5 Different Types and Benefits of Snowboarding
- Written by Alison Lurie
Are you an adventure junkie in search of the next thrill? Do you go out of your way to seek out exciting and daring experiences? Well, it doesn’t always have to be dangerous and life-threatening. There are multiple options for thrill-seekers to get their fix while staying safe. One of which is trying out a new sport.
Sports tend to get you out of your comfort zone. They exercise your strength and endurance like no other. One sport, in particular, stands out as both exhilarating and challenging, and that's snowboarding. With the proper gear and Snowboard boots, you can take a trip to the nearest snowy mountain and get started on this incredible winter sport.
Different Types of Snowboarding
When you combine skateboarding, skiing, and surfing, you get snowboarding. With its roots coming from other extreme sports, you can imagine how thrilling this sport will be. Depending on the equipment and terrain, there are different styles of snowboarding. Here is a list of some of the popular styles in existence:
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Freeriding: Recommended for beginners; this style focuses on having fun and enjoying the slopes. There are no technical skills required yet, so you can first get the feel of the sport and then develop your skills as you go along.
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Freestyle: With inspirations coming from skateboarding, freestyle is all about expressing creativity in movement. You can use the existing terrain and the elements found in it to compose a choreography of jumps, tricks, spins, and other aerial maneuvers. This is the best mode to play around and have fun. It's the perfect opportunity to show off and impress.
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Halfpipe and superpipe: This style is considered the sport’s most popular contest. The halfpipe makes use of a half-tube of snow measuring anywhere about 11 to 22 feet in height. Any height higher than 16 feet is considered the superpipe. When you participate in this style, the main goal is to slide down the pipes with optimum speed and slingshot yourself into the air to perform a series of flips, spins, and tricks before landing back on the snow-covered ground and repeat the process about five more times.
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Slopestyle: For this style, expect to make around three large jumps and maneuver your way across a field of obstacles to showcase your snowboarding prowess. This style measures both creativity and consistency in your skills.
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FreeCarve: It's all about the ultimate focus and speed. Compared to the other styles, this one doesn't require the theatrics of jumps and tricks. The main goal for FreeCarve is to weave your way down steep slopes.
These are just some of the examples that you can try with this particular sport. Depending on what you want to try, there are various types of equipment you need to familiarize yourself with: from the ideal Snowboard boots and snowboard to the helmet, gear, and proper attire.
Aside from the abovementioned styles, you can always be inventive and explore different ways to snowboard. It’s more fun that way!
The Perks of Snowboarding
As exciting as snowboarding is, it also has a lot of benefits to your body. Like most exercises, snowboarding is a total body workout. As an extreme sport, it raises your adrenaline levels and releases endorphins. It also improves your balance and increases flexibility since you’re left to contend with a steep slope, a narrow board, and your pair of Snowboard boots.
While you're having fun sliding down the snowy mountains, your body is exerting the effort to keep you on your toes. Standing up, you rely heavily on your leg muscles and your core as well. Balancing and jumping around requires all your muscles to cooperate, so expect to feel sore after every session. But don't worry; it's part of the physical journey that makes you stronger.
