He may not be running up and down stairs carrying sandbags anymore or spending his morning doing vigorous stretches to train for competition, but former professional surfer Tony Moniz is still in awesome shape.

"I hear the waves out at Waimea might hit 25 feet. You bet I'm heading out there in the morning," Moniz said last week upon hearing the surf forecast.

Since he spends six hours a day on average in the water surfing or instructing, Moniz still has every bit of confidence that he can drop in on a gnarly wave like the up-and-comers.

"My job is a huge bonus for me," said Moniz, who owns Faith Surf School at the Waikiki Beach Marriott. "On a typical day, I spend three to six hours in the water paddling. If I weren't doing that, I'd definitely have to find some other way to stay fit."

Moniz recently began using the old standup paddling style of surfing when instructing students. The method, which became popular with Waikiki beachboys in the 1930s, requires Moniz to stand on a thicker board, balance and paddle, he said.

"It requires the whole body, especially the legs and mid section, to be at work," Moniz said. "A lot of guys are getting into it and finding huge results. These are surfers in their 40s and 50s who are kind of getting to the age where they're tying to keep themselves fit."

As an instructor, Moniz said, he always meets people who are amazed at what a complete workout surfing provides.

"Every day we hear from students who say, 'I didn't know it was this hard.' It requires different muscle groups to work. Just paddling a board out is a workout in itself," he said.

All of Moniz's five children — four boys and one girl — are surfers and pretty darn good ones. His wife, Tammy, also surfs, making their time in the water after work or on the weekends both a workout and quality family time.

"We never encouraged (the kids) to pick up a surfboard. It started naturally," Moniz said.

He and his wife also allowed their children to explore and learn to surf on their own, never really teaching "step one through three like we do in surf school," he said.

He does offer up his years of stored surfing wisdom, when asked, he said.

"Surfing is a gift I hoped I could share with them and they could have for the rest of their lives," he said. "It's a sport that they can do forever to keep them healthy."

When Moniz left professional surfing in 1995, he also gave up the intense training that kept him in peak shape. Back then, mornings would start with a 30-minute uphill run as a warmup, then running on stairs carrying sandbags, followed by circuit training, and finally laps in a pool.

Now he's aware of changes in his body. "I put on weight a lot faster than ever," said Moniz. "The metabolism slows down. But the good part about change would be my time in the water. It allows me to burn a lot of calories every day."

TONY MONIZ

Good foods/bad foods: "I have my meat and potatoes all the time because I just love to eat," Moniz said. "Of course, I have my desserts here and there, but I have an understanding that moderation helps."

Biggest motivator: "Being able to keep up with my kids," he said. "I'd love to surf with them out at Waimea or Sunset Beach. It's getting real close. The older one is 15, and he's getting ready to go out there and start surfing the bigger waves."

Biggest roadblock to fitness: Running Faith Riding Company. "It takes a lot of energy."

Fitness goal: Add deep stretching or yoga back into the routine.

Advice: "For people who don't like running, don't like going to the gym, if they need something to keep themselves in shape, go paddle a surfboard."

SURFING PRIMER

Surfing has a long learning curve, says former pro surfer Tony Moniz, and it requires determination and commitment.

Certainly the easiest way is with an instructor. "With us, you'll be on a wave first time out," Moniz said.

But if you're not willing to pay for a lesson, he offers tips: