How To Warm Up For Grabs
Not feelin loosey goosey on the hill? Give this grab warm up a try whilst you are waiting on your buddies. After this, you'll be feeling more stretched than my wallet just before pay day.
(Narrating/Rider: JP Fok. Film/Editing: Adison Macdonald. Filmed At: Whistler Blackcomb)
Why Warm Up?
You don't wanna be that guy who hurts himself on the first lap. This dynamic warm up only takes a few minutes and will:
- Loosen muscles in your core, hips and knees
- Improve your rotational separation of your upper and lower body
- Prevent tweaks and tears in joints, ligaments and muscles
- Pass the time while you're waiting
Bottom line, it's going to allow you to enjoy your day more, reduce your chance of injury and let you throw down.
Stretch Numero Uno
This stretch is going to warm up your hamstrings. Reach down to the toe edge of your snowboard with both hands - like so. Keep your legs nice and straight.
Once locked into that position, alternate this twisting motion with each arm, and do it as many times as the gif does. I joke, you only need to do it 10 times on both sides
Stretch Number Two
The next body part to get nice and loose is your hips. Using the same technique as before, move into the position below, grabbing the nose and tail.
Shift your whole body to the tail and nose. These movements are going to get you nice and loose for those tail and nose grabs. Alternate between the tail and nose 10 times.
Remember to fully extend your leg to get that sweet spot of the stretch. If you can't feel the muscle stretching, you ain't doing it right. However, don't alternate too quickly from tip to tail, you can pull a muscle if you are not doing these exercises very slowly and in control.
To get that extra lil bit of extra stretching involved, trying pulling the nose and tail towards you. If not too many people are watching, you can try tweaking your grabs (slow and in control - we are not tweaking muscles).
The Final Stretch
Kneel down on the snow and get into a method position.
But instead of reaching back onto the board with one hand like you would with a stinking hot method, reach back to the heel edge with both of your hands. Alternate between your regular method and your switch method 10 times, nice and slow like.
When doing this drill, try not to look at your board. Not looking at your snowboard will improve your muscle memory, so that the next time you attempt a method, you'll tweak it big and stomp it clean!
Next time you're heading up the hill, waiting on your homies or about to drop in for some park laps, give this little warm up a go. This will stretch your muscles and prepare them for different types of snowboard grabs, helping you to improve your riding.
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Jake Adams
Snowboard Addiction
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