# Oh the pain....



## Guest (Mar 2, 2009)

I would take a lesson if I were you. I've taken lessons after a few seasons to just to try and progress to the next level and they always seem to be worth while.

I must also agree with you on the pain of flats. It seems like when I fall on a hard packed green groomer I go "thud" and all the energy goes straight in to the ground. On steeper trails you roll and slide a bit more and I don't think it hurts nearly as bad.

And for completeness sake: don't worry. We've all been there. You'll get the hang of it


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2009)

Im also new to boarding at 37 yrs. old. Took me a good day of falling to get the hang of it, but we all still fall hard once in awhile. After the pain of my first day out, I purchased some padded shorts. Add some padding, and those falls wont hurt you as much the next day.

Lessons! YES... TAKE AT LEAST ONE! Best to check your bad habits at the door while learning, then trying to correct later.

Funny thing about the pain/falls... As you progress, the hard falls are not as hard. I speculate Im more aware of the fall just before it happens and prepare for it. Slight changes in position when slamming the hard pack help absorb some of the blow.


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## arsenic0 (Nov 11, 2008)

Yes take lessons.

Mt Hood Meadows actually had funny signs last year in the newbie areas near their SLOW signs, which interestingly enough i havent seen this year, that would say something along the effect "Friends dont let friends teach them to ski"

With a good private lesson you will find yourself progressing much much faster.


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

I hear you man.....I'm 43, snowboarding since I was 38.
Pick the right conditions, fresh snow, use skate panrs, they'll save your hips on icy days to ride another day.
Use wristpads, you'll fall with less fear to get hurt, use a helmet, and then practice..don't get discouraged, it will get better soon.
I didn't take a single lesson, but I'm sure they help.


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2009)

Get a set of the crashpads that have padding for your ass, knees, thighs. Mine doubles as the base layer because it's integrated into the tights thing and then I just wear my Sessions Achilles snowpants on top of them. Best investment ever. 

The first time I went snowboarding I went home with big briuses on my knees and ass lol.


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2009)

padded shorts, wrist guards, elbow, and knee pads. Shin guards if you ever start doing rails. You'll still be a bit sore if you fall (more likely when you're driving back down the mountain vs. when it actually happens), but the pads are definitely worth it. The only pads that may cost you a bit are the butt pads, but you could probably find a good deal if you search online or wait for the end of season clearance some retail stores have. I just use skate pads for the elbow, wrist, and knees and retail stores like Big 5, Sports Authority, Dick's Sporting Goods, etc. usually have like an all in one set for the elbow, wrist, and knees for like $20-$30.

OH AND HELMET too! It saved me a number of times, very important to me.


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2009)

All,
Thanks for your feedback.... I think one of the most frustrating things is not exactly knowing why I am taking a hard spill... obviously I am catching an edge along the way.. but if I am always landing on my left-ass cheek, does that mean I am catching a heel edge... it all happens so fast!!! I try and move my weight forward to flatten the board out, then transition to either the toe or the heel edge.... it's just not instinctual just yet - tense and always trying to react.


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## w3iiipu (Feb 26, 2009)

i just started this season too...
and everytime im out...i come home with my right butt cheek, both knees in so much pain i can barely sit :laugh:
plan on getting some of those padded shorts...

but i feel like thats the only way i know im pushing myself trying things out...
________
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## Guest (Mar 2, 2009)

respect that you came this far! alot of people give up there first or second time, iv got great respect for people, even tho they fall alot, just go on.

im sure youll get the hang of it shortly! 

i do adivse a lesson, maybe taking a softer board? some protection is deffenatly adviseble.
good luck learning anyway


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2009)

I have a pretty good board for a beginner - or so I have been told... (plus I hate to blame my tools for my crappy skills) - I have a Tech Nine Split T with MFM Pro bindings... the shop said it is a good "learner" board, but at this stage I really couldn't tell you the difference between it and a more expensive board - I really just need to stay vertical a little longer...


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2009)

I started snowboarding this year, I am 36. Now I enjoy snowboarding.

I know well about those frustration days, and the pain. I fell a lot. Two of them were heavyweight. Once I fell on the back of my head (fortunately, I wore helmet), I believed I suffered a minor concussion, got headache and sore neck for a week. Another time I injured my ribs, got a bit of worried after two weeks that it was still aching. But was on the slope again once the doctor told me the bones were OK. 

Now you can link you turns, it is very close before you can feel the rhythm and build the confidence. 

Highly suggest to read this post word by word,
"Learning to turn"
http://www.snowboardingforum.com/tips-tricks-instructors/778-basic-how-snowboarding-guides.html

Get SLOW DOWN(travel cross the fall line a bit more) before you turn, my biggest problem was did not slow down before turns(heel-to-toe), once speed built up, panic, shift weight backward, try to turn, crash. Eventually, you will get faster and faster once you get the turns done right at the first place.

