Old Man Army Boot Camp

Snowboarding is a fairly unique sports movement: it relies on one legs muscles much more than the others. Niseko local physiotherapist Bevan Colless has even noted what he calls “powder leg” wherein local riders logging long hours leaning back in the powder have a marked difference in the size and muscular strength of their front riding leg versus the predominant back leg.

Worse ways to develop an ailment I know, but by adding the following simple exercises to your routine, will help develop the core individual leg muscles used when snowboarding the deep pow and give you more pop and better turning response.

After a warmup of 5-10 minutes work at a rate that challenges without making it too difficult to breathe, complete the following

5 rounds of

1. 10 right leg lunges (back knee to lightly graze the floor, front knee does NOT flex beyond the front of the foot)
2. 20 air squats (elbows higher than shoulders in whatever position is comfortable, knees flexing to 90 degrees or more, feet shoulder width or better)
3. 10 left leg lunges

complete all rounds continuously without stopping unless needed, followed by

3 rounds of

1. 3 single leg squats (use support as needed, keeping non active leg in front of body, raising forward as body lowers to 90 degrees)
2. 10 air sumo squats (feet wider than shoulder width, dropping as deeply as comfortable while keeping elbows higher than shoulder height before thrusting upwards)
3. 3 single leg squats with opposite.

In the next article I will discuss exercises designed to utilize more of the posterior muscles active during snowboarding , while also developing hip flexibility and power.