Good Exercises for Snowboarders

Six to 12 weeks before snowboarding season starts, begin to get your body ready to shred some snow. Getting yourself physically conditioned before you hop on your board the first time each winter not only helps you to have the stamina to make many runs down the mountain on a day’s pass -- getting your money’s worth -- but it also prevents injuries.

  1. Work on Balance

    • The muscles in your abdomen, lower back and hips make up your core and are essential for you to maintain your balance while standing. If any of them weaken, you become prone to bad posture and falls. Thus, it is vital that your pre-snowboarding workout involve your core. Certified personal trainer and fitness instructor Nicole Nichols recommends exercising your core muscles two to three times a week, but never two days in a row, to allow the muscles to recover. Any activity that requires you to balance your body helps with equilibrium. The front squat is one such option: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and the feet pointing slightly outward. Keep your spine in a neutral position. Breathe in, taking your belly in toward your spine to engage your abdominal muscles, and begin to lower yourself bending the knees. Stop when your thighs are at a 90-degree angle. Breathe out and gradually return to an upright position. To increase resistance, balance a barbell long enough across both shoulders.

    Build Strength

    • Besides being able to keep your balance while moving or jumping on your snowboard, you need to have a particularly strong lower body. Skater squats are a simple exercise to help you build lower-body strength. To complete a skater squat, stand with your feet shoulder width apart, placing your hands on your hips or back. Breathe in and tighten your abdominal muscles. Bend your knees slightly, barely squatting. As you breathe out, lift your left leg out to the side and bend your right knee farther down to do a deeper squat while the left leg is up in the air. Maintaining the squat, breathe in and take the left foot back to the floor beside the right one. Return to an upright position and repeat on the other side. If you use weights for strength training, Nichols suggests choosing a weight that challenges you but that is also light enough to let you do many repetitions before you get tired.

    Become Limber

    • Strong muscles without flexibility pose the potential for injuries to your joints. Tense muscles also limit your range of motion. To limber up, take time to stretch regularly. A calf stretch, for example, doesn’t require any special equipment and it can be done standing on any flat surface. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Slightly bend your left knee and move forward with your right leg in a half lunge. Straighten your left leg to stretch the calf for about 15 seconds. Switch legs and repeat.

    Achieve Cardiovascular Endurance

    • Working hard on the slopes, you’ll need a good supply of oxygen, which is only guaranteed if you include your heart and lungs in your pre-season workout routine. Any aerobic exercise will do and you don’t need to spend the money on equipment or a gym membership. Running, biking, swimming and jumping rope are just a few examples of what you can do to get your heart pumping hard and expand your lungs' capacity. Do cardiovascular exercises four to six times weekly for longer than 30 minutes and up to one hour to build good endurance for snowboarding.