After this step, you can reference Snowolf's post in this,
http://www.snowboardingforum.com/tips-tricks-instructors/12608-skid-carve-turns.html

I wear helmet, wrist guards, knee pads all the time.

Good luck.


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## arsenic0 (Nov 11, 2008)

You should watch all of Snowolfs videos on youtube
YouTube - Beginner Snowboard Lesson Part One

The rest are on the right side...just watch all of those a few times and take that knowledge up to the mountain. Its basically what a teacher will tell you anyways, but for free.


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## Willy36 (Dec 29, 2008)

Don't try to break your fall and once you do fall, just go with it, don't try to stop the roll until you've actually tumbled a few times. Basically get your hands out from underneath you, keep your head away from the ground and other than that, pretty much go limp.


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2009)

falling to me came easy becuase i played football, lacrosse and wrestled.

OP if you have done any other physical sports, just revert back to those skills of "learning how to fall". Along with the pads that the others have suggested, you will be fine.


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## phrakis (Oct 22, 2008)

here's my three cents. 
1) good ass pad is a big help. I was black and blue for my entire first season and then I made the investment. I still wear them every time just in case.
2) get mittens with a liner and a zipper. gloves make it hard to make a fist when you are crashing and you can end up hurting your wrist. I've never had a wrist problem since I started using mittens. 
3) try not to go out when its really icy. this is a tough one to control but go after some recent snow or wait till the afternoon if the weather is going to warm up. Slushy conditions are really good for learning because everything is not only soft but also slow.

also, stay on the steeper slopes, much easier to control the edges.


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## 3vod (Jan 7, 2009)

Sometimes for me.. it took a day of falling to understand how to fall 'right'?

example.. I was going to fast when I was 13 on a go-ped, downhill.. flew over the bars and landed on my shoulder and snapped my collar bone.. its all about how you fall.. use those damned knees, elbows and upper back. No wrists, and if your about to hit the snow, go limp.. I was watching a tv show on Tornados in the midwest.. and one teenager got sucked out of his home, and was flung about an acre or 2 away.. he survived because he passed out once he got sucked into the tornado.. his body was limp and asleep so when he hit the ground, he didn't break a thing, just bruised.

And I wouldn't blame all your pain on just 'falling'.. remember your now utilizing muscles that are mainly stabilizers, and like most people, they need a little time to get used to the new type of movments your doing.. I know if i've been lazy don't stretch etc, and jump on a mountain, I will feel it.. and I'm 23.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

predose....ibuprofen....helps keeps the swelling and pain down til after you get off the hill


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2009)

I just started this year, at the young age of 39. The first time out, I ended up bruising my tailbone and hurt both of my thumbs, I landed on my ass and knees so much I couldn't move much the next day, even though I was wearing knee pads. That was before a lesson. Time two, with lesson, my first time on the greens ended with me spraining my ankle getting off the chair lift lol. Both were with rentals, ill fitted boots, but second time the board was better a 155 Rosi Accelerator. In April it will be my third time so I bought a board, a 156 Rosi Scope, my own boots (Burton Motos) and skeletools impact shorts. I'm going to take some more lessons so I won't suck so much. I know the pain is part of the learning curve, but when you get older it takes longer to heal.


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## visibleinks (Mar 14, 2009)

wrathfuldeity said:


> ibuprofen....helps keeps the swelling and pain down til after you get off the hill


I agree. I've gone 9-10 times and I always take iduprofen afterwards. 

Now I'm a bit better I don't fall very often but when I do many times it is a hard fall. I always were wristgaurds and a helmet. 

One thing to keep in mind is take things easy and slow on your first couple runs. Conditions are always different and it takes some time to get used to the current conditions. This will help build some confidence and help you 'warm up'.


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## SB4L (Jan 12, 2009)

Sure Ibuprofen is good but I really only use it when in uncomfortable pain, and not usually before riding as this is a good way to aggravate a minor injury, as you don't feel them as much and then the pain is 10x worse if you fall on the same spot again. I try to stick with the "natural" pain-supressants for afterwards... aka beer and pot


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## maf05r6 (Mar 3, 2008)

I spent most of last year just like you. This year something just clicked and it all came together. Now the only reason I'm hurting is cause I'm pushing myself and going down trying new things. It is a good feeling though when I can ride most of the day and stay on my feet. 

Keep it up you will get there.


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## w3iiipu (Feb 26, 2009)

just came back from a trip...

i was pushing myself going faster and faster and trying different things...
and i noticed that if u fell hard once...the rest of the day is ruined...its like a mental thing...

i took a very hard fall early in the day and landed on my left hip...couldn't stand up or move for a good 10 minutes. Then the rest of my day just went kaput. I fell ALOT. Just kept falling and falling even when im speed checking constantly. Every turn i link i hesitated and it usually leads to another fall.

