5 Snowboarding Stretches to Get You Ready for the Mountain
Getting ready to hit the slopes on your board? Here are 5 great snowboarding stretches recommended by our ClareMotion Physical Therapists to help your body warm up to help with injury prevention and avoid the aches and pains that often come with the season. Adding some simple stretches to your routine can keep your muscles limber and your body moving efficiently to keep you feeling your best throughout the winter season!
Adductor Stretch
- Why: Warms up the inner thigh muscles, improving hip flexibility for efficient side-to-side movements on your board.
- How:
- Start standing with your feet wide apart.
- Shift your weight to one side, bending that knee while keeping the other leg straight.
- Feel a stretch along the inner thigh of the straight leg.
- Hold briefly, then return to the center and repeat on the opposite side.
- Perform 10 repetitions on each side.
Quadriceps Stretch
- Why: Prepares the quadriceps for the demanding work of powering through turns, holding edges, and maintaining balance.
- How:
- Stand tall, holding onto a stable surface if needed.
- Bend one knee and bring your heel towards your buttock.
- Grasp your ankle and gently pull your heel closer to your glutes, feeling a stretch in the front of your thigh.
- Hold briefly, then release and repeat on the other side.
- Perform 10 repetitions on each side.
Squat to Hamstring Stretch
- Why: Loosens the hamstrings, essential for bending and strapping into your snowboard, as well as maintaining balance.
- How:
- Begin standing with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Perform a squat, bending your knees and lowering your hips.
- From the bottom of the squat, begin to straighten your legs while keeping your back as straight as possible, this will increase the stretch in your hamstrings.
- Return to starting position.
- Perform 10 repetitions.
Hip Flexor Stretch with Thoracic Side Bending and Rotation
- Why: Targets the hip flexors, crucial for bending at the hips, lifting knees, and rotating the torso—key movements in snowboarding. The added side bending and rotation improves thoracic spine mobility.
- How:
- Kneel on one knee, with the other foot forward.
- Push your hips forward, feeling a stretch in the front of the back hip.
- While holding the hip flexor stretch, raise the arm that is on the same side as the kneeling knee, and bend to the opposite side.
- Then rotate the torso toward the forward leg.
- Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
- Perform 10 repetitions of the side bending and rotation on each side.
Thread the Needle
- Why: Warms up the spine and shoulders, enhancing flexibility and mobility for better control on the slopes.
- How:
- Start on your hands and knees.
- Extend one arm underneath your body, rotating your torso and shoulder.
- Feel a stretch along your spine and shoulder.
- Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
- Perform 10 repetitions on each side.
Check out our instagram @claremotionpt for videos of these stretches. Don’t forget to incorporate a post-ride cool down. You can go through the same stretches you did to warm up in the beginning of the day, just hold them for a longer period of time (30-60 seconds each), this is called static stretching.
Pro Tip: There are MANY mobility exercises out there and here are just a handful to get you started. Repetition counts should be viewed as recommendations only – different people have different levels of fitness and needs! NEVER push through any pain and consult your healthcare provider to find the right exercises specific to you and your body!
