Pilates for snowboarding

Snowboarding has been slowly growing since it was invented in 1965 reaching a peak in the 1990s. Consistently increasing in popularity since. Over half of the snowboarders are aged 7-17 and 25% are women. One out of every eight snowboarders is between the ages of 25-44. (18-30 years are the largest group) People are taking up this sport at every age.  So what are some of the physical benefits of snowboarding? It’s a physical activity so you’re getting out and about and moving, even if it’s just falling and getting back up again, which is great if your life is relatively sedentary or spent indoors. Recreational snowboarding can burn up to 630 calories/hour and competitive snowboarding, double that!  What is required physically of a snowboarder? A high degree of strength and balance to transition from edge to edge while maintaining balance despite the changes in terrain, speed and weather conditions are necessary. With the different types of snowboarding there are a different set of challenges. 

Different Types of Snowboarding

Giant slalom and slalom events are ‘carving” or “downhill” racing events. i.e. the snowboarder runs gates on a dual course like skiing. Longer boards and harder boots are needed for this. When carving at high speeds the boarder’s body faces down the hill most of the time. A high degree of concentric, eccentric and isometric strength is needed to perform well. Halfpipe, slopestyle and Boardercross events are “free riding” or “all mountain” boarding with spinning, flipping, jumping and landing.

Muscles used in Snow Boarding

Some of the primary muscles used when snowboarding are core muscles (abdominals, back, pelvic floor), foot/ankle muscles, upper leg muscles, hip and glute muscles. 

Core Muscles 

A great deal of balance is required when snowboarding so your core muscles (abdominals, back and pelvic floor muscles) will be working and need to be strong. All the exercise in Pilates use these muscles in some form whether as the prime mover or as a stabilizer. Either way they are being strengthened and toned all of which increase your stability and balance while snowboarding. 

Feet and Ankles 

Your feet are connected to the snowboard, your feet and ankles muscles are working to help you make cuts and turns so injuries to the ankles are quite common while snowboarding. Wrist fractures and sprains, shoulder injuries due to impact from falls and neck whiplash are also common when snowboarding. Increasing the strength in the tendons and ligaments of the ankles, wrists, shoulder and neck can help to minimize injury. Pilates can help with strengthening and toning these areas. Learning to stabilize the shoulder girdle through Pilates exercises will help strengthen muscles, tendons and ligaments in these areas. Specific exercises for these areas are also available on the mat and reformer. There is plenty of reformer work for the feet, calves and ankles. Pilates is done without shoes so the muscles in the feet and ankles must work. 

Thighs 

Quadriceps and hamstrings play a large part in snowboarding. While they do not control your movement and direction as much as the feet and ankles, the lower you are the better you balance will be. Maintaining that squatting position requires strength and muscular endurance in the quadriceps and hamstrings. 

Hip and glute muscles 

These muscles are used to help you steer and carve. It is very common for people who sit all day for work or school to have tight hip flexors. Stretching out the hip flexors is very important. Over all flexibility is also important for snowboarding and injury prevention. There are a number of exercises on the reformer in Pilates that will help strengthen, increase muscular endurance in the quadriceps and hamstrings. Strengthening the glutes and hip flexors as well and stretching out the legs in all planes can be done quite well on the reformer.  

Snowboarding is an asymmetrical sport. You’re mounted on the board one leg in front of the other. This means you must be strong in this position but as a result muscle imbalance in the body is likely and the repetitive stress to the muscles of snowboarding can result in postural imbalances leading to injuries. Strengthening both sides of the body equally is important, not just for snowboarding but for all asymmetrical sports. 

The lower body does a lot of the work in snowboarding. This doesn’t mean the upper body can be neglected. Falling is inevitable. Having the strength to lift and push yourself up off the snow requires some basic upper body strength. When you aren’t picking yourself up off the snow the upper body must be stable. Core strengthening and conditioning is required for this as well as learning how to stabilize the upper body will help.  

Breathing doesn’t sound so hard. But efficient and controlled breathing while snowboarding may be tougher. One of the main components of Pilates is breathing, effective, efficient and controlled breathing. Through Pilates training you will learn how to breath efficiently and controlled while being active maximizing your lung capacity and oxygenating your blood throughout your snowboarding. 

While snowboarding you’ll need to be able to feel the snow and terrain beneath you. Some kind of proprioceptive training will help with this. This is being able to sense the position, location, orientation and movement of the body and its parts. Pilates can offer this in particular on the reformer which allows for more dynamic training. 

Pilates can address muscular endurance for various muscles groups including the ones used for snowboarding. Unless you’re a seasoned practitioner of Pilates, you probably will not be able to go through the exercises quickly enough to get your heart rate up enough to benefit cardiovascular. Some additional cardiovascular exercise is advised.