FTA2R Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 hey guys, i know there's been a lot of talk about summer activities and it seems like there are a ton of cross training boards out now. So what are the most effective specific products (ex: freeboard vs. tierney, etc) and/or activities (slalom skating, balance boards) for carving in your opinions? my primary goal is to keep the muscle memory (I guess) and I want to keep it fun w/o killing myself ps please leave lifting weights out but feel free to comment on balance boards- are they actually beneficial? thx, Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skatha Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 I had a guy tell me he used the balance board while he missed a season due to a knee injury-he swore by them. But, he also wasn't trying to maintain fitness, he was trying to maintain his riding legs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonerider Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 Originally posted by Barry hey guys, i know there's been a lot of talk about summer activities and it seems like there are a ton of cross training boards out now. So what are the most effective specific products (ex: freeboard vs. tierney, etc) and/or activities (slalom skating, balance boards) for carving in your opinions? my primary goal is to keep the muscle memory (I guess) and I want to keep it fun w/o killing myself ps please leave lifting weights out but feel free to comment on balance boards- are they actually beneficial? thx, Barry First, I personally think the freeboard is just about the worse thing for carving practice it is is essentially a skateboard that you can skid sideways like a snowboard. I recently got my hands on a Tierney ride and that definitely gives you a good "carving" feel, however requires a freestyle neutral stance and is all ankle flexion/extension - which is great for balance and getting more dynamic with your legs consider it to be a like a skateboard version of a balance board. A plain rocker balance board is good general balance practice as well, and can be made for $12 (I'm not at all a handyman, but I managed to design and build one from three pieces of a wood, some screws, a some basic powertools - http://tinyurl.com/5qtw3). However, it doesn't really give you that carve feeling you get when you stack your upper body over the edge and bear down on the edge. For that I like longboard skateboarding. For longboarding I really like my Loaded Vanguard for downhill carving. Check out their Fully Loaded as it has some great S-turns carving footage that I rarely see in normal longboard footage (usually it's just superfast downhill bombing, or frenetic slalom skateboarding clips). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordy Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 Darren Radcliff from the Steamboat team was pimping the loaded gear at Nationals in Sun Peaks, He and several of the Steamboat kids train on them in the summer. I am considering the Hammerhead for the steep action around here but man were thoose kids sold on the loaded brand! They make highend setups of there gear also, with uber sticky wheels and stuff!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 I try to do what I can to work the legs and keep the weight off. This means cycling and hockey mostly. I also have a CarveBoard and I ride it for fun once or twice a week. But, I wouldn't call it training other than the fact that it helps maintain the carving feel during the dry months. It's also good for working on the cross-throughs. The problem with it is that you can't carve as hard. I think it's more of a free-riding trainer and not so much for carving. With my beer consumption in the summer months, if I did nothing but CarveBoarding and no aerobic activities, I'd probably have to buy new pants each fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirror70 Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 I find that this gives me the only workout I need during the off-season. It's not so great unless it's very cold, but you simply cannot argue with the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWriverstone Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 Originally posted by mirror70 I find that this gives me the only workout I need during the off-season. It's not so great unless it's very cold, but you simply cannot argue with the results. One of my best friends lives in Copenhagen...maybe I should ask him to ship me a case? :) Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWriverstone Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 Hey Barry... After a day riding my Insect Dragonfly (and my first experience on a skateboard ever) I think skateboarding definitely offers a similar feeling/experience/workout to carving! After just 45 minutes riding yesterday, I felt the identical quad-burn that I'd feel after a couple hours of carving. That alone tells me skateboarding will be beneficial. (The quad-burn was actually worse in my back leg from kicking the skateboard back uphill---the back leg being the one that stays on the board, bent at the knee.) The balance aspect is similar too (note I didn't say "the same," but "similar"). While doing gentle 180-degree turns down a parking lot at moderate speeds, I felt the same core balancing skills at work (e.g. keeping my center of mass over the board, etc.). I also felt that keeping my torso oriented toward my direction of travel helped a lot on the skateboard. Don't know whether it's technically correct for skateboarding, but my stance was identical to carving (F55/R50), and that felt fine. Having said all this, it's gonna be a while before I've got the cojones to blast down a steeper hill at speed! Even poking along an almost-flat parking lot was a bit scary, even in full wrist/elbow/knee pads. But the good thing is that it was also really fun! I'm gonna start practicing foot braking, and also make myself a pair of sliding gloves---Cