SB4L

Sure Ibuprofen is good but I really only use it when in uncomfortable pain, and not usually before riding as this is a good way to aggravate a minor injury, as you don't feel them as much and then the pain is 10x worse if you fall on the same spot again. I try to stick with the "natural" pain-supressants for afterwards... aka beer and pot

maf05r6

I spent most of last year just like you. This year something just clicked and it all came together. Now the only reason I'm hurting is cause I'm pushing myself and going down trying new things. It is a good feeling though when I can ride most of the day and stay on my feet.

Keep it up you will get there.

w3iiipu

just came back from a trip...

i was pushing myself going faster and faster and trying different things...
and i noticed that if u fell hard once...the rest of the day is ruined...its like a mental thing...

i took a very hard fall early in the day and landed on my left hip...couldn't stand up or move for a good 10 minutes. Then the rest of my day just went kaput. I fell ALOT. Just kept falling and falling even when im speed checking constantly. Every turn i link i hesitated and it usually leads to another fall.

So all in all i ended up coming home with chest pains, busted wrists and knees, severe pain on my left hip(couldn't turn or move) and a concussion...FML
________
California medical marijuana

snaplok

Yeah I realized that it was a mental thing when I forgot my knee pads once. I was scared to reinjure my knee that I ended up... REINJURING MY KNEE. I locked up, kinda forcing myself to land on my a$$ then I ended up bruising my tailbone.

Now you would think I was in a Mad Max movie, knee pads and skeletools. Don't wear a helmet normally but that will probably change. And if I land on my elbows...

But I do do better now, just took a ton of padding not to care. Funny what the mind can do

Jojo

TAKE A LESSON!

at least 1 and since ur startin id take about 3 but spread out over a bout a week's time

i learned to snowboard in a HUGE group of at least 15 kids but since i got some teaching basics i just put what i saw people do and that skill plus some common sense and now im trying to not kill myself on jumps and jibs

also yes falling is painful but take it slow just keep control if you feel ur going too fast just stop

also as you get better you'll know when ur about to fall and you just get ready to take it

like me i fell at least 5 feet onto my butt plain and ismple but knowing it was gonna hurt a lot and a bit of soft snow made it painless

just keep at it my dad learned to ski at 52 with no help but he is just naturally atheltic so ya

STICK TO IT!!

and "we've all been there"

jliu

Oh man ain't that the truth...

I went through a mini slalom course w/ my friend...first couple of turns I stay down and it was pretty sick feeling...then I hit one turn w/ a bump and kinda stood up a bit...GG...rest of the day I was like...puttering my way along...heh...falling is mental...but once you stick that first black...and look back...golden

To the OP...i started 2 yrs ago (more like 1.5 since year before I went twice at the end of the season)...but yea...first 2-3 times are the pain...and I totally get that feeling of "what the heck am I doing wrong?!" Sometimes its just one key that makes it all click...in which a lesson would be good for..cause instructors are much better than the average joe at monitoring your body movements. Don't get discourged when you hear ppl say that I started linking turns on my 2nd time or whatever...everyone's learning curves are different.

baseline6

It's probably been said but I believe after awhile you learn how to fall... I fell straight on my knee a month back on straight up HARD ICE. My knee is still bruised but that day after that fall I kept positive that'd id get it down and I did... Just stay with it man and get lessons. Having somebody to teach you what your doing wrong is what you pay for but what they also offer is moral support for moral confidence when you take those nasty spills. Stay with it man starting out sucks because of all the falling getting hurt and haveing to get back up. Way i see it though I'd rather stick with it and make all that pain be for something then quiting and having took all that pain for nothing.

kevin034

It all really depends on how badly you want to learn. My first season my arms felt like they were going to melt off my shoulders, from having to constantly push myself back up. Then my ankles would swell up from all the heel side slides and my toes were numb from all the toe side stands. I barely even made it back into the parking lot let alone drive home (thankfully I was there with a bunch of friends.). What did I do that next day? I got my ass back out and continued learning, because I fell in love w/ the sport.

Best suggestion I have for you is - Snowboarding takes a lot out of you, during off-season it's best if you start exercising (A LOT). I do 30 minute yoga (helps with balance), 30 minute core, and 30 min strength every day (no weekend breaks). Some good exercises are planks (core), pushups (arms), squats (for legs, you will NEED leg strength), and sissors (abs).

Lastly, don't be afraid to fall. The bruises are just there to serve as memory of the good days, as long as you don't end up in the hospital.

Psychobilly

Yeah, the season is done now and I will have to wait until the end of the year... I think the best way forward is lessons!!! For example, when my "friend" was showing me how to snowboard, he made no mention of torsional flex on the board and that I could start lifting my front foot (when on my toe edge)while keeping my back foot on its toes and actually flex the board then engage the back foot - I think one of my problems was catching my heel edge by rushing the turn and not having the front of the board pointing down hill.....

kraig4422

I have been snowboarding for 18 years and I still bite it hard sometimes. In fact this year I was talking to my wife behind me and not paying attention where I was going and hit a small bump, threw me off and caught an edge. Landed flat on my back in the middle of a group of ski school students.
I agree that off season excercise will give you alot more confidence though. Especially when it comes to powering through turns and when you start hitting jumps. I suggest weight training, cardio, trampoline traing (if available) and I just got an Indo board which helps with balance.