So all in all i ended up coming home with chest pains, busted wrists and knees, severe pain on my left hip(couldn't turn or move) and a concussion...FML
________
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## Guest (Apr 1, 2009)

w3iiipu said:


> just came back from a trip...
> 
> i was pushing myself going faster and faster and trying different things...
> and i noticed that if u fell hard once...the rest of the day is ruined...its like a mental thing...
> ...


Yeah I realized that it was a mental thing when I forgot my knee pads once. I was scared to reinjure my knee that I ended up... REINJURING MY KNEE. I locked up, kinda forcing myself to land on my a$$ then I ended up bruising my tailbone. 

Now you would think I was in a Mad Max movie, knee pads and skeletools. Don't wear a helmet normally but that will probably change. And if I land on my elbows... 

But I do do better now, just took a ton of padding not to care. Funny what the mind can do :laugh:


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## Guest (Apr 3, 2009)

TAKE A LESSON!

at least 1 and since ur startin id take about 3 but spread out over a bout a week's time

i learned to snowboard in a HUGE group of at least 15 kids but since i got some teaching basics i just put what i saw people do and that skill plus some common sense and now im trying to not kill myself on jumps and jibs

also yes falling is painful but take it slow just keep control if you feel ur going too fast just stop

also as you get better you'll know when ur about to fall and you just get ready to take it

like me i fell at least 5 feet onto my butt plain and ismple but knowing it was gonna hurt a lot and a bit of soft snow made it painless

just keep at it my dad learned to ski at 52 with no help but he is just naturally atheltic so ya

STICK TO IT!!

and "we've all been there":cheeky4::cheeky4::cheeky4:


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## jliu (Jan 20, 2009)

w3iiipu said:


> just came back from a trip...
> 
> i was pushing myself going faster and faster and trying different things...
> and i noticed that if u fell hard once...the rest of the day is ruined...its like a mental thing...
> ...


Oh man ain't that the truth...

I went through a mini slalom course w/ my friend...first couple of turns I stay down and it was pretty sick feeling...then I hit one turn w/ a bump and kinda stood up a bit...GG...rest of the day I was like...puttering my way along...heh...falling is mental...but once you stick that first black...and look back...golden 

To the OP...i started 2 yrs ago (more like 1.5 since year before I went twice at the end of the season)...but yea...first 2-3 times are the pain...and I totally get that feeling of "what the heck am I doing wrong?!" Sometimes its just one key that makes it all click...in which a lesson would be good for..cause instructors are much better than the average joe at monitoring your body movements. Don't get discourged when you hear ppl say that I started linking turns on my 2nd time or whatever...everyone's learning curves are different.


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## baseline6 (Mar 12, 2009)

It's probably been said but I believe after awhile you learn how to fall... I fell straight on my knee a month back on straight up HARD ICE. My knee is still bruised but that day after that fall I kept positive that'd id get it down and I did... Just stay with it man and get lessons. Having somebody to teach you what your doing wrong is what you pay for but what they also offer is moral support for moral confidence when you take those nasty spills. Stay with it man starting out sucks because of all the falling getting hurt and haveing to get back up. Way i see it though I'd rather stick with it and make all that pain be for something then quiting and having took all that pain for nothing.


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## Guest (Apr 7, 2009)

It all really depends on how badly you want to learn. My first season my arms felt like they were going to melt off my shoulders, from having to constantly push myself back up. Then my ankles would swell up from all the heel side slides and my toes were numb from all the toe side stands. I barely even made it back into the parking lot let alone drive home (thankfully I was there with a bunch of friends.). What did I do that next day? I got my ass back out and continued learning, because I fell in love w/ the sport.

Best suggestion I have for you is - Snowboarding takes a lot out of you, during off-season it's best if you start exercising (A LOT). I do 30 minute yoga (helps with balance), 30 minute core, and 30 min strength every day (no weekend breaks). Some good exercises are planks (core), pushups (arms), squats (for legs, you will NEED leg strength), and sissors (abs).

Lastly, don't be afraid to fall. The bruises are just there to serve as memory of the good days, as long as you don't end up in the hospital.


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## Guest (Apr 8, 2009)

Yeah, the season is done now and I will have to wait until the end of the year... I think the best way forward is lessons!!! For example, when my "friend" was showing me how to snowboard, he made no mention of torsional flex on the board and that I could start lifting my front foot (when on my toe edge)while keeping my back foot on its toes and actually flex the board then engage the back foot - I think one of my problems was catching my heel edge by rushing the turn and not having the front of the board pointing down hill.....


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## kraig4422 (Apr 9, 2009)

I have been snowboarding for 18 years and I still bite it hard sometimes. :laugh: In fact this year I was talking to my wife behind me and not paying attention where I was going and hit a small bump, threw me off and caught an edge. Landed flat on my back in the middle of a group of ski school students. 
I agree that off season excercise will give you alot more confidence though. Especially when it comes to powering through turns and when you start hitting jumps. I suggest weight training, cardio, trampoline traing (if available) and I just got an Indo board which helps with balance.


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