Beginner Snowboarding Tips

snowboard exercises

Snowboarding Exercises for Beginners

Figuring out the art of snowboarding can be a challenge. There are a lot of fundamentals to master. Fortunately, there are plenty of snowboard exercises for beginners to get the hang of snowboarding quickly and easily.

A lot of beginning snowboarders believe that the only way to improve is to hit the slopes, but they are missing a whole world of useful training.

Whether you are at home before heading to the mountain or in the middle of the off season, you can do some great exercises to help you quickly advance your shredding skills.

Read through these tips so you can find out how to get good at snowboarding.


4 Best Snowboarding Exercises for Beginner


How Can I Train Myself to Snowboard at Home?

jib training

The best way to develop your skills is to practice at home consistently and have a good training plan. Training yourself to be a strong snowboarder means putting the work in to get better.

Fortunately, there are a ton of off season snowboarding exercises to do all the above right from your home.

Pro Tip 1:

If you want to shred like the pros, one of the best things you can do is take advantage of the time at home, including during the offseason. There are plenty of ways that you can build up your skills without having to hit the mountain.

During the offseason, you can do a ton of exercises to increase your skills. By working through some drills over and over, you can improve your skills greatly.

When you are at home, you can work on several off season snowboarding exercises. One of them is air awareness.

With or without a snowboard, you can practice jumping on a trampoline, off of a diving board, or into a foam pit.

All of these will help you get more comfortable being in the air. As you get more comfortable, start trying to spin and practicing tricks. This will come in handy when you are on a slope and hit a jump.

Even skateboarding is a great way to improve your skills. Skateboarding can help you get used to keeping your balance, moving around, and maintaining speed on a board.

A lot of professional snowboarders have some background in skateboarding, so it definitely helps craft snowboard skills.

Other ways to improve your snowboarding include weight and balance training, which we will talk about more.

Want to learn snowboarding at home? this post is for you!

How Do I Get Better at Snowboarding Fast?

snowboarding

A lot of beginners want to know, “How do I get better at snowboarding fast?” Good snowboarders know that they need to strengthen their skills and strengthen their muscles.

This means that many of the exercises you can do to get better at snowboarding don’t even need a snowboard.

By putting in the work and building your strength off the mountain, you will be a stronger shredder when you are on the mountain.

Pro Tip 2:

squat

The best thing that you can do for snowboarding is to train your muscles to put in the work so that it takes you longer to get tired. A big question that beginners have is, “Why is snowboarding so tiring?”

It is because your muscles are not yet used to doing all of the hard work that snowboarding needs. Although it seems like snowboarding is as simple as standing on a board, the truth is that snowboarding uses a lot of your muscles for balance, stability, and movement.

By strengthening your legs, you will build a strong foundation and prepare yourself to handle longer and tougher slopes. There are a ton of great home and gym exercises for snowboarding to help you do just that. These includes:

  • Squats
  • Lunges
  • Squat Reverse Lunges
  • Squats with Heel and Toe Raises
  • Hip Rolls

Repeat each exercise about 10-15 times, depending on your level. Make sure that you are building up your ability to do each exercise and don’t overdo them at the beginning.

It is also a good idea to include cardio, like running, into your workout routine so that you strengthen your lungs and heart as well.

Pro Tip 3:

ball russian twist exercise

Strengthen your core. A key to being able to balance and maneuver properly on your board is having a strong core. When you are carving or sliding, you will notice that you feel it most in your core.

Doing core exercises will make you much stronger and less exhausted the next time you hit the slopes. Options to strengthen your core include:

  • Russian Twists- Sit on the ground with your legs extended in front of you, bending your knees slightly. Reach your arms straight in front of you and twist your torso to one side, back to the middle, and then to the other side without moving your legs.
  • Back Extensions- Lay on the ground with your belly down, then lift your chest off the ground and bring it back down.
  • Mountain Climbers- Start in a push-up position. Bring one knee up to your chest and then return to the pushup position. Alternate your legs, then continue to repeat.
  • Planks- Holding a pushup position as long as you can. Try moving your legs around to test your core even further.

