Westport's Downunder Brings Surfing-Inspired Workouts Indoors

WESTPORT, Conn. – You can try your hand at surfing or paddle boarding and get a full body workout — all without getting wet — at Downunder Fitness & Surf, a fitness studio in Westport.

Downunder Fitness & Surf, a fitness studio in Westport, combines surfing and paddle-board moves with exercise techniques.
Photo Credit: *Vanessa Inzitari*

To simulate paddle boarding, a group of exercisers use weighted body bars during a workout at Downunder Fitness & Surf in Westport.
Photo Credit: *Vanessa Inzitari*

Downunder owner Kim Beaumont, second from left, participates in a class at Downunder Fitness & Surf.
Photo Credit: *Vanessa Inzitari*

by Vanessa Inzitari

01/18/2013 2:00 a.m.

The studio is an extension of Downunder, a full-service kayak, paddle board and surf shop in Westport and Rowayton. It offers a variety of indoor exercise classes that replicate surfing and paddle boarding.

“Our classes are designed to simulate the same kind of workout you’d get on the water,” head fitness instructor Karen Jewell said. “It’s just a fun, different way to get or stay in shape.”

The studio offers eight different classes, most of which utilize SurfSET boards — surfboard simulators affixed on three inflatable balls that help improve balance.

The studio’s most popular class is the SUPnSURF class, a program that incorporates core training, cardio and strength exercises through a mix of paddle-boarding and surfing techniques.

Another popular class is CORfit Classic, which simulates the paddle-boarding experience. Less intensive than the SUPnSURF, this class is a mix of balance, coordination, core, and upper and lower body exercise.

To help make the paddle-boarding experience more authentic, a weighted body bar is incorporated into some of the workouts to simulate the resistance felt paddling out on the water, Jewell said.

For beginners, people recovering from an injury or people who are new to fitness programs, Downunder Fitness & Surf has an Easy Does It class that focuses on core strengthening and balance.

For more experienced exercisers, there's the SUPnSURF Intense class, a shorter but more intense version of the regular SUPnSURF class.

There's also a SurfSET Yoga class, and classes for teens and kids 8 and up.

“From kids, seniors and first-time exercises to serious athletes and everyone in between, we have classes for everybody,” said Kim Beaumont, owner of Downunder.

The studio also hosts surf birthday parties where kids ages 6 and up can learn basic surfing and paddle-boarding skills, and play a variety of games.

Downunder Fitness & Surf shares a space with the Westport Dance Studio, located at 15 Ketchum St. Newcomers will get their first class for free. For more information about classes and prices, visit the Downunder Fitness & Surf website, the studio's Facebook page, or call 203-956-6217.

Click here to follow Daily Voice Westport and receive free news updates.