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.
How To Determine Snowboard Sizes
related article: Skateboard Dimensions, Sufrboard Dimensions
Finding the right snowboard sizes is not as easy as it used to be. Currently, there are more than 100 companies in the snowboard market competiting for your money. There is a lot of choices available, but you need a good and correct informations to make the selection exciting and pleasurable.
Determining the perfect snowboard dimensions requires a few important questions to be answered. There are few factors that can greatly affect your choice of snowboard. Here we will look at the basic considerations in choosing the right snowboard sizes.
Although the basic contributors to your choice of snowboard sizes are your weight, height, size of foot, and riding style, there are some other factors that needs to be considered. First thing would be your riding ability. Are you just a beginner, taking lessons, or a first time snowboarder? Do you frequently ride the snowboard? Do you consider yourself an expert snowboarder already?
In order to determine the right snowboard sizes, you also need to find out your particular riding style. There are several riding style: mountain, freestyle or technical riding, and carve/alpine style. An all mountain snowboarding style uses the entire mountain as well as all aspects of riding.
As for beginners, the most frequently used style would be the freestyle or technical riding, which involves most trick riding. On the other hand, the carve/alpine style makes use of speeds and deep turns and uses everything the mountain can offer.
The next thing to consider is to find the right length and width of the board. The correct sized snowboard should stand between your chin and nose when placed on its tail. The width is connected to the size of your foot so make sure that it is wide enough for your heel and toe and does not drag the snow while turning.
Your weight is also a factor that could have an impact on the correct snowboard sizes. If you have a heavier weight, you should find a board that has a stiffer flex. The best choice is a board that has a softer flex if your weight is light.
With all these considerations, choosing the right snowboard sizes can become easy especially with the wide array of choices that are accessible in the market. One final consideration that you should bear in mind when choosing the right snowboard is how much you are willing to spend. Follow these tips and you are on your way to an exciting snowboarding experience.
Finally Surfing and Snowboarding Have Come Together
People who perform extreme sports are not your normal sports participants. They are masters of innovation and if something can be done differently, chances are someone will attempt it. Both surfing and snowboarding, although popular, are a little old now in some people’s eyes and could do with updating. It is no surprise then that one avid extreme sports fan gave in to curiosity and tried riding down the mountain side on his customised surfboard…and succeeded?
The sport of snow surfing is thought to have first been conceived in New Zealand when a visiting Australian surfer decided to see if he could ride his board on the white stuff.The sport was born, and others were quick to give it a go and allow this mad activity to keep on growing. Snow surfers say that the sport demands high levels of fitness and co-ordination above all else. Unlike snowboards, riders do not have any bindings to attach themselves to the board, but instead rely on aggressive carving and the use of the hands to ensure that the board stays under their feet. Stopping has also proved something of a challenge due to the lack of sharp ‘edges’ on a surfboard, but most runs incorporate a run-off area where riders can slow down.
As with all emerging extreme sports, sponsors and industry brands have been paying close attention to see if it is worth their while getting involved.There is speculation that both Ride and Volcom are getting involved in the sport and have been sending their scouts out to snow surfing events recently. Due to the sport’s relative infancy though, it may be some time before we see it publicised in the mainstream media or any specialised equipment appear on the shelves of your local sports store. That said, given the early growth of the sport, you might soon be seeing some snow surfers at a resort new you.