Words: Jamie Trayer
Photos: Sam Trayer
Workout: Jamie Trayer &Dave Pavia
The time has come – the dreaded off season. The one time of the year we all love to hate. The one time of the year where we sit, waiting for next season or, if you’re lucky, for your one week away at camp. We can be found watching countless shred videos and keeping up-to-date on the latest snow reports. Good news for you, it’s the perfect time to get off your ass and get your snowboard muscles ready for the upcoming season with some dry land training! No gym? No worries, workout with your snowboard!
It wasn’t too long ago that many riders thought the gym was only for the grunting, weight dropping meatheads, but times have changed. Yes, we still encounter the obnoxious weight pushers – but they’re the least of our worries; we have cliffs to drop, rails to jib, and a trick list we want to land next season. Starting a simple workout routine will strengthen your muscles and help you stay injury free – an essential part to every season. No one likes missing a day of riding, especially because of injuries, so do yourself and your season a favor – work out with your snowboard!
The program below is a basic body weight and snowboard weight program that targets the muscles most commonly used when riding – your legs, core and upper body (in particular, your shoulders). The four days a week program is broken down into two lower body days and two upper body days that each include abdominal and lower back exercises.
So what are you waiting for? Don’t store that snowboard away just yet. Your off season has just begun!
Before beginning any program it is extremely important to complete a good warm-up. As opposed to static stretching, a dynamic warm-up utilizes continuous movement to increase blood flow, warm up your muscles, increase your heart rate and mentally prepare you for exercise. Some warm-up exercises include:
Jumping jacks, jump rope or jogging for 1 minute flowed by:
- High knees & butt kicks
- Body weight squats
- Standing trunk twists
- Bent over trunk twists
- Arm circles – arms out at a T; start with small circles and progressively get bigger.
- Arm hugs – arms out at a T, hug yourself and repeat.
- Arm swings – arms a your side, swing them from front to back
- Quad stretch – hold for 2 seconds and switch legs (6-8 times each leg)
- Lunge forward, twist over the bent knee and arch up and back to stretch out your abs, back and hip flexors.
Don’t be afraid to add your own ideas to your warm up to make it your own or more exciting.
***Remember when stretching before workouts make sure to do dynamic stretching where you hold the stretch for a couple seconds, release and repeat.***
The Workouts
Each workout should last about one hour (this includes both the warm-up and the cool down).
With each set, don’t be afraid to experiment with the repetitions. Your muscles should feel fatigued at the end of each set but you should not be in pain. Try to increase your number of repetitions each week.
** SS = superset: a combination of one exercise performed right after the other with no rest in between them.
** Some of these exercises require the use of a snowboard. The snowboard used in the pictures weighs about 9lbs. If your own snowboard is too heavy or too light, find a safe object at home to use as your new “weight”.
There you have it! A simple, no gym now worries workout to prep yourself for the upcoming season. But remember once you’ve finished your final rep, doesn’t mean your workout is over. What you do after your workout is just as important as what you do during it. After any workout your muscles are tired and begin breaking down. The immediate time after you exercise is essential to muscle and tissue repair, strength building and overall recovery. Remember to cool down properly at the end of each workout by stretching all the muscles you used.
Don’t be shy, give this workout a shot! But, if working out isn’t your thing…. You could always try a new board sport – longboarding, skating, surfing? The possibilities are endless.
Questions about these work outs? Leave us a comment!