Try each exercise for at least 30 seconds. As with any exercise, don’t forget to stretch afterward so that you do not strain your muscles.

The truth is that when people ask, “What muscles does snowboarding use?” the answer is “most of them,” but your legs and your core are doing a lot of the work and need proper training.

In this post you’ll lear how to start snowboarding fast!

Pro Tip 4:

For all of the work that you can do with home and gym exercises for snowboarding, nothing beats trying to improve your skills in the snow.

However, this does not mean you should automatically send it down the slopes.

There are a few exercises that will help you be ready to handle harder courses that you should practice consistently

When you get to the mountain, you should practice some of the key fundamentals to grow your skills. One of these is carving, which is riding along an edge on your board to make better turns.

Practice improving your carving technique and holding it up a halfpipe or up to a rail. You will also want to work on speed checks.

Practice turning your board the opposite way of your shoulders and kicking your back foot outward at a certain speed to get used to cutting speed on the slopes.

Another important skill is learning how to ride switch, meaning with your other foot forward. This will give you options for different tricks and backward landings.

You should also practice butters, which include shifting your hips to press into your nose or tail and spin either 180 or 360 degrees. Lastly, you should work on your ability to ollie since it will help you jump off kickers and onto rails once you are ready to shred.

For more details, you can check out each of these skills here!

The key to improving is making sure that you are taking it step by step. Do not rush your progress. Make sure that you can do the little things before trying to land a big trick.

Work through these drills to build yourself up and master the fundamentals so that you can take on the bigger tricks with confidence.

Snowboarding Exercises for Beginners

Overall, there are a lot of great exercises and drills to improve your snowboarding skills as a beginner that will show you how to get good at snowboarding.

If you stay committed to doing these exercises, you will notice an improvement in no time, and you will be on your way to shredding as the pros do. The off season lasts a while, so take advantage of it!

Once you are on the mountain again, you will be glad that you did.

Want to learn faster? Get a year’s worth of snowboard lessons for less than the cost of a half-day lesson on the mountain!

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Get Your Own 24/7/365 Snowboard Coach For Less Than the Cost of a 1/2 Day Lesson On The Mountain

THE STEP-BY-STEP SNOWBOARD TRAINING YOU NEED TO GO FROM BEGINNER TO BACKFLIP


To learn more about snowboarding, read this posts:


snowboarding sketch

How Long Does It Take To Learn To Snowboard?

If you’re wondering how hard is it to snowboard, how long does it takes, or what’s the fastest way to learn how to snowboard, you’re in the right place.

I learned to snowboard in 1997 the day after Christmas, after walking down the stairs on Christmas morning and seeing the greatest sight of my life under the Christmas tree.

It was a Burton Chopper 122, and from that day on, I was hooked. But… the first 2 days, I still fell so many times I was covered in bruises.

And if you’re never snowboarded before, I hate to break it to you, but there is a small “pain period” involved.


How Long Does It Take To Learn To Snowboarding For Beginners?​


Why is Snowboarding so Hard?

snowboarding lesson

There is a general rule in how long does it take to snowboard for beginners? It takes 2 to 3 days of pain to start snowboarding and to learn to control your edges on your snowboard, and you can have fun for the rest of your life.

In the first 2 to 3 days of learning to snowboard as a beginner, you will fall on your hips, wrists, butt, and even your face, quite a lot. It can be a frustrating, cold, and painful experience and you might wonder, should I just give up and stick to skiing?

And the answer is NO, absolutely not. Just because you think skiing is easier than snowboarding, does not mean you should be a skier. Just because you wonder, why is snowboarding so hard, does not mean it’s time to give up.

The best things in life require effort, and with snowboarding, that effort is at least 2 to 3 days of not having as much fun so you can be cool the rest of your life.

