If it’s been a while since you last had an opportunity to hit the slopes with your snowboard, you may feel a little bit rusty.
Maybe your snowboarding legs have lost a bit of their muscle, or your fitness might have dwindled. Perhaps your confidence in snowboarding has taken a bit of a dip? Never fear, The Snow Centre has some top tips that will help you remember how to snowboard like a pro.
It’s like riding a bike - you never forget
The amount of time you have been away from snowboarding will impact how quickly you pick it back up. If you’ve been away for many years, it will most likely take you a little longer to pick up the skills you once had. However, once you get back into it, you will be amazed at how quickly you can improve your skills.
Snowboarding is like riding a bike; you never forget the skills, even if your confidence and snowboarding legs have taken a bit of a dip. Below, we outline the important factors that will affect how easily you can pick it back up.
Work on your fitness
Whilst skill is undoubtedly essential when it comes to snowboarding, so is your physical fitness. It is essential to build up your fitness before you strap your snowboard on for the first time in a while. This will help your body withstand any injuries you might incur whilst snowboarding, and being stronger will help you prevent injuries overall.
This doesn’t just mean heading to the gym! Working on your core and lower body strength through home workouts, running, walking, swimming, and so much more will help get your body back in the zone it needs to be in for snowboarding. Plus, adding some snowboard-specific style exercises, such as squats, will help keep your legs strong enough to tackle even the most challenging runs.
Make sure your kit is up to date
If it’s been a while since you last hit the slopes, your body has likely changed, even if that is just a small amount. This is why we recommend trying on all of your snowboarding gear at home to ensure it all still fits comfortably and won’t feel so alien on the slopes.
Making sure your boots fit comfortably is a must. There is nothing worse than ill-fitting boots when you’re already on the slope. Wear your boots as much as you physically can while walking around the house to ensure they are still comfortable for long periods and to reduce potential cramps. We also recommend strapping into your board. It sounds silly, but try rolling edge-to-edge, flexing, sliding and pressing it around the living room to familiarise yourself with being on a board again. This is a significant step to follow when rediscovering how to snowboard!
Start off nice and easy
When you’re trying to remember how to snowboard, it is essential to ease yourself back into the sport. This is why we recommend starting with a nice, easy green or blue run and slowly working back up to the more challenging runs as your skills and confidence build back up again.
Although remembering how to snowboard may be as easy as riding a bike, it is still important to remember that you need to ease yourself in gently or risk injuring yourself. This is why it is important to take nice, slow runs with slow turns before moving up to longer turns, quicker turns, switches, and ollies. This time is all just about getting used to the feeling of having the snowboard on your feet again.
If you want to brush up on your snowboarding, then some private snowboarding lessons at Manchester or Hemel can help you recover the ground you lost in a one-on-one environment with one of our experts.
Go with your friends
If you feel a little uncertain about your snowboarding skills, go with your friends who are also fellow snowboarders for moral support. They might help you refresh your memory when you are remembering how to snowboard after a bit of a break. Whilst also giving you the words of encouragement you might need to help you find your confidence again. It is important to remember to take things at your own pace. Don’t jump straight onto the most difficult or steeper slopes just because your friends are doing it! Take things at your own pace.
Don’t push yourself
When you do decide that now is the time to pick up your snowboard again, be sensible. Don’t rush straight into a full-day snowboarding session because even if it feels great at the time, you will feel the after-effects the next day. Remember to take plenty of breaks and to ease yourself back into it whilst you’re still working on rebuilding your snowboarding legs.
It’s also imperative that you don’t pressure yourself to keep up with the group. We understand that we all have a bit of a competitive streak, and it is nice to keep up with your friends, but remember not to push yourself too hard to keep up with them.
Practice on an indoor slope
If you’re serious about remembering how to snowboard, book a session at your local indoor ski slope. Our beginner snowboarding lessons at Hemel or Manchester are perfect for people who want to practise the basics before taking on some advanced snowboard lessons to brush up on their skills. By getting yourself booked in for a practice session, you will find your feet so much faster on the mountains.
Remember how to snowboard at The Snow Centre
If you’re interested in brushing up on your snowboarding skills, why not book a session with our expert snowboarding instructors here at The Snow Centre Manchester or Hemel Hempstead? Remembering how to snowboard can be daunting, but with the help of our friendly team of snowboarding instructors, we will have you back, ready to hit the mountains in no time!
If you have any questions about booking a snowboarding lesson here at The Snow Centre, then be sure to contact us, and a member of our team will be happy to help.
