How to Warm Up for Snowboarding: 8 Easy Movements

Knowing how to warm up for snowboarding can be as simple as doing a few basic stretches in the parking lot before riding. And no, warming up is not JUST for Burton Pro Team riders or crusty 40-year-olds with aching backs. Everyone should adopt a pre-riding warm up routine, no matter their age or ability level, to reduce the chances of injury and ride stronger.

In this short guide on how to warm up for snowboarding, team riders Anna Gasser and Luke Winkleman walk you through a quick and easy 10-minute routine of light calisthenics and stretching. It’ll get your blood flowing, improve your riding, and help you have the most fun, we guarantee it.

1) Jumping Jacks: 30 Seconds
2) Arm Circles Forward and Backward: 15 each side
3) Arm Crossover Hugs: 15 each side
4) Bodyweight Squats: 20
5) Dynamic Quad Stretch: 8-10 each side
6) Deep Lunge with Reach: 5 each side
7) Leg Swings Front-to-back and Side-to-side: 30 Seconds each side
8) 90/90 Hip Mobility: 10 each side

We like to start every snowboard warm up routine with thirty seconds of jumping jacks to get everything moving - arms and legs - while also warming up and elevating the heart rate, which prepares us for additional exercises. Jumping jacks are a great way to begin because you don’t need to lie down in the snow, and you don’t need any special equipment.

How to do Jumping Jacks: Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Start in a standing position with your legs together and your arms resting at your sides. Make sure you have enough room so that you don’t accidentally slap your buddies or a random passerby when you start waving your arms around.

Step 2: Jump straight up into the air while simultaneously raising your arms so they meet and spreading your legs.

Step 3: Land with your arms at their highest point, and your legs shoulder-width apart.

Step 4: Jump again, this time letting your legs come back together, and letting your arms swing down to toward your sides.

Step 5: Land with your legs together and your arms at your sides.

Repeat this motion without stopping for thirty seconds, making sure to do it vigorously enough so that you feel your heart rate become elevated. But go easy, the goal is to introduce movement to your body and get loosened up, not strain yourself before getting on the snow.

Snowboarding may primarily rely on the core and lower body to control the board and initiate turns, but the arms and shoulders do a lot of work too, so don’t ignore them. Arm circles are a quick and easy way to prepare the shoulders for movement through their full range of motion, reducing your risk of injury and while also activating muscles in the core and upper back

How to do Arm Circles: Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1: Assume a standing position with your feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, and core engaged.

Step 2: Extend your arms straight out from your sides so they are parallel to the ground.

Step 3: Begin making small circles (6 inches, 15 centimeters) with your arms, initiating the movement from your shoulders and making sure to keep your elbows/arms straight.

Step 4: Gradually make larger and larger circles, aiming to max out at roughly 12 inches (30 centimeters).

Step 5: Now perform the same motion in the opposite direction, starting small and gradually expanding your circles.

Arm crossover hugs, also known as cross-body shoulder swings, loosen up the shoulders and chest while activating muscles in the upper back. They’re a great warm up for snowboarding that can increase your range of motion, loosen you up after driving to the mountain, and prepare you for a day of riding.

How to do Arm Crossover Hugs: Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1: Begin in a standing position with your feet shoulder width apart and arms at your sides.

Step 2: Engage your core and raise your arms out to either side of your body, forming a “T”.

Step 3: Now swing your arms out in front of yourself, passing one over the other to wrap around and hug yourself.

Step 4: Swing your arms back to the “T” position, before swinging them forward again, this time passing the opposite arm on top of the other. Repeat this motion for 30 seconds.

Squats provide many benefits, no matter what active pursuits you enjoy. When warming up for snowboarding, squats are especially great because they target the major and minor muscles that we use to ride. Squats also move our joints through a wide range of motion and get our hearts pumping.

When performing squats, even without weight, it’s important to have your form dialed to get the biggest benefit. This means assuming a shoulder-width stance, keeping your knees tracking over your toes (don’t let them “cave” inward as you squat), your chest up, facing forward, and back straight. As you perform a squat, make sure that all of your weight is distributed even across your feet and they remain planted on the ground; don’t rock onto your toes or heels.

How to do Bodyweight Squats: Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1: Assume a shoulder-width stance with your feet planted and your toes and heels rooted into the ground. Your toes should generally be pointing forward, or slightly turned outward, whichever feels most comfortable for you.

Step 2: Keeping your chest facing forward and your back straight, bend at the knees and waist, dropping your butt down toward your heels while keeping your gaze forward.

Step 3: Take a beat at the bottom of the squat, then stand back up. Repeat 15 times.

Our quads are one of the primary muscles we use when riding, so it’s important to wake them up before starting to ride. The dynamic quad stretch does this in addition to promoting balance and mobility, two key factors for reducing the chances of injury, riding strong, and in control. We really like a dynamic quad stretch because unlike a static stretch (one where you hold a position without movement), dynamic stretches help us avoid overstretching. This stretch also provides benefits to the knees, lower back, and hip flexors.

