Snowboard Rail Training
Snowboard rail training is the best way to prepare yourself for hitting rails. Rails are a huge part of freestyle snowboarding and nowadays everybody wants to go to the park and hit rails. Don't get
hurt and ruin your day because you weren't prepared. Train at home, develop your techniques and strengthen your muscles and you will become a rail master before you know it.
The Duct Tape Method:
The best way to start your snowboard rail training is by using a 6' long strip of duct tape on the floor. Lay it down in a straight line. Put your boots on, grab your board and strap in. Stand next to the duct tape so you are facing it and practice hopping on the straight line of tape. Hop on it and visualize yourself gliding across it. Then hop off, wait a couple seconds and do it again. The purpose of this training technique is to help you start to visualize yourself riding rails and so you can practice on board placement on a rail. Try to land on the tape evenly every time, right in the middle of your feet. Remember to keep your posture good at all times. Stay focused and pretend that you are really riding a rail. Practice this with the line of duct tape behind you also.
The 4x4 Method:
After you get very consistent with landing evenly on the duct tape you are ready for the next snowboard rail training technique. This is "almost" like the duct tape method. Same exact everything, except you will actually have to balance yourself for real and that is why this is one of the best training techniques for rails. You should try this with a 4x4 that is at-least 5' long (6'-8' would be even better for visualization purposes). Try practicing this with the 4x4 in front of you and then behind you. Same thing as above stay focused and pretend that you are really riding a rail. This technique is just as beneficial to your body as it is to your mind.
The Indo Board Method:
An Indo board is a flat piece of wood that is used to balance yourself over a cylindrical piece of plastic. Indo boards are the best type of balancing boards available today. Some people get extremely good at them and treat them as their own sport. I totally recommend getting one and always playing with it. They are a lot of fun and they really will improve your balance and leg strength. For more information about the Indo Board click here
Build Your Own Snowboard Rail:
Building your own snowboard rail is easy and fun. The best part about it is that you can practice on hitting rails when and where you like. We've built several snowboard rails over the years, some of which are time consuming and expensive to make, but the best ones are always the ones that are easy to make and cheap. If your interested you should check out our Build A Snowboard Rail for instructions on building a simple, cheap and portable rail.
You can also enhance your snowboard rail training by focusing attention on developing your lower body and your core muscles. Check out Snowboard Exercises for some great ways to develop your muscles.
I can't stress enough the importance of visualization. It plays a huge role in pre-programming your mind and body for hitting rails. All you have to do is day dream about you hitting rails. That is it. If you love to snowboard then day dreaming about it should be a pleasure, just be a little bit more focused and think about you approaching the rail, getting on it, sliding it, and successfully coming off it.
For more help with snowboard rail tips check out Learning Snowboard Rails.
Make sure to definitely check out our Snowboard Exercises, but if you want a serious workout program you should check out what I've used for the past 3 years:
Honestly, one of the best ways to train for rails or any aspect of snowboarding is through developing a strong core. The benefits for just life in general are huge, but for snowboarding!
Developing your core muscles will improve your balance, stamina, strength... the list could go on. But the basic point is that for snowboarding, a strong core means you will be able to do everything a LOT easier.
Here's another link to the workout program its given me the best results.
