How to get fit???
 

Hi,I have a crosstrainer and a rowing machine. Would any of these machines be good for getting fit towards snowboarding?. I use my wholebody in snowboarding so i'm guessing using the rower would be much more better?. Only saying this because my skateboard snapped :mad:

Any advice would be appreciated.

is snowboarding how you make your living

Most likely unless i waste $200 on gasoline each weekend and set myself on fire and post random comments on forums.

weight train. do heavy compound lifts that utilize your core muscles and legs. Deadlifts, Squats, and A Rows. Rowing machines are good cardio but they'll never improve your muscle strength more than you need to work the machine well so I would keep doing it but throw in some weight training as well.

Honestly weight lifting defeats the purpose of snowboarding. You want exercises that don't cause you to lose flexibility.

what about your core muscles? dont you want a really strong core?

Thank you!! dont know why people always tell you to lift weights. You don't need heavy ass weights to snowboard you'll get big, heavy and slow. Now light weight training could help, but concentrate on doing cardio lots of it since you will need as much stamina as possible. work on your core(midsection), legs and back(lower). try to be as flexible as possible. I have yet to see a rider who's super buff and walks around showing of his pec's and arm's on the hill. And yeah don't masterbate before going riding..not good:D

tell me about it! During off season i do a fair bit of weights and am a big boy... i seem to take 2 weeks to be able to ride like i was at the end of the previous season... i do a bit of kickboxing so my balance is ok... just find my upper body quite stiff...

First off, I agree with most of you that spending a lot of time weight training will not be nearly as beneficial as endurance/core/balance training. I would like to clear up some misconceptions though.

Getting big and heavy will not make you slow. It will make you Fast as F:cheeky4:ck (reducing quickness and manuverability for tricks however).

Heavy Ass Weights is a relative term. Muscle fibers are recruited in order by size. First the Type I fibers (slow twitch / endurance), then as load increases Type II a & b (fast twitch / power) are used. The latter do not fully come into play until (1) your slow twitch fibers tire out, like the last few reps of a set, or (2) when using about 90% of maximal effort, like heavy squats, box jumps, or something explosive. If you never train around the 85+ % effort range, you will be far less explosive off of jumps, etc than your potential.

Lifting in the 85+ % effort range would be a weight you could probably do 5 or fewer times. Lifting in this range trains your central nervous system to recruit all muscle fiber types at once. This makes your body much more efficient at using the muscle it already has. Training in this range also causes the body to grow more contractile protiens (actin and myosin) which make you stronger.

Lifting in the mid-rep range (10-12 reps), like bodybuilders, causes you to grow more muscle mass, but less contractile protiens (aka funtionless size). This is part of the reason you see many 225 lb bodybuilders that can only bench in the mid 300lb range but 225 lb powerlifters can lift in the upper 400 lb range or more (even though the power lifter has a higher bodyfat %, which means less actual muscle mass) (it also has to do with knowledge of proper form and leverage).

In summary, lifting heavy weights will condition your nervous system to be more efficient and build useful muscle. As long as you follow a healthy diet you don't have to put a ton of size on.

Food for thought young grasshoppers :dunno:

So, I have had a LOT of private msg's on this subject over the last few days. Instead of sending stuff to indivdual people, I think I am just going to post a more in-depth (but also quasi-basic) intro to proper nutrition and exercise on here over the next few weeks. I may move the powers that be to make it a sticky, too. I'll also request feedback from knowledgeable people about the best ways to convey the information. Topics I intend to cover are:

I. The Hard Truth
a. You have to bust your ass and make some real sacrifices to get in shape.
b. The importance of consistency, motivation, and realistic goals.

II. The Big Three
a. Food Consumption
b. Cardio
c. Weight Training

III. Refference Material
a. good food to eat
b. bad foot to eat
c. model work out routines
d. other books you should buy / read