The Snowboarder’s Guide To Perfecting Rails, Jumps, Jibs and Others
Whether you are reading this in the middle of the snowboard season and in the midst of trying to improve your skill, or getting ready for the upcoming winter session – there are always things you can do to improve your ability in riding rails, jibs, and the other obstacles on the hill.
Stability balls are a great way to develop balance and control. You can view various routines on YouTube or attend classes at most local gyms. Many routines involve lifting weights or movements while balancing yourself. Balance on a snowboard involves your core muscles as well as your body’s sense of balance that can be improved upon. On a rail or riding in general, the body naturally compensates when it feels itself tipping to one side or another. By working on your sense of balance, you fine-tune your reflexes so the second your body lands a jump or hits a rail and it feels unbalanced, it will immediately correct itself. You can notice improvements after a week or so of exercises if you are falling less and less and noticing that certain landings or stops normally made you fall, but you are now able to stay on your board.
Practice step by step. Try to land on the rail, then immediately hop off. This will train your ability to land on it correctly without worrying about riding the rail and the dismount. After you feel confident in landing, try to glide on the rail just ¼ of the way – just for a few seconds. The longer you stay on the rail, the more you must balance and more difficult it becomes. Staying on the rail just for a second helps build your skills and confidence. Slowly, allow yourself to go halfway then the full rail length.
Cheap helmet cameras are becoming more and more popular on the mountain. While most people use it just to record their adventures, they also serve as great training tools. Wearing a helmet camera while riding a rail, jump or jib will give you a perspective you can watch while you are not on the mountain to see how well you did, what mistakes you made and why you fell off at a certain point (or “killed it”). Also, if you can have a friend with a helmet camera to film you taking off, riding and landing, you can learn from seeing yourself what you are doing wrong or correct. Another great way to improve is to film the people hitting the rails that do them perfectly. Then compare yourself on film to them. Try to spot where they take off, how they land, how balance. Watching experts is one way to become an expert yourself.