Here are the 5 things you can do to learn to snowboarding at home!

How Hard is it to Snowboard?

Instructor giving snowboard lesson

Three days after learning how to snowboard in Pennsylvania, I was hitting jumps, and doing frontside 180’s off moguls. Meanwhile, my friends were jealous I was getting all the chicks while they lugged around their skis and poles, and clunked down the hallway in ski boots.

It did help that I already knew how to ski before learning to snowboard, but even if you’ve never been on the mountain, you can make significant “beginner gains” in just a few days.

And lucky for you, if you’re wondering how long it takes to learn how to snowboard, I have a few tips to speed up the process.

Wonderin’ how hard it is to snowboard? check out this post!

5 Best Tips to Learn How to Snowboard Fast as a Beginner

Snowboarder lift its snowboard

1. Wear protective gear such as wrist guards, butt pads and a helmet to protect yourself so you don’t quit before you get to the fun part of snowboarding

2. Get a snowboard instructor. You can see how much it costs here. If you can’t afford on mountain lessons, come check out Shred School and learn how to get a year’s worth of snowboard lessons for less than the cost of a half day lesson.

3. Dress warmly. Wear proper base layers, outerwear, and gear so you can stay warm, and have fun

4. Go with friends. Learning to snowboard with friends will be more fun than going by yourself and keep you interested long enough to get past the pain period.

5. Celebrate your wins. Whether it’s the first time you successfully got of the lift or your first toeside carve, you need to celebrate your progress no matter how small.

6. Checkout our beginner to backflip period that takes you through, step by step, exactly how to go from complete beginner to as advanced a rider as you want with practice exercises, examples, and off season training.

How long does it take to learn to snowboard?

It takes two to three days to start snowboarding, to learn the basics of standing up, getting off the lift, heelside and toeside turns, stopping, and how to fall.

Once you get that part down, you won’t exactly be Shaun White, but you’ll know enough to go out with your friends and have fun.

From there, your progress depends on how much effort you put in. If you want to get twice as good in half the time, checkout Shred School.

Get Your Own 24/7/365 Snowboard Coach For Less Than the Cost of a 1/2 Day Lesson On The Mountain

THE STEP-BY-STEP SNOWBOARD TRAINING YOU NEED TO GO FROM BEGINNER TO BACKFLIP


To learn more about snowboarding, read this posts:


Man snowboarding in powder

Snowboarding Tips For Beginners

If you’re looking for snowboarding tips for beginners, you probably already went snowboarding for the very first time.

If you’re a beginner snowboarder and you’re looking for tips to quickly and easily improve your riding, these 5 tips for beginner snowboarders will change your riding and help you get good at snowboarding fast. 


5 Snowboarding Tips For Beginners


1. Use The Right Snowboard Gear For You

snowboard gear

If you are a beginner snowboarder and you ride the wrong size board, have the wrong stance setup on your bindings, or don’t wear the right outerwear, you might end up miserable, falling on your butt wondering, what does everyone like about snowboarding? 

It’s very important that you ride a beginner-friendly snowboard, with the appropriate stance for your height and body. This is going to make it so you can focus on actually learning instead of just overcoming the gear obstacles. 

If you need help, ask your local rental shop, or even better, go to a snowboard specific retail store with snowboarders who actually know what they’re doing. They’ll be happy to help you set up your stance. 

The same goes for outerwear. If you’re wearing a cotton sweatshirt instead of a waterproof jacket and it’s a blizzard outside, you’re going to be cold and wet, and have a hard time actually learning to snowboard. 

Check out this post on what to wear to the mountain, and get your gear right.

Wonderin’ how to start snowboarding for the first time? check out this post!

2. Take a Snowboard Lesson

Yes, snowboarding lessons at the mountain can be expensive, but there are cheaper alternatives. 

