5 Tips For Every Snowboarding Enthusiast
No matter how great we are at a sport, there is always room for improvement, and snowboarding is no different.
If you know how to perform the basics and can tackle the blue square trail on the mountain, you may think that there is little left for you to learn. This isn’t true. Instead, it’s time to up your game.
Practice Away From The Mountains
When the snow stops falling, and you can no longer reach the mountains, that doesn’t mean you should put your board away for the season. Instead, you should keep your skills in shape and prepare for harder tricks to master.
Staying in shape will allow you to get a head start when the snow starts to fall again. To keep your skills, pick up a sport that is just as similar. For example, you should attempt skateboarding or surfing to keep your feet, core, and board skills in check while you wait for the seasons to change.
Sports that use boards like this use the same muscles to stay on top. This means you should be able to practice your tricks and keep up your control.
On top of that, you can do basic exercises like swimming and biking to prepare you for injury and, therefore, quick recovery.
Give Your Equipment a Glow Up
The gear you use will play a big role in how safe your experience is and how much you can manipulate your movements.
Finding the best equipment doesn’t always mean buying the more expensive equipment either. You need to find something that fits you perfectly and can move easily as you course down the mountainside.
There are some boots, for example, that focus on comfort over speed, and others that focus on mobility over safety. All the equipment will be safe, of course, but more flexible gear can listen to your body better than thick and padded gear.
To find boots that are best for you, visit Altitude Sports and browse through their vast collection of varied ski boots.
Focus On Your Knees
When you first begin snowboarding, your instructor will tell you to make the turns with your shoulders. This is because they want you to have a better center of gravity, and understand how your body moves. It will also prepare you for the inevitable fall.
But, as a snowboarder advances, they should stop making turns with their shoulders and start focusing on their knees. The lead leg is the most powerful form of control in the sport and will allow you to make quicker decisions when you’re moving at fast speeds.
Try aligning your chest over your thighs and bending your knees as you make the turn. This should give you greater control. When you finish the turn, release the pressure. This looks effortless on the outside and gives you stronger movement. For it to work, you need to already have a great sense of balance, which is why shoulder turning is taught first.
Practice Leading With The Opposite Foot
This technique is called ride switching. Most of us have a foot we prefer to snowboard with in the lead, however, the best snowboarder can switch between the two when the time is right. To help you switch and keep balance when things go wrong, you should practice leading with the less dominant foot.
This also forces you to relearn the basics of snowboarding and bring back some of the knowledge you might have lost from the fundamental learning stages.
You likely won’t be conformable in this stance, and it may take you longer to learn to lead with this foot than it did for you to learn originally, so practice ride switching between your normal descents.
Be Realistic About Your Snowboarding Future
If you are happy with your current snowboarding ability, then you don’t need to push yourself to be better. Snowboarding is all about having fun in an extreme sport, so be realistic about whether this additional pressure to be great is actually fun for you.
You could hire a trainer and push yourself further, but if that means turning your weekend activity into a day job, then take a step back and breathe.
On the other hand, if you like to push yourself with everything you do, pick a new trick or terrain to practice on first. There is always a way to up your game, but don’t try everything at once. Wait until you have mastered this new technique before you sign up for another one.
