# pushing- infront or behind?



## mrjimyjohn (Dec 18, 2010)

ok so im a relatively new rider and poster here and im wondering whether you guys push behind or in front of your board (i mean when you have your front foot strapped in and your pushing along with your back foot) Most people at my local "mountain" push behind their board and when i try it it feels much more comfortable than pushing infront, but i have to push 50 pushes behind to go the same distance as 25 infront... thanks guys


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## Grizz (Nov 10, 2008)

I push to match the terrain if I need to engage an edge, so toe or heel in this case.

Having said the above, I try and teach to *push heel side as often as possible *because it allows you body to be in a neutral alignment, unlike pushing toe side that causes a rotation of the body in relation to the board.


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## fatboyj711 (Feb 1, 2010)

mrjimyjohn said:


> i have to push 50 pushes behind to go the same distance as 25 infront...


this should answer your question


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## david_z (Dec 14, 2009)

I push in front 99% of the time probably and that seems to be what most people around here do, but we're just midwest gapers so YMMV. My wife pushes from behind. It just looks funny to me, like pushing mongo on a skateboard.


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## BliND KiNK (Feb 22, 2010)

I usually only need like one push behind.. and then i put my foot on the board and coast... kick push kick push coooaaaast... and away we go... until we hit the patch of ice instead of the snow... and then we... fall... ow.


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## twin89 (Jan 21, 2009)

i push "behind" (on my heelside) im pretty sure it is safer to do in regards to injury, and most people i see push behind.


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## DC5R (Feb 21, 2008)

I push in front, glide and repeat as necessary. Pushing from the heel side just seems weird for me...maybe something I carried over from my skateboarding days.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

I'd bet this is as much a personal preference as goofy/regular, and for probably the same reasons.

I push heelside, and I _wish_ I was a toesider because the highback on my Flow binding keeps getting in the way.


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## mrjimyjohn (Dec 18, 2010)

thanks guys i love the quick replies on this forum:thumbsup: usually i dont give a fuck what people care about me but after i noticed that 90% of the people i see push behind i didnt wanna seem like a gaper....


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## BliND KiNK (Feb 22, 2010)

haha it's just personal preference.. of all the things people have said to me... it's never been about how I skated.. except when I fall... which is relatively often because I can have my weight all on my front foot... and sometimes it just wants to be goofy..


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## vanoot (Mar 17, 2010)

Snowolf said:


> Totally personal preference but there are times when you want to be able to push from either side as Grizz points out. Specifically when you have to traverse a hill while skating. You want to keep your board on its edge and your pushing foot uphill of the board. Facing up hill, push from the toe side and keep board tilted to keep toe edge engaged. Facing down hill, push from the heel side and keep heel edge engaged. On the flats; personal preference.
> 
> I prefer to push from behind for the reason that Grizz brought up. It keeps your body more aligned with the board and you can skate in a nice straight line. Most people who push from the front kick their boards sideways and in crowded lift lines, they are banging their boards into people in a kind of spastic way.


I find that I tend to push behind, keeps me more aligned as mentioned above. But in a crowded line, its good to be able to do both as theres not always room on one side of you.


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## earl_je (Oct 20, 2009)

usually push infront, sometimes I practically 'run' with my front foot strapped in if I have enough momentum to start with..


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## Muki (Feb 8, 2010)

ha, I thought pushing from behind is the correct way, and people that just push from the front I thought do so cause they associate snowboarding with skateboarding. :dunno:

I feel more comfortable pushing from behind.


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## Jeklund (Dec 14, 2009)

I push behind and find it really hard to push in front, It just seems like my body is really oddly rotated and just end up sliding out or something.


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## carverboy (Jan 3, 2011)

Wow, to funny! I never really thought much about it other than noticing how much easier it is for me to kick from my toeside. I tend to ride old school shoulders pointing forward so if I put my foot on the heel side I feel way out of whack.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Depends on your binding angles, too. If you ride with a really aggressive forward position, then toeside really is very much like skateboarding. For us ducks, though, it feels like you're about to break your forward ankle.


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## hwa (Dec 2, 2008)

If you push from the front, the back of your pushing leg will be more likely to hit the highback, esp. when you start getting tired/lazy/sloppy as the day progresses. I would think the more "right" way would be to push from behind the lead foot.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Do people with step-in bindings (e.g., Flow, K2 Cinch style) have to avoid the opened highback when pushing from behind? Does the highback become fairly obtrusive when flat? I suppose one could flip the highback up into upright position, but then that sort of defeats the purpose and puts it in harms way of the chairlift.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

I push from behind and rear highback not an issue cause I skate with my feet fairly close together near the front binding.


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

I push mostly in front. I do heel side sometimes. Like Donutz mentioned, when I'm on my Flow binding setup, I do front because of the high back thing.

Just depends what mood I'm in otherwise I guess lol.


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