5 Quick Tips to Kick Off Snowboarding Season as a Beginner
Want to try snowboarding for the first time? It may look overwhelming, especially if you’ve never even skied before, but even the pros had to start just like you with barely a clue what to do with that board.
While you’ll want to get the right board and gear, there’s plenty of other stuff to know to kick off snowboarding season as a beginner. These 5 tips are a great place to start!
1. Get your body ready for action
Snowboarding is a sport and while it might look like fun (and trust us, it is!), it can take a toll on your body if you’re not ready. So, before you head to the lodge and try things out, get on top of your fitness routine. You’ll need aerobic exercise to keep your endurance up and you’ll want to get all your muscle groups ready for this intense sport.
2. Take lessons
Lessons aren’t just for kids. They’re for adults of all ages. And while you may feel uncool being the oldest one in the group, it’s way better than suffering an injury and having to spend the rest of your time at the lodge, gazing wistfully out the window at everyone else. Everyone has to start with the basics to have the best results.
3. Look where you’re going
This might seem like an obvious point, just like watching where you walk. However, newbie snowboarders don’t usually realize until it’s too late that your body and board will naturally move in the direction you’re looking. Don’t look down at your feet or you’ll fall. You also want to avoid looking at the trees for too long. You don’t want to run into them, sure, but when you keep looking at them, you’ll be naturally propelling yourself there.
4. Bend those knees
Now that you know where to look, let’s talk about those legs. It’s important to keep knees bent because they absorb the snow contours and help make it possible for you to maintain control over your board. The bend doesn’t need to be fully 90 degrees but keeping them slightly bent will give you the edge on obstacles and prime you for quick maneuvers.
5. Head to the bunny slopes
If you grumped about taking lessons, then the bunny hill is likely the last place you want to be. Still, it’s important to learn here and get familiar with the movements you need to make. The slopes have tons of people zooming on by, not great for trying to get your footing on a snowboard for the first time so start here and soon, you’ll be ready to zoom with the best of them!
Want to be fully ready for snowboarding? In Your Home Therapy has physiotherapists to help with injuries, massage therapists to prime those muscles and help you recover, and personal trainers to assist you with your fitness so you’ll be able to rock those slops like a pro soon enough!
