Winter snowboarding is a thrilling sport to brave the winter weather for, but with most ski resorts and outdoor snow parks closed due to the pandemic, it can be difficult to find ways to stay active. But luckily, there are plenty of exercises out there specifically designed to prep your body for your next snowboarding adventure. Here, we present our guide to the top best exercises for snowboarding to do at home.
1. Get Ready to Rival the Slopes with These At-Home Snowboarding Exercises
Develop Your Strength and Agility
If you’re dreaming of shredding the powder like a pro during the upcoming winter season, it’s time to start boosting your strength and agility in the comfort of your own home. Start with a round of simple exercises like squats, leg lifts and push-ups to increase your overall strength. Move onto stretching exercises like side lunges and back bends that focus on your agility and flexibility.
Build Your Snowboarding Muscles
To give your snowboarding the extra edge, you need to focus on training some specific muscles. To hit the slopes or rails with confidence, you’ll need a strong core, powerful legs and a well-coordinated upper body and arms. Look for exercises that target the right areas. A few key moves could include:
- Balance Trainers: Come with jumping jacks, hopping exercises, and wobble board exercises.
- Resistance Bands: For squats, jumps, ab workout, and leg lifts.
- Crunches: Helps with carving turns and using upper body energy.
Strength and agility are the foundation of good snowboarding; make sure you accommodate them in your fitness regime!
2. From Strength-Training to Core Exercises: Find the Best Way to Stay in Snowboarding Shape
Snowboarding is a great way to get outside, get in shape, and have fun with friends. But keeping in shape for the slopes doesn’t just mean eating right; it means developing strength in specific areas and readying your body for the snow. Here are some tips on how to stay in peak snowboarding shape.
Strength-Training: Developing strength in your core muscles is essential to becoming better at snowboarding. Try doing exercises like planks, mountain climbers, and burpees to get your core engaged and ready for action. Start off slow and gradually increase intensity as you feel more comfortable. You should also target your glutes and thighs—squats and lunges are great for getting these muscles ready for your next snowboarding adventure.
Core Exercises: Exercises like Russian twists and jumping jacks help strengthen your abs and lower back, which are key muscles for snowboarders. Not to mention, core exercises help develop balance and stability, two essential tools needed if you want to nail that perfect turn. Add in some crunches and side planks for an extra challenge and you’ll be ready to shred the slopes!
3. The Complete Routine for Perfecting Those Snowboarding Moves from Home
Mental Preparation
Snowboarding can be intimidating if you are already a beginner; however, with a solid plan and mental preparation, anyone can start mastering the motions of snowboarding from home. The key to unlocking confidence is to break the moves down into small steps and set realistic goals. When practicing the fundamentals of snowboarding, imagine yourself on the slopes and block out any negative thoughts that may arise. Visualization can help you complete each motion correctly.
Physical Preparation
In order to perfect the moves of snowboarding from home, it is important to prepare your body. Start with four to five sets of these exercises:
- Half squats
- Calf-raises
- Crunches
- Jumping jacks
- Light yoga stretches
These movements are helpful with loosening up your body for snowboarding. Before attempting any snowboard maneuver, do some dynamic movements such as high-knees and butt kicks to make sure you are leaving your warm-up completely ready to go.
4. Achieve Your Snowboarding Goals – Without Ever Leaving Home!
Snowboarding is an exhilarating and freeing experience- but hitting the slopes can be expensive and a strain on your time. What many people don’t realise is that there are several ways to improve your snowboarding without ever leaving your home!
Before heading out onto the snow, there are a few things you can do at home. Firstly, watch snowboarding videos and tutorials to gain insight into how certain tricks are done. Mentally practice the movements and try to execute them at home, for example, using a balance board or rockers. You will need to improve your balance, coordination, and core strength as well. Benefits for this can be gained from doing Pilates and other light strength training exercises.
Secondly, take a look at some of the snowboarding-specific apps out there today. These can be used to track your practice, or as a virtual instructor or coach. You could also create a routine of activities to practice at home in between snowboarding adventures. The key is to regularly practice the motions that you would do whilst riding, in order to improve your technique. Here are a few activities you could include:
- Yoga
- Mentally visualising your tricks
- Stretching
- Strength training using an exercise ball
With a little creativity and dedication, snowboard lovers can stay in shape and get better at their skills even when they can’t be on the slopes. Of course, practice on the snow is necessary to take your skills to the next level, but taking the time to do the exercises mentioned in this article will make you much more prepared when you finally have the chance to hit the slopes.