How to do the Dynamic Quad Stretch: Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1: Begin in a standing position with feet hip-width apart, arms at your sides, and your core engaged as if you are ready to absorb a punch.

Step 2: Shift your weight so you are balancing on your left foot, bending your right knee while simultaneously reaching back with your right hand to grab your ankle.

Step 3: Gently pull your right heel in toward your glutes – you should be feeling a stetch in the front of your right thigh (quad). Hold for 30 seconds.

Step 4: Release your right ankle and come back to a balanced standing position.

Step 5: Repeat the motion for your left leg, holding the stretch for 30 seconds.

Like most of our warm up stretches for snowboarding, the deep lunge with reach hits a bunch of different muscles at the same time making it a very useful way to prepare for a day of riding. This stretch hits glutes, hamstrings, and hip flexors, while also mobilizing the spine and bringing balance and coordination into the mix. There are few stretches that target this many benefits within such a short period of time.

How to do Deep Lunges with Reach: Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1: Begin in a standing position with your feet hip-width apart and your arms at your sides.

Step 2: Take a large step forward with your left foot (lunge). Your hips should get low enough that your left thigh is parallel to the ground. Your right leg should be straight out behind you, with your knee close to (but not touching) the ground.

Step 3: Place both hands on the ground on either side of your right foot to help you balance.

Step 4: While keeping your right hand on the ground, rotate your torso “open”, letting your left arm point upward to the ski. Your chest should come roughly to a 90-degree angle to the ground, with your head rotating so that you are looking straight up at your hand.

Step 5: Hold for 3-5 seconds, then slowly rotate back toward the ground, placing tour hand back down next to your outstretched leg.

Step 6: Step back so that your feet are together, come to a standing position, legs hip-width apart, and perform the stretch on the other side. Perform 5 times on each side.

Leg swings are a great addition to any snowboard warmup routine to loosen up the hips before riding. And if you suffer from cold toes, leg swings are also a great trick for warming your toes up quickly in the middle of the day.

How to do Leg Swings: Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1: Find a location where you can hold onto a stationary object like a car or sign post but won’t accidentally kick someone while swinging your leg.

Step 2: Keeping your knee straight, swing your left forward, then back, focusing on completing the largest range of motion possible without overreaching. You can open your hips as your swing to get an even bigger range of motion.

Step 3: Swing back and forth for 10-30 seconds.

Step 4: Repeat for your other leg.

Step 5: Next, using the same object or location for balance, you’ll swing side to side.

Step 6: Standing tall, take a slightly staggered stance, with one foot roughly 10 inches in front of the other.

Step 7: Now, keeping your knee straight, swing your front leg side to side. The range of motion you are able to achieve will be less than front-to-back swings. Swing wide-to-side for 10-30 seconds, then repeat with your other leg.

Snowboarding demands that we loosen up our hips if we want to make smooth, flowing turns, and tweak out our grabs. We recommend dedicating time specifically to the hips, taking them through a 90/90 hip mobility movement to ensure that they get the attention needed to open up prior to riding. 90/90 hip mobility has a wide range of benefits including boosting hip rotation and flexibility, improving lower body alignment, preparing your body to make deep knee bends, and activating your core.

How to do 90/90 Hip Mobility: Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1: Begin seated upright on the ground, legs straight out in front of you with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Your hands can be placed on the ground behind you for support, but don’t put your full body weight on them.

Step 2: Drop both knees to the right, allowing them to both form 90-degree angles as they come to the floor or ground. In this position your left leg should be in front of your body, and your right leg should to your side. Shins should be roughly perpendicular to thighs.

Step 3: Sit up tall, ensuring that your chest is squared to your front (left) shin. Hold this for 3-5 seconds feeling a stretch in your front hip and back hip socket.

Step 4: Make a dynamic pivot on your heels, rotating your knees up off the ground, rotating your torso, and then placing your knees back to the ground to the left of your body.

Step 5: Ensure your torso is squared to your front (right) shin, sit up tall, and hold for 3-5 seconds while feeling a stretch in the front leg and rear hip socket.

Step 6: Repeat this motion 10 times in each direction.

Final Thoughts on How to Warm Up for Snowboard

Whether you perform a comprehensive snowboard warm up routine every time you ride, or just do a few specific movements based on how you’re feeling that day, you’ll be setting yourself up for success on the mountain. Because warming up prepares your body to ride, which can reduce the likelihood of injuries, maximizing riding days, and who doesn’t want to ride more?

If you’re looking for additional snowboard warm up stretches, check out 4 Snowboarding Stretches to Warm Up. You can also take your snowboarding fitness to the next level by performing a weekly calisthenics routine like the one outlined in The Snowboarder’s Workout: 13 Exercises to Build Strength. Finally, no snowboard fitness program is complete without some snowboard-specific yoga. Check out Burton’s Guide to Yoga for Snowboarders to get centered so you can shred harder and have the most fun.