The first day of snowboarding often results in days of muscle soreness. Not for me. The snowboarding workout benefits kept me on the slopes for five hours at Arapahoe Basin, Colorado. What a great way to start the season. So what did I do for a snowboarding workout?
Snowboarding Workout
My preseason workouts included several different types of exercises. Most involved kettlebells and some form of interval training. The workouts were high intensity intervals.
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What surprised me was that my typical workouts are 30-45 minutes in duration, but they prepared me to easily stay on the hill for five hours at A-Basin on the first day out. That just proves that it isn’t always necessary to match training duration to event duration.
Snowboarding Workout Benefits
Why workout before hitting the slopes?
- Injury Prevention
- No Soreness
- Ability to Try New Things – Push Yourself
- Stay Longer
- Not Out Of Breath
More enjoyment. Isn’t that the whole reason to snowboard, or ski — enjoy it! By being in shape before I went it was a great day all around.
Early Season Snowboarding at Arapahoe Basin, Colorado
So what were conditions like on my first day out at A-Basin?
They reminded me of my years boarding on man-made snow all season long in Minnesota. The snow has a different texture than natural snow; it is more crystalline on a hard-pack base. The snow just doesn’t give as much as later in the season.
Even though the snow was different, it was great to get out. A-Basin had 5 trails open although I’m not sure how they count that many. Really there were two routes at the base and one from the peak. Enough space to move.
3 Keys in Any Snowboarding Workout
When crafting your own snowboarding workout consider these three keys to prepare to hit the slopes.
#1 – Interval Training
If you are a boarder or a two-planker on skiis snowsports are intervals in action. Rest and recover while waiting in lift-lines and riding up the hill. Then work hard on the way down. So any workout for snowsports should be based on interval training that forces you cardiovascular system to work hard, recover, and repeat.
Kettlebell interval training has been a central part to my training. I also recommend interval running and even the interval training in the INSANITY workouts.
Prepare with a snowboarding workout with interval training.
#2 – Legs
Work those legs. Imagine hours of fun on the moguls later in the season – more often than not the legs are the first to fail. To prepare, work your legs by doing lots of squats. Those could be air squats, kettlebell squats, and box squats.
Include some plyometric training as well. I made my own plyometric boxes for my garage gym. Having a 12″ and 24″ box that I can jump on, or step-up is a great exercise to include in a snowboarding workout. Work those legs hard before hitting the slopes.
You could also check out Jacob’s program on vertical jump training to help you learn to fly. Get that extra air while on the slopes.
#3 – Core
Core stability is essential for any snowsport, especially snowboarding. Work both stability by using planks, but also work mobility in the core with hanging leg raises, and kettlebell turkish get ups.
What Still Hurts After Snowboarding
While my snowboarding workouts have helped prepare my lower body and my cardiovascular system, I had a weak spot. My shoulders.
My shoulders including both my deltoids and my trapevius muscles were sore. I had to think about what movement was causing that soreness. Ollie-360 is the culprit.
Well actually more like an Ollie-360 going front-side and an Ollie-270 going backside. For some reason my body doesn’t like to rotate counter clockwise. The Ollie-360 is a snowboarding move that combines an Ollie and a 360. The Ollie is where you flex the board, then hop off the ground. While in the air you try to spin 360 degrees before landing. As you can imagine landing short can be … disastrous. My goal is to get the counter-clockwise rotation this season, the Backside-Ollie-360.
So stay tuned as I search for new movements to add to my snowboarding workout. My goal is to increase the workout so the benefits extend to cover my shoulders, legs, and cardio.
How about You?
Have you had a chance to hit the slopes yet this year?
Did you experience any benefits from your snowboarding workouts?
About Troy Pesola
Troy is the founder of Cube.Dweller.Fitness. He's an innovation catalyst in several areas of life including business, marketing, and process improvement. Outside of work he's actively involved in fitness, health, and living vibrantly in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
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