There are tons of health benefits you receive from snowboarding that seem to get overlooked, as do the health benefits of most mountain sports i’ve found…
Here are a few quick stats about snowboarding:
6.6 million people snowboard each year
51% are aged 7-17
Snowboarding is one of the fastest growing sports in the US
Recreational snowboarding can burn up to 630 calories / per hour depending on weight
Some of the health benefits include:
Strength training for hamstrings, quadraceps and calves,
Strong abdominal muscles needed for stability on the board
Ankle and feet strenthening used from steering.
I came accross an interesting article entitled “Healthy and Fit: Snowboarding with Aaron Kawcak” that reminded me of all the healthy benefits that come from being on the slopes. It is an excellent account of how someone without a childhood of ski sports grew to love snowboarding and the benefits that come from it. Kawcak is now a snowboarding instructor after coming from the East Coast with no experience, even claiming himself to have never been much of an athlete.
For the relevance of my post – there is also information on how snowboarding’s health benefits….
Kawcak claims a person can burn anywhere from 300- 1000 calories snowboarding.
He said this on strengthening:
What health benefits does snowboarding provide for the body?
Snowboarding can be an exhausting sport. It demands a lower body strength and a decent core. It can be an excellent way to stay active during the winter and a great way to stay in shape overall.
…Pretty succinct, but right on.
anyway, if you get nothing else from this lackluster post – remember that this form of recreation also helps your body in numerous ways that seem to slip under the radar when considering this fun pasttime.
parkcitysam 