It’s never too early to get in shape for the upcoming snowboarding season. In fact, let me give you a “duh” moment here real quick: “Skiing and Snowboarding are two very physically demanding sports. So much so, a health and exercise expert says athletes should exercise or “get in shape” before hitting the slopes. 3 out of 1,000 Skiers and 7 out of 1,000 Snowboarders are injured on the slopes everyday. These experts also say the major reason behind these injuries is that people are out of shape when getting on their skis or boards for the first time this season.”

In essence, a huge part of being ready for the upcoming season is about working on your balance and flexibility. Balance really has so much to do with the quality of experience you will have on the slopes, after all, it is balance that allows you to go from heel to toe, switch edges without face-planting, and come off of a kicker without looking like a wild duck.

A good way to work on balance is to simply walk on a wall (I recommend a lower wall until you have attained some essence of balance, avoid a preseason injury here) – even railroad tracks are great (again, make sure there are no oncoming trains to deal with, safety people, safety!).

Keeping limber is as easy as stretching out on a daily basis, take 5-minutes to just stretch your body out from head to toe. This guy has some nice suggestions on creating a daily stretching routine:

Check out this guy’s basic suggestions for “what to do” to stay in shape:

But these two ladies show us some more “dialed in” things to focus on:

Does all of this work? Let’s put it to the test shall we?