grafta

THIS

10char

carverboy

All the exercise mentioned will help but I find it's a lot more constructive time spent riding my MTN bike. It works your core and builds the leg strength and it's 100x more fun than working out. And yeah there are MTB trails in texas.

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Toecutter

Mountain biking is great for leg strength and cardio but I find it doesn't work the core all that much. Even singlespeeding, where I'm standing up and cranking a lot, works my back extensors but doesn't get my abs. Definitely fun though.

HoboMaster

Road biking targets your core a little more so then mountain biking I think because you are bent over. It really depends on how aggressive you ride, the more aggressive you are the more you use your entire body. I know if I'm powering up a hill climb I'm targeting a lot of upper-body muscles.

Honestly though, biking in any form is great exercise and is actually FUN. Can't bring myself to do repetitions or go to a gym when I can go have fun and get the same effect.

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PowderHound and TreeNinja

C.B.

I really think the single best workout for snowboarding is wakeboarding.

dreampow

I have a pull up bar in the park near my house. Whenever I go past I do some pull ups (different variations).

For the core muscles I hang from the bar and raise pull my knees up to my chest then with that locked in position I rotate backwards so hanging upside down in a ball (a bit like your in the middle of a backflip). I then go back to a hanging with the arms and repeat that as much as I feel. For the back core muscles I hang down from the same bar and raise my legs behind me as high as I can, as if trying to touch my back with my feet. Basically like a method air without the board on but it still works the back and core if you repeat.

Squats and air chair (pretending you are sitting with no chair) work the legs and build up the muscles you need there.

The park overlooks the forest so I never feel bored listening to birds and enjoying the view.

As others said no substitute for actual snowboarding but it helps.

I just enjoy outdoor activities and being in shape all year round. Just fun to get the blood pumping and the muscles working.

CheeseForSteeze

+1 on this

Yoga is one the best things I've ever done for myself. I don't practice once a week like I used to, but it will fix knots and kinks in your body that aren't actual tears. For those of you who think it's "gay", yea well maybe. There are a lot of hot girls wearing those tights and it fixes your body. Worth it. Renato Sobral, one of the greatest MMA submission grapplers to fight practices several times a week.

Most general strength and condition programs can be modified to make it much easier to do line after line (snowboarding, c'mon guys - working out won't make you better at railing coke) without breaking. I took my strength/muscle mass regiment and simply dropped some of the weight and upped the reps just a little bit and I feel great out there. Awesome stuff.

Toecutter

Nice core on Gretchen B.:

ESPN the Magazine -- The Body Issue - ESPN

snowman123456

I was at the gym tonight and I found a great solution for what I'm looking for! One poster said if it's hard for you to get up on your snowboard then you're simply out of shape. I disagree. Last year was my first time snowboarding and at that time I was riding my mountain bike 50 miles/week - so reasonably in shape.

However, when you ride your bike your knees don't typically bend more than 90 degrees so you don't work some of the muscles that you would normally work if you bent your knees more. You can do leg presses and this helps a bit. However, the element of balance is key. For example, you can bench press a lot more on rails than you can free form because the rails manage the balance for you. Likewise, getting up on your snowboard is a more complex motion than typical gym exercises.

I came up with a great solution at the gym tonight. If you've ever used a FreeMotion machine before you know great it is for targeting different muscle groups, especially the FreeMotion Dual Cable Cross: FreeMotion Dual Cable Cross

So I've created 2 exercises: 1 for getting up toeside and 1 for getting up heelside. Get one of the mats to make the ground softer and put it at the base of the machine.

heelside:
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Do this exercise facing the machine. Find a good weight level that will provide a good amount of resistance for letting you gracefully decline to the ground on your rear. Then use your leg strength and leverage the negative resistance of the machine to help you get up. Adjust the weight as needed and reduce weight as you get better at this exercise.

toeside:
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Do this exercise facing away from the machine. This helps replicate the gravity of getting up toeside facing down a hill. Put a padded bar through the handles of the machine and put the bar under your arms. From a standing position use the negative resistance to slowly lower yourself to your knees on the ground. Then try to get up from your knees by rolling back from your toes onto your feet. Use your leg strength and leverage the negative resistance of the machine to help you get up. Adjust the weight as needed and reduce weight as you get better at this exercise.

Most people simply don't use this full range of motion/balance on a daily basis so this is a great training exercise. I did these exercises tonight and my legs felt almost *exactly* like they did after my first snowboard experience last year. My legs were like "WTF just happened?!" and I was waddling around like an 80 year old lady. I'm surprised I haven't read anyone recommend these exercises because they do mimic the actual motions very closely.

I plan to keep doing these exercises as much as possible when I go to the gym and I believe when I go snowboarding at the end of the year I'll be able to easily and consistently get up on my snowboard from heelside and toeside....