I want to take up snowboarding, but..?

Question

Well I am a skiier, but now I find it too easy. I want to take up snowboarding. Did you personally find it hard when you first started? Do you have any tips you could give me?

Also, what type of exercises could I do to get in shape for the season (and how often should I do them?)

Answer 1

i also started skiing and switched to snowboarding after like 5 years of ski exp. I got on the mountain day 1 with my snowboard, went to a green trail, did 2 or 3 runs before I was bombnig down blues and soon single diamonds. I kid you not, it was extremely easy for me to pick up having a ski backround. Just read up online on how to turn on a snowboard and remember it when ur on the hill. if you google 'how to turn snowboard' you will find pages. A snowboard is basically a big ski. if you have the curve skis then you know how easy it is to turn: you put some weight on your right ski at the big toe and take the weight off the left to turn to the left, more pressure and lean = sharper turn. as you let off the pressure your skis fall back to straight down the mountain. just remember the principles of where you place weight to turn and apply it to a snowboard - heel edge to toe edge. Just be careful to not prematurely shift the weight to one edge while that edge is still downhill. i.e. you turn to the left on your heel, and then while still facing diagonally on the slope you shift to the toe edge. You have to let the board return to its natural downhill direction before doing this or you will just catch the edge and fall on your face. just work it all out in your mind with what you know from skiing like I did and you'll be fine!

Answer 2

Snowboarding is a little hard to pick up in the beginning. There is a "hump" you need to get over, and that is generally turning on your toes. Once you master this, you will need to practise with perfecting your turns and increasing your speed so you can hit the bigger hills. Be prepared to fall a lot on your first day or so, I would wear a little padding on your bum area and maybe some wristguards so you don't injure your wrists when you fall. I'd also recommend a lesson or two, just so you feel more comfortable with what you're doing and you don't pick up any bad habits. Good luck!

Answer 3

I was on my butt the whole entire time, first day of trying to snowboard. As soon as I'm up, I'm down again. My husband was very patient and was with me the whole entire time. First thing he taught me is how to stop. Once I mastered that, he taught me how to carve. Basically you point with your finger where you want to go and you'll go that way. Why it works is you make the turn with your shoulders and when you point, your shoulder automatically turns where you are pointing. Once you master that, you don't have to point anymore. I love snowboarding!!!!!!!! Good luck!



Oh, how to get in shape? I do 30-50 minutes of cardio 3-5 times a week. You need strong legs and endurance to last all day in the mountains.

Answer 4

I had an incredibly hard time with it even though I did pretty well with skiing. One thing I wish I had done to prepare is my cardio endurance. I am pretty out of shape generally so I got really tired really easily so get your endurance up. If that's okay, you need the following muscles to be incredibly strong, chest, triceps, biceps, abs, lower back, butt, thighs, calves and feet (as odd as that one sounds). You will want to stretch and strengthen these muscles as much as possible, especially your abs. You need a strong core because you twist and turn and bend over and sit up all the time. Especially when you first start, which leads me to the chest. You'll be picking yourself up off the ground an awful lot so you'll want your arms and chest to be strong. Your legs need to be strong because you will be leaning on them a lot and depending on the carving side, you will be using your quads and hamstrings a lot. Do lunges and squats for you legs, as well as calf raises and stretch them! For your chest do push ups and for your tricpes and biceps get some weights and do curls and presses. For your core, do balancing exercises and crunches focusing on your lower stomach and your obliques. Do all these exercies for about 30-45 minutes a day. Your muscles will take a beating and it is hard to learn, but totally worth it. And once you pick it up, you'll never forget.

Answer 5

it isn't that hard to pick up in my opinion, but you probably know the saying....skiing is easy to learn but hard to master, snowboarding is hard to learn but easy to master....welll you'll have no problem with snowboarding, just make sure you find a setting on your bindings that is comfortable for you (the angles) and make sure your equipment is good quality. you probably already have a great feel for snow and the slops from being a skiier so you know what to look out for there....if you are just starting and feel yourself falling, don't try and save it, just make sure you fall softly. good luck

Answer 6

ha...same thing happened to me, i felt skiing was too boring so i tried to snowboard. never worked out for me...i never could turn and always fell on my butt...also stopping was a issue for me, id crash into stuff or fall on purpose to stop. so i went back to skiing and stuck with that. good luck on ur snowboarding. dunno about any tips, try not to fall to hard on ur butt or ull break ur tail bone? seems like a good tip ;)