Snowboarding is a winter sport enjoyed by people of all ages. There are a variety of snowboards on the market, featuring designs for different riding styles. Freestyle and freeride are the most common styles of snowboarding. Freestyle snowboards are generally shorter, lighter and more flexible than freeride snowboards. These characteristics make the board very responsive and well-suited for a beginner, according to the ABC-of-Snowboarding website. If you are a freestyle rider, there are a few techniques for making a new snowboard more flexible.
Step 1
Stand your snowboard upright and flex it. Hold the tip of the board with your non-dominant arm. The bindings should be facing you. Push the center of the board with your stronger arm to bend it. The ABC-of-Snowboarding website reports that the flex point of a snowboard is the point where the board begins and ends its flex and that it is located between the bindings.
Step 2
Practice nose and tail presses on your snowboard. Wearing snowboard boots, strap into your bindings. Apply pressure to the nose of the snowboard and elevate the tail. Switch your balance to pressure the tail and elevate the nose of your board. Try hopping back and forth from a nose press to a tail press. You can practice these techniques outside on grass or indoors on a rug.
Step 3
Ride your board often. Once the winter season begins, spend time on the slopes breaking in your new snowboard. The more you ride your snowboard, the more flexible will become. Perform presses on terrain features, such as boxes and rails. Practice manuals, or wheelies, while snowboarding down the mountain.
Tips and Warnings
- When freestyle snowboarding, the Snowboard-Master website recommends wearing safety gear including a helmet, wrist guards and impact shorts.
- The ABC-of-Snowboarding website warns that "snowboarding is an extreme sport with a considerable chance of injuries ranging from innocent little slips to high impact crashes." The risks of snowboarding include injuries to the wrists, ankles, knees and head reports the site.
Things You'll Need
- Snowboard
- Snowboard boots
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