For some of you, the summer was spent doused in physical activity – morning runs, afternoon surf seshs, evening hikes, weekend bike rides — but for the rest of you… We have some work to do.  Some people might think snowboarding is a piece of cake, but did you know you can burn nearly 3,000 calories (according to a calculator I found on the Web, who knows if its true but let’s just say it is) in a 6 hour session?  Hard to believe; who knew a workout could be so fun?!

Hold on, rewind, yes I said workout.  Snowboarding’s a hardcore workout, and if you don’t start prepping now the first part of the season could take you by surprise.

In order to get in shape for the upcoming season, its important that you establish a well-rounded workout routine and start working out now so that you don’t ware yourself out your first few days up.  When developing your routine, I’d recommend at least 2 days of cardio and 2 – 3 days of legs and abs.  Obviously, when you snowboard you rely heavily on your legs to keep you up and moving, so building strong quad, hamstring and glute muscles are key to keeping your body going throughout the day.  Often times, though, people forget that their abs work just as hard while on the hill, if not harder (especially when spinning), so it is also important to develop and maintain a strong core to keep you balanced.

If you’re not a regular at the gym and have no idea where to begin, we’re going to lay out some of our favorite snowboard-ready moves over the next few days.  There’s also this great thing called the “Internet” where you can find several additional resources and fun new workout routines with a few clicks of a mouse.  One of my favorite online go-to resources for all things health and fitness is Fitness magazine’s Web site.  At Fitness, in addition to finding numerous articles on getting in shape, you’ll also find a number of workout videos where they lay out 6 – 10 moves in each and have a professional trainer demonstrate for you, step by step.  Videos really help to switch things up so that your workouts remain tough and fresh and your body doesn’t adapt to the same moves.

If you prefer working out in class settings (I know I personally have a longer attention span if there are other people around to motivate me) some great classes to try are pilates (focuses on many of the muscle groups discussed above, especially the abs), spin (killer leg and cardio workout), and step (again, another great leg, butt and cardio workout).  Weight lifting classes aren’t a bad idea either.

So now that your ready and anxious to work out, check out our posts over the next couple of days where we talk about some of our favorite workout moves in our beginners and advanced workout guides.