How To Nose & Tail Press On A Training Board

Nose and Tail Presses are not yoga positions, they're when you balance on just the Nose or Tail of your board. They're the equivalent to a 5-0 or Nose Grind while skateboarding. Don't spend your winter watching other boarders Nose and Tail press with steez in the park, get them dialled today so you can press one out anytime, on any feature!

This is just one of the hundreds of tutorials on the Snowboard Addiction Snowboard Tutorial Membership. Check it out now to see how it can improve your riding today!

(Narrating/Riding: Duncan Mainland. Film/Edit: Vince Emond)

Basic Position

When you're standing on your training board, your weight should be centered between both feet.

Look at where the arrows point, that's where you want the majority of your weight...

To get into a Tail Press, you want to move your weight and centre it back towards the Tail of your board. Do not try lifting the Nose of your board, rather, move your weight back with your hips, knees and ankles, centering as much weight over the Tail of your board as you can. 

Once the Nose comes up, try to hold it for a few seconds before relaxing back tot a central riding stance.

Trick Tip: You can even try grabbing the Tail of your board as you shift your weight back, to really push the movement and get low. Getting low will also make it easy to balance because your centre of gravity will be closer to the ground.

For the Nose Press, it's exactly the same movements, but you will be centering your weight over the Nose of your board. Shift your hips, knees and ankles forward to centre your weight over your front foot.

Move in and out of the Nose Press until it is easy to hold the tail up.

Jumping

Once you have the Nose and Tail Press controlled, try jumping into each press position. Do a high hop off both feet then while you're in the air, shift the training board so you land straight into the Tail Press position. Hold it for a few seconds, then jump from your back foot and land evenly on both feet.

Repeat for the Nose Press position.

Now that's dialled, try hopping from a Tail Press position to a Nose Press position.

Making It Realistic

Using a Balance Bar is a great way to get the feeling on Nose and Tail Presses on boxes and rails. Start out by jumping into a 50-50, then shift into that Tail Press position that was practiced earlier. Hop off and try again, but this time shifting into a Nose Press!

Make sure to spend a little bit of extra time on the end that you feel least comfortable with.

Once you can balance in a pressed position on the Balance Bar, try jumping straight into that Tail or Nose Press. This is when it becomes super realistic!

The White Top Piece

Now it's time to add the White Top Piece, to simulate a rail. This will really challenge your balance, but is going to prepare you for Nose and Tail Presses on the hill! Now it's time to stop reading, grab your training board, practice those Nose and Tail Presses, so that when winter rolls around, you're ready to kill it!

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Alex McCann
Snowboard Addiction
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