Get Fit to Protect Yourself from Snowboard Falls & Injury

Snowboard falls are inevitable, especially when learning to ride. That’s why it’s crucial to bullet-proof your body, with exercises specifically designed to reduce your chances of getting hurt.

Start with tips on the right way to fall while snowboarding. Next, jump into six easy exercises that will prepare you to fall, roll, recover, and ride away.

Bear crawl forward/back: 30 Seconds or cover 20 feet each direction
Side plank + reach-under: 10 Reps per side
Controlled backward rolls: 5 Reps
Reverse Snow angels (on stomach): 15 Reps
Wrist push-ups: 10 Reps
Wrist mobility rocks: 10 Reps

Getting Started: The Right Way to Fall While Snowboarding

No matter how strong you are, if you don’t know how to fall correctly while snowboarding, your chances of getting injured are pretty high. However, with a few well-timed movements, instead of slamming, you can roll away unharmed (most of the time). As with everything in snowboarding, practice is key, so you’ll want to make sure to try this in a controlled setting before expecting yourself to do it flawlessly on the slopes.

Pro tip: One sure-fire way to reduce the chances of an injury is to invest in some snowboard protective gear, like wrist guards and impact shorts.

Understand that avoiding falling all together is the best possible way to avoid getting injured. One of the ways to do this is to manage your speed. This means going the RIGHT speed – sometimes faster, sometimes slower – depending on the obstacle or terrain you’re riding. Your ability is a big part of this too, so know your limits, and know what it means to ride in control.

How to Fall While Snowboarding: 4 Tips

Tip 1: Reduce the force of impacts by getting low. Bend at the knees and waist if possible, getting as much of your body down onto the ground in a controlled manner.

Tip 2: Never attempt to catch yourself with your hands. Instead, pull your arms in, toward your torso and let your forearms and elbows absorb impacts.

Step 3: Aim to absorb impacts with larger, fleshy parts of the body, like the booty.

Step 4: Go with the momentum of the fall, rolling or summersaulting in the direction you were moving.

Remember that every fall is different, so there’s no one-size-fits-all method for avoiding injury.

1) Bear Crawl

Bear crawls are a full-body exercise combining core stability with coordination, promoting ankle/hip/wrist/shoulder resilience. When it comes to snowboard falls, bear crawls strengthen the muscles needed to tuck, roll, and recover, ultimately reducing your likelihood of getting injured while riding.

How to Do Bear Crawls: Step-by-step Instructions

Time: 30 seconds forward, 30 seconds backward

Step 1: Begin in a tabletop position on the ground, with your hands positioned under your shoulders and knees positioned under your hips. Your toes should be pointing forward, and your back flat, not rounded. Keep your gaze forward.

Step 2: Lift your knees just off the ground, maintaining a 90-degree bend in your knees and hips. Keep your core engaged so that your back remains flat.

Step 3: It’s time to start crawling, moving opposite limbs at the same time. This means when your right arm moves forward, your left leg also moves forward. Only move about 3 inches (7.5 centimeters) at a time: the goal is to make small, controlled movements while maintaining a flat back and tight core.

Step 4: Move forward for 30 seconds or 20 feet (6 meters), then move backward for 30 seconds or 20 feet.

2) Side Plank and Reach-Under

If you checked out our snowboard fitness maintenance workout, then you’ve already seen the side plank. To cut down further on the chances of injury from snowboard falls, we like to add a pull-through to the side plank, which targets the obliques. Strengthening the core helps us resist rotational forces. Additionally, when pulling through, we engage our shoulder blade stabilizer muscles, strengthening the rotator cuff to increase shoulder endurance and durability.

How to Do a Side Plank Reach-under: Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1: Set up for a side plank, lying on your right side with feet stacked (or staggered for better stability). Your right forearm should be supporting your torso, directly under your shoulder, creating a 90-degree angle.

Step 2: Lift your hips off the ground, bringing your spine into a straight line from the top of your head down through your heels.

Step 3: Extend your left arm upward above your body, letting your hand open and your fingers point straight up toward the sky.

Step 4: Now slowly reverse your arm extension, wrapping it down, around, and under your torso, all while maintaining the side plank position.

Step 5: Now reverse the motion, twisting your torso, unwrapping your arm back up to point up at the sky. This is one rep.

Step 6: Repeat 10 times on each side for a total of 20 reps.

