knows how to practice a skill perhaps most famously depicted in a scene from the 2002 theatrical release ‘Blue Crush' -- underwater rock running.
"When I'm working on my lung capacity, my first go-to is running rocks underwater. It's been passed on for generations," Kemper says. Trust him, it's legit.
Competitors must strap a weighted bag to a lifeguard buoy then race underwater from the shore out to a portion of the basin that is over 10-feet deep, circle around a floating marker that is anchored to the bottom, and then back again. First team to cross the finish line buoy and weight in hand wins.
But you didn't think it was going to be that simple, did you? Just as he's about to sound the starting buzzer, host Jessie Palmer let's them know they might want to make it to the first marker before a wave which has just been generated by the hydrofoil takes them out. This simulates a heavy water lineup, where not only are you fighting against your own physical limitations, you're also dealing with mother nature in one of her most furious moods.