Best Training Exercises for Snowboarding Season

Cruising down the mountain on your board is not only breathtakingly beautiful but also good for your health. Strength and conditioning workouts are key to becoming a talented snowboarder. Here are some of the best exercises for snowboarding, tried and tested by boarders worldwide.

5 Key Exercises for Snowboarding Strength

1. Jumping Squats

Regular squats are strengthening and can prevent ankle injuries. They also work a group of muscles you regularly depend on. Jumping squats take things to the next level.

1. Stand with your feet at shoulder width and your weight back on your heels
2. Keep a tight core and work with your lower back as you extend your knees forward over your toes, reaching the squat position
3. Now drive with explosive power from your hips and extend them in midair
4. Land with feet at shoulder width and use the momentum to push yourself into the squat position

Three sets of ten to fifteen repetitions a couple of times per week will add a lot to your routine.

2. Lateral Ski Jumps

Moving on to a new set of muscles, a couple of sets of lateral ski jumps will push your glutes, quads, and hamstrings. 

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and knees slightly bent, imitating a skier’s position without going deep into a squat.

• Put your weight on one foot
• Jump from the weight-bearing side to the other side
• Land softly, absorbing your momentum with the bent knee and hip
• Swing your arms sideways like a speed skater as you do each repetition

Sets of around 15-20 are good, but you will want to work up to those numbers by feeling out your current strength and stamina if you have not been working out for a while.

3. Single Deadlift to High Knee

This exercise builds strength in most of the muscle groups already discussed, so assess your fatigue level from the last two before going straight into this exercise.

1. Keep your weight-bearing leg straight and extend the other one backward, behind your body, to make a T-shape of yourself.
2. As you move into position, hold your core and glute tight, squeezing them for stability and strength.
3. Pass the elevated leg through your start position and swing your torso back to vertical as you move it into a standing upward lunge.
4. Repeat, holding your core and glutes tight, and work your leg to stretch it slightly on each backward extension.

This exercise is done in sets of five to ten, starting with one set and working up to three or four as your comfort and needs dictate.

4. Hip Clock Exercises

This movement exercise is also great for skateboarders because it helps with hard surface control and your ability to stabilize in powder. It also provides stretching motions that keep those muscles limber.

1. Balance your weight on your left leg and keep your knee bent just a little
2. Make sure your back stays straight as you center your weight over that left knee
3. Lift and extend your right leg, moving it to the twelve o’clock position relative to your center of gravity
4. Bring it back in and repeat for three, six, and nine o’clock
5. Balance on the right knee and repeat the exercise for the left

If you combine this with other glute and hamstring exercises like the lateral ski jumps, you might want to do a single round on each leg as a warmup before the more intense exercise. On their own, it’s a good idea to build up to at least five repetitions on each leg per workout.

5. The Superman

This exercise is a great add-on to reinforce other abdominal exercises like crunches. It also complements planks and other common calisthenics, which are also great choices for a snowboarding routine.

1. Lie face down on the ground with your legs about shoulder-width apart and arms bent at the elbow so they come out from your sides with your fingers pointed forward.
2. Keep your neck neutral and body relaxed as you get into position, and stay relaxed until you start.
3. Simultaneously lift your legs at the hips and your arms at the shoulders while bending away from the ground with your abs and core, extending everything out and up.
4. Keep that core tight and squeeze your glutes as you hold the position
5. Release to a relaxed position and rest until the next repetition

That wraps up the list of essential add-ons for snowboarders putting together a workout routine, but remember, these are hardly the only exercises that build up your snowboarding muscles.

The Secret Behind Conditioning Workouts for Snowboarders

So what’s the secret? How can you maximize the effectiveness of your exercises? 

• Build a daily routine, but rotate the focal muscle groups each day so you rest the ones that you did yesterday.
• Set yourself up for 3-4 sessions that focus on each muscle group per week
• A rest day with no workout is not the worst idea
• Keep it balanced, but add in common exercises that reinforce these, like planks or additional squat variations.

A balanced training routine that strengthens the whole body makes you a better athlete and can help mitigate injuries and speed up injury recovery. To ensure you are set up with experienced training advice, consult a physical therapist who can provide any information needed to get the biomechanics on each exercise. 

Schedule an appointment with a Foothills physical therapist today to lock down a fitness regimen that works best for you.