Especially if you are a beginner snowboarder, it’s important that you learn the proper technique from someone who actually knows what they’re doing. 

The reason is, you’re not the first person to learn how to snowboard.  This means, you could either make all the mistakes that have ever been made yourself, and maybe end up getting hurt in the process, or you could just have someone who’s already been through the mistakes warn you about them ahead of time. 

This will shortcut your learning curve by years. Plus, you’ll have more fun. If snowboard lessons on the mountain are too expensive, check out some online alternatives. 

Just be wary of watching random YouTube videos in random order, as these are often made more for entertainment than teaching you how to snowboard in a logical, step by step progression.

You might get one piece of the puzzle, but be missing 10 others. Try to follow a step-by-step snowboard video tutorial that is in order of importance so you learn the right snowboard technique at the right time.

Want to get good at snowboarding? this post is for you!

3. Learn How To Fall

When learning how to snowboard for the first time, it’s not if you will fall, but when. 

Any by when I mean, probably every single run. That’s ok because there is a lot you can do to reduce the pain involved with learning how to snowboard. 

First, it helps to wear the proper protective gear. Wear a helmet to protect your head. You might even want to wear wrist guards or butt pads to soften the blow.

The most common beginner snowboard injury is a wrist fracture, so especially the first couple of days or weeks, wrist guards can do a lot to help. 

Next, learn how to fall properly. Mainly, we want to protect our downhill edge at all costs to avoid the dreaded “edge catch,” and keep our hands in close to our body so we don’t extend our wrists out to catch our fall.

Our butts and hips are much stronger and well equipped to take the brunt of the impact with breaking anything. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have a lightly bruised hip over a broken wrist any day.

4. Watch Videos Before You Go To The Mountain

Most people go to the mountain, figure out what they’re doing wrong by falling over and over again, and then go home and try to find answers to their problems. 

If you watch a few key videos BEFORE you go to the mountain, you’ll learn much faster and avoid common mistakes in whatever it is you are trying to learn. 

When I was growing up I would hit rewind on the VCR, and watch a pro do a trick over and over again to see their body position, timing, pop, movement, and more.

This helped me to visualize doing the trick myself and when I actually got to the mountain, I’d have a much better chance of landing the trick without taking some serious falls. 

It doesn’t matter if you are trying to learn how to carve, or do your first 900, watching the trick in slow motion and visualizing yourself doing it will help you tremendously. 

5. Practice Your Lift Unloading and One-Foot Riding At The Bottom Of The Mountain

If you’re wondering how to get off the lift as a beginner snowboarder, the time to find out is not when the lift reaches the top of the mountain. By then, it’s too late. 

Nobody likes falling in the unloading zone, having the lift stop, and making the entire mountain wait for you to pick yourself up and get out of the way. 

The good news is, you can practice unloading at the bottom of the mountain before you ever get on the lift. 

Find a small hill or roller, or just walk a couple feet up the mountain, and practice riding down to a flat area with just one foot strapped in.

The key is to lean forward on your front foot when getting off the lift, rather than leaning back as most beginners do. 

Practice pushing and coasting across the flat with one foot in, and try the unloading drill as many times as necessary. 

To watch it on video and see dozens of other beginner practice drills, check out the online snowboard school

Congratulations. You just learned 5 beginner snowboarding tips to help you go from beginner to intermediate in no time.  Now, there are about 100 more steps to go from beginner to pro in less time than ever.

If you want to shortcut your learning curve, avoid the major mistakes and have more fun snowboarding, check out our beginner to backflip snowboard tutorial video series.

Get Your Own 24/7/365 Snowboard Coach For Less Than the Cost of a 1/2 Day Lesson On The Mountain

THE STEP-BY-STEP SNOWBOARD TRAINING YOU NEED TO GO FROM BEGINNER TO BACKFLIP


To learn more about snowboarding, read this posts:


how to backside handplant
how to indy grab
how to ride switch on a snowboard

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