3) Controlled Backward Rolls

Rolling into and out of a snowboard fall is a great way to avoid a major slam, but you’ve got to train this motion, and we do that by practicing controlled backward rolls. While these are a great movement to train, you should be cautious of where you perform them; ideally only on a soft, padded surface to protect your back. Additionally, if you have any pre-existing back injuries, you should consult with a healthcare professional before performing this movement.

How to Perform a Controlled Backward Roll: Step-by-step Instructions

Important: Only perform this movement on a soft or padded surface.

Step 1: Begin in a low squat with feet shoulder-width apart. Your heels should be planted firmly on the ground, knees bent, chest upright and facing forward. Extend your arms outward in front of you.

Step 2: Tuck your chin to your chest.

Step 3: Now, in once smooth motion, gently sit back, allowing your tailbone to gently come down to the ground and your legs to lift overhead as you roll backward onto your spine. Maintain a curved back for a smooth rolling motion.

Step 4: As your legs come overhead, bring your hands down to meet the ground, palm-side down on either side of your head, fingers outstretched.

Step 5: If fitness allows you, press through your hands to finish the movement with some momentum, rolling onto your feet and ending in a standing position.

Alternatively, as you finish the rolling motion, allow your legs to come to rest on the floor with your feet flat. Rock forward or use your hands to press forward so that you end the movement in the squat, just as you started.

Step 6: Repeat five times.

4) Reverse Snow Angels

Who knew that making snow angels could make you a better snowboarder? Well, maybe not make you better at snowboarding, but reverse snow angels (RSAs) can definitely prepare you to ride better. Like some other snowboarding exercises we’ve touched on, RSAs activate the posterior chain – the muscle groups along the back side of your body – making you more resilient to falls as well as improving your posture and shoulder mobility.

How to Perform Reverse Snow Angels: Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1: Begin lying face-down on a yoga mat or other soft surface. Your legs should be extended straight back behind your body with your arms at your sides, palms resting on the ground.

Step 2: Hollow your core (tighten it) and lift your chest off the ground slightly; just a couple inches. Your gaze should remain focused toward the ground so that your neck stays neutral. Squeeze your glutes to help provide additional stiffness and support to your torso.

Step 3: Now lift your arms up off the ground a few inches, keeping them straight but not locking your elbows.

Step 4: Sweep your arms upward toward your head in a slow, controlled motion while still hovering them above the ground. Go as close to (or past) 90-degrees to your body as you can while still keeping your torso elevated off the ground.

Step 5: Pause for a few seconds at the positions of maximum arm sweep before slowly sweeping them back down to your sides.

Step 6: Repeat this motion fifteen times focusing on slow, controlled motion.

5) Wrist Push-ups

Falling properly (without trying to catch yourself) is a very important skill to develop so that you can avoid wrist injuries. But even with proper falling technique, many riders instinctively reach out to catch themselves when they fall. Because of this, strengthening and increasing mobility of the wrists is a great preventative measure that may reduce the likelihood of a wrist injury when riding.

How to Perform Wrist Push-ups: Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1: Begin in a standard pushup position with your hands directly under your shoulders. If you would like to make this exercise a little bit easier, rest on your knees instead of your toes.

Step 2: Rotate your hands at the wrist, placing the backs of your hands on the ground so that your fingers are pointing backward, toward your knees.

Step 3: If needed, adjust your position for comfort by moving your hands closer to your knees to reduce the pressure on your wrists.

Step 4: Lower slowly, keeping your core tight and elbows close to your body. Lower your chest as close to the ground as your mobility will allow.

Step 5: Press up slowly, but don’t lock out your elbows as you reach the top of the pushup.

Step 6: Repeat a total of 10 times.

6) Wrist Mobility Rocks

Wrist mobility rocks are an additional stretch we like to perform to reduce the likelihood of wrist injuries during snowboard falls. Wrist mobility rocks gently loosen up the joints, increasing range of motion, and improving our resilience against injuries like strains and sprains.

How to Perform Wrist Mobility Rocks: Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1: Begin on all fours, wrist directly under shoulders, knees under hips.

Step 2: Shift your body weight forward so that your shoulder come forward of your wrists (palms should remain flat on the ground). You should feel a stretch in the wrists.

Step 3: Now shift your hips back, returning to your starting position and reducing the stretch in your wrists.

Step 4: Repeat this motion a total of 10 times, holding the stretch for 20-30 seconds each time before returning to the neutral starting position.