an interview with andy nudds, professional snowboarder
Photo credit - Dan Medhurst
My name is Andy Nudds and I'm 29 years old.
I started Snowboarding when I was 15 at a dry ski slope a few minutes from my house in Halifax, West Yorkshire. I eventually got a membership and ended up snowboarding there pretty much every day for a couple of years. I started entering competitions around the U.K. and after another year I went on to spending the winters in the mountains of Europe and the United States.
Over the years I managed to win a few competitions in the U.K. and Europe, which helped me to pick up sponsorship. I went on to filming video parts for snowboard movies, which is what I'm doing now.
I started Snowboarding when I was 15 at a dry ski slope a few minutes from my house in Halifax, West Yorkshire. I eventually got a membership and ended up snowboarding there pretty much every day for a couple of years. I started entering competitions around the U.K. and after another year I went on to spending the winters in the mountains of Europe and the United States.
Over the years I managed to win a few competitions in the U.K. and Europe, which helped me to pick up sponsorship. I went on to filming video parts for snowboard movies, which is what I'm doing now.
Photo credit - Daniel Tengs
Q - Are there any regular warm-up exercises that you do before you go out snowboarding?
A - I have a little routine of dynamic stretches that I always do before before going snowboarding. These include:
1.Leg swings
2. Lunges with a torso twist
3. Horizontal arm swings
4. Backwards lunge with arms in a diving position to stretch out the stomach.
Q - What areas of the body do you need to strengthen for snowboarding?
A - Obviously you need to keep your legs strong, but keeping your core strength up is very important too, especially in 'freestyle snowboarding'.
Q - If you haven't been snowboarding before, what can you do to prepare?
A - For a beginner I would say doing a lot of squats will help, as when learning you will spend a lot of time with your knees bent, sitting down and pushing yourself back up again. So try to get your legs as strong as possible.
Q -What other exercise do you do to keep fit?
A - I try to do a lot of skateboarding and wakeboarding when I'm not snowboarding and a little bit of a work-out every day. Short run, push-ups, abdominal crunches and planks.
Q - How do you try to keep yourself injury-free?
A - I think Dynamic stretching before riding and stretching after riding is really important to limit injures. Keep yourself loose.
Q - Do you have any specific exercises that you would recommend to get ready for snowboarding?
A - Specific exercises I would recommend are 'piston squats' and 'box jumps' for the lower body and 'parallettes' exercises for the upper body.
A - I have a little routine of dynamic stretches that I always do before before going snowboarding. These include:
1.Leg swings
2. Lunges with a torso twist
3. Horizontal arm swings
4. Backwards lunge with arms in a diving position to stretch out the stomach.
Q - What areas of the body do you need to strengthen for snowboarding?
A - Obviously you need to keep your legs strong, but keeping your core strength up is very important too, especially in 'freestyle snowboarding'.
Q - If you haven't been snowboarding before, what can you do to prepare?
A - For a beginner I would say doing a lot of squats will help, as when learning you will spend a lot of time with your knees bent, sitting down and pushing yourself back up again. So try to get your legs as strong as possible.
Q -What other exercise do you do to keep fit?
A - I try to do a lot of skateboarding and wakeboarding when I'm not snowboarding and a little bit of a work-out every day. Short run, push-ups, abdominal crunches and planks.
Q - How do you try to keep yourself injury-free?
A - I think Dynamic stretching before riding and stretching after riding is really important to limit injures. Keep yourself loose.
Q - Do you have any specific exercises that you would recommend to get ready for snowboarding?
A - Specific exercises I would recommend are 'piston squats' and 'box jumps' for the lower body and 'parallettes' exercises for the upper body.
Thank you so much to Andy for this interview. Good luck to all of you preparing for this winter sports season. If you need any help, please ask.