Simple Tutorials and Tips for Beginner Snowboarders
I have outlined a basic snowboard tutorial for beginners including what should beginner snowboarders wear, the equipment they will need, the exercises you need to master and some common snowboarding mistakes you should try to avoid.
This entire post is an outlay of what you’ll need to know to successfully learn how to snowboard from a beginner’s point of view.
Here’s what you’ll Learn today:
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Is it easy to learn snowboarding?
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What should I Expect on my first day?
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Can you learn to snowboard in a day?
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How to know if you’re Goofy or regular?
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How to walk with one foot strapped in?
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Climbing with a snowboard
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Straight Run with one foot strapped in.
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How to get off the chair lift?
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What to wear?
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Equipment needed for beginners
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How to perform a garland on a snowboard?
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C turn on a snowboard
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S linked turn on a snowboard
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Balance exercises
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Common beginner snowboarding mistakes!
Lets begin…
Is it Easy to learn how to snowboard?
I get asked this question a lot! Hows easy is it for beginners to learn how to snowboard…
…And to tell you the truth, quite frankly, that answer depends on your you’re athletic ability and background.
In my experience as a snowboard instructor it’s like any other sport, some people have a natural athletic ability and some people don’t.
If you’re from a skateboarding background, generally what I find is that this really does help individuals adapt to the new environment with little resistance.
It also helps if you have skied before, it helps when you’re comfortable with the feeling of what it’s like to slide on snow and control yourself through Edge pressure.
People in this category pick up snowboarding reasonably quick!
If you’re not from either of these backgrounds don’t worry, generally speaking, snowboarding can be easy to learn as long as you have a good instructor who knows how to get the point across using various learning techniques to help the individual… and that’s why I created online snowboard coach (LINK)
What should I Expect on my first day?
On your first day as a beginner snowboarder, you can expect to be sore! In a good way though, you’ll be using muscles, especially in your legs that you probably haven’t used in a while, they help support your upper body in such a way that it fatigues the Leg muscles quickly.
Now, Depending on your instructor you can expect to make 5 runs down the learners slope.
Hopefully snow conditions are good and if that’s the case, falling over (and you will fall over) will not hurt as much.
That’s why we recommend going through our beginner snowboard execution plan so you’ll know exactly what you’re doing even before you hit the snow.
As a side note, you should also Expect to have an amazing day having fun with your friends and family!
Can you learn to snowboard in a day?
Yes you can learn to snowboard in a day, in fact, you can learn to snowboard and 3 hours (if you have the right training), I I have personally taught people on a snowboard for the first time and had them linking turns and snowboarding down the hill in only a couple of hours.
Once again this depends on your instructor, your learning Style and your ability to implement the exercises/tutorials or techniques that have been designed for beginner snowboarders.
In all honesty, your average snowboarder will take anywhere from 1 to 3 days to learn how to snowboard from a beginner. (link)
Learn the basics for How to snowboard for beginners.
Learning to snowboard Can be exciting, frustrating and one of the most exhilarating experiences you can enjoy with your friends and family in your life.
Snowboard Anatomy
let’s start with the learning exactly what our snowboard is and what it looks like.
we have the nose, the tale, side rails another words toe edge and heel edge, we have our bindings we have our stomp pad, and finally we have our snowboard leash.
How to know if you’re Goofy or regular.
One way we can figure out if you are goofy or regular is to imagine we are about to look over the edge of a cliff. imagine you have a line in the snow and we are standing back from a cliff about 1 ft.
Both of our feet are together and without thinking about it we’re going to take 1 step forward and peer over the edge of the cliff.
whatever foot you placed forward first is a pretty good indication that this foot is your dominant leg, and with that knowledge you will either be a natural (with your left foot forward first) or a goofy rider (with your right foot forward first.)
This is a very easy way to figure out whether you’re a regular rider or you’re a goofy Rider
How to Walk with one foot strapped in on our snowboard?
Standing on a stationary position, with your weight on your front foot, move the front of your foot forward and at the same time bring your back foot up to it once it has taken one step forward.
Take slow small steps and move in the direction you want to travel.
How to Glide on a snowboard with only one foot strapped in?
Standing in a stationary position, slowly move your front foot forward and at the same time bring your back foot forward (on either your heel or toe edge).
Make sure your snowboard does not slide too far so it puts you off balance.
Once you have a little momentum, lift your back foot up and place it on the stomp pad, at this stage of the exercise you should stand in your basic stance and Glide until you come to a complete stop.
Climbing on a snowboard with only one foot strapped in?
In the starting position with your front foot strapped in and your snowboard facing across the full line.
Dig your toe Edge into the snow, and step forward with the foot that is not strapped into the board. then lift the snowboard up and bring it up to the back of your back foot, repeat this process to climb up the hill with one foot out of your snowboard
Straight run on a snowboard with only one foot strapped in?
Standing in a stationary position with your snowboard facing down the hill down the fall line on the snow.
Lift your back foot up slowly and place it on the back stomp pad.
stand in the basic stance, add a little bit of extra weight on the front foot t help with balance, have your arms out to the side, head looking up and in the direction of travel and keep Gliding on your snowboard in a straight line with a flat base until you stop.
Note: this exercise must be performed on a slope where you cannot gain a lot of xspeed.
How to get off a chairlift on a snowboard?
As you approach the top station, face the nose of your snowboard in a straight directional line.
when you make contact with the snow and are told to stand up place your back foot on your stomp pad and have a strong basics stance, Glide straight down the ramp then perform a j turn to a stop.
What to wear for the first time beginner snowboarder?
What gear do you need to wear for the first time snowboarder.
well, first of all we’re going to need some waterproofing clothing, which consists of snowboard pants, thermals, waterproof jacket, waterproof gloves, beanie, goggles and snowboarding boots.
Equipment needed for beginner snowboarders!
What equipment do I need for the first time snowboard beginner?
Obviously you’re going to need a snowboard, you’re going to need snowboard bindings, if you are renting is snowboard which I highly recommend, bindings come as part of the rental package.
You’ll need snowboarding boots and if you’re a nervous snowboarder I recommend wrist guards and a helmet as well, this will help you learn in a safer environment.
Snowboarding exercises for beginners.
J Turn on a snowboard
How do you do a J turn and why do we need to learn how to do a j turn?
The main reason we perform a j turn is to learn how to turn and stop when we are getting off a chairlift.
It’s important to note that this also helps you to understand the concept, that in order to turn our snowboard in any direction we need to have weight on that front forward foot.
Starting in your basic stance position, place your back foot on the stomp pad and start to gain some momentum, maintain standing in your basic stance and as you go to perform the turn ,keep the weight on the front foot, then look and point in the direction of travel and either lift up the toe edge or heel Edge to make a J turn.
Garlands
Why do we perform Garlands on our snowboard?
The reason we need to learn how to perform Garlands is to learn how to initiate the start and the completion of the turn when our snowboard is facing down the hill.
How do we perform a Garland?
Starting off with our snowboard traversing across the fall line, keep weight on the front foot and Point your snowboard down into the fall line.
Once your snowboard is pointing down the hill, start looking and pointing back across the hill so your snowboard comes back across the Fall line and ultimately comes to a stop.
Practise this technique on both edges.
C turn on a snowboard with both feet strapped in?
To perform a c turn, Start with your snowboard traversing across the hill.
Initiate the turn by performing a Garland and steering your snowboard down into the fall Line, at this point we change edges on to our new edge, keeping weight on the front foot and start looking and pointing back across the hill in the new direction of travel.
It’s important to note, not to rush this turn at the edge change, be patient, keeping your weight on your front foot, standing up tall and let the snowboard come around and into the full line naturally.
Linked s turns on a snowboard with both feet strapped in?
Linked s turns are essentially the same as performing a c turn. except for this time, we are going to double up the turns and travel back in the opposite direction.
Once you have performed a c turn, keep travelling in that direction, control your speed and get ready to perform another c turn. Ultimately this is going to set you up to perform a controlled s turn.
Once you have your speed controlled, initiate the other c turn, keeping weight on the front foot while looking and pointing to where you want to go.
Be patient and let the snowboard come back around into the full line to change edges.
Balance exercises for snowboarding beginners.
Some good balance exercises for beginner snowboarding is to find a skateboard deck, a small piece of PVC piping or a water bottle filled up with water.
Quick note: make sure you try this balance exercise for beginner snowboarders standing in between a doorway when you are first learning.
place your water bottle on the floor, Next, place your skateboard half on the water bottle and half on the ground, slowly place both feet at either end of the skateboard, now gently rock onto the water bottle so your weight is distributed evenly on either foot and you are elevated off the ground.
Slowly start maneuvering your weight distribution left to right so that your skateboard deck is able to roll left and right with the skateboard.
As you become more confident, take one hand off the wall and keep practicing this technique, ultimately the idea is to get it to the point where you do not need to hold onto any existing structure in your environment.
Common Beginner snowboarding mistakes
Basic stance on a snowboard.
This common problem with beginner snowboarders is maintaining a basic stance.
Always try to maintain your basic stance, consciously thinking about how your body is positioned when you are standing on your snowboard.
Remember feet and knees should be slightly flexed even weight on both feet, straight back, arms relaxed and by the side, head looking in the direction of travel.
Weight distribution (Leaning back on the snowboard)
Another common problem for first time beginner snowboarders is that they tend tend to lean back, rather than keep the weight forward over the front foot.
keeping our weight forward is essential to steering your snowboard and pressuring your snowboard Edge correctly.
As soon as you transfer the weight onto the back foot you, lose the ability to steer your snowboard in the direction you want to travel.
Here’s a tip: If you’re struggling to keep your weight forward over the front foot when you’re beginning to learn how to snowboard, keep your front hand over the nose of your snowboard, this will help you keep weight on the front foot.
Another common problem for beginner snowboarders is where they are looking with the Head. (THIS IS MASSIVE)
This potentially is one of the biggest problems I see, and I still see at all levels of the snowball progression.
If I can install anything into your mindset as a beginner, it is to start focusing on where you are looking and in what direction you’re travelling.
Get out of the habit of looking down at your feet or looking down the hill, and focus on keeping your head up and looking in the direction of travel.
At first this can be somewhat challenging but once you have installed this positive habit, you will literally start to fly through every aspect of the snowboard progression.
keep your head looking up.
Turn Shape and Speed Control
Another common problem for beginners is speed control.
so how do you slow down and stop when you’re a beginner snowboarder?
One technique we can use, is to control our tern shape.
What I mean by controlling our turn shape is using the terrain of the hill to literally control our speed, if you want more speed, direct your snowboard down the hill and if you want less speed direct your snowboard across and if need be up the hill to slow down or stop.
RELATED: Carving snowboard tutorials
Once again, this comes back to looking and pointing to where you would like to travel, keep your head up and Point to control your turn shape when beginning to make turns on your snowboard!
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