Are The Skills and Fitness of Surfing Transferable To Snowboarding?
Two extreme sports that have seen a huge upsurge in their popularity over the last decade are surfing and snowboarding. It might be the case that one takes place on snow covered mountains and the other often takes place in warm waters with sandy beaches, but that doesn’t stop people enjoying both sports. But how much of the skills and fitness that are needed for one sport transferable to the other? Let’s compare 3 of the main elements needed for these sports.
Upper Body Condition. As any surfer will tell you, if you haven’t got great upper body fitness, there is not much point even getting in the water. Like kitesurfing, you are often battling against the ocean, but with surfing you need endurance in order to repetitively paddle board out to sea against breaking waves, and power is need in the ‘pop-up’ phase of getting upright on the board when you have caught a wave. Snowboarding however, does not demand anywhere near as from the upper body, as it is only really used for balance and core-stability support
Timing. This is one very important factor that is shared by both sports. Snowboarding requires very accurate timing of turns and carves, especially when your trying to line up for a jump where a few centimeters out on the take off can sometimes mean you miss your landing my meters. Timing is also very important in surfing, not only when trying to pick up a wave with your surfboards, but also knowing when to turn, flex, or indeed bail out
Lower Body Condition. The legs play a very important part in both snowboarding and surfing, but it’s snowboarding that requires the most from the lower limbs. As extreme sports equipment goes, Snowboards require great skill and agility to turn and carve, and if your leg muscles are not in good condition you will simply not be able to ride well. However, don’t think the lower body can be neglected in surfing, your legs and core need to be strong and flexible, even just to stand up.