sports

Snowboarding: The Three Best Ways To Improve Your Balance

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Winters no longer mean crawling under blankets and hibernating. We actually await snow-covered streets just for winter sports, okay for Christmas too, but it’s fun! You might have come across the word snowboarding, either from friends or through movies. It really sounds exciting, and you literally itch to try it. Just imagine- the wind in your hair and the rush of adrenaline as you fly past, dodging the trees. You feel like a champion!   

Snowboarding not only means a great time, but is known for a number of health benefits as well. The sport helps burn a lot of calories, over 450 in an hour, and serves as an intense cardio workout. Snowboarding releases endorphins; it makes you feel happy!

The activity is a great way of exercising muscles. All your major muscles get stronger, especially the abdominal ones, as you use them for balance. Snowboarding improves flexibility as you need to change directions repeatedly and pace at a high speed.

The only way you can enjoy this thrilling sport and not hurt yourself in the process is by learning to balance. It’s quite simple, really!

  • You must have seen football and hockey players out on the field ready with a stance. Well, that’s the most important and first thing in Snowboarding as well. With the perfect stance- not too narrow neither too broad; the next step will come naturally. A narrow stance won’t help your balance at all, making you unstable on the board. On the other hand, a very wide stance will restrict body movement and you won’t be able to turn. The distance between your feet should be only slightly wider than your shoulders.

  • Check whether you are a ‘regular’ rider or a ‘goofy’ rider. A regular rider will put the left foot at the front of the snowboard, using the right foot to balance from behind; vice versa for a goofy rider. To determine what kind of rider you are, ask a friend to gently push you from behind; if you use the left foot to steady yourself, you are a regular rider.

  • Next comes the stance ‘angle’. The bindings on your snowboard will be fixed in a particular angle. There are three angles in Snowboarding:  the forward stance, the flat back foot stance and the duck stance. Beginners mostly ride with a stance angle of 21 degree for the front foot, and 9 degrees for the rear foot, which help in balancing.

Author’s Bio:

Amy Lawson has been writing contents on the web professionally since 2005. She has worked as a tech and business marketing copy writer on various topics. Before she is into writing, lectured as a professor on vivid business topics. She is currently researching on ehic renewal.