Part 2: How To Start Snowboarding

The first thing you need to determine is your foot stance. If you skateboard or surf you'll probably use the same foot forward as you do with those sports. If you have no idea which foot to put forward, then as the saying goes “put your best foot forward.”

So how do you determine which is your best foot to put forward. Try sliding across the floor with your socked feet. Which foot's in front? That's the one you'll want to put in front on your board too. Most people will find it's their left foot.

Have a look at the diagram below. It shows the anatomy of a skateboard for the normal boarder.

Your feet should be at least shoulder width apart or a little wider. If your stance is too close your balance will be off. The angle for the front binding is usually between 10 and 30 degrees.

If you're a beginner stay between 15 and 20 degrees. Once you are riding comfortably you can experiment with the angle to find out what's optimum for your riding style. T

The angle for the back foot can be anywhere from 0 to 15 degrees. Always start with 0 degrees and move up from there. If you ride the pipe you might want to use the duck position which has the toes on both feet pointing forward. Racers prefer a narrow stance with high angles. As you gain experience and fine tune the type of boarding you like to do your stance will most likely change.

Before hopping on your board you need to do some exercises. Just as you would for any other sport you need to loosen up to prevent injury.

Start with some stretches. Stretching increases your flexibility and when your snowboarding there's no such thing as too much flexibility. There are no set stretches for snowboarding. Just be sure you stretch out all the muscle groups. Hold each stretch for around 30 seconds.

Next: > Page 3: How To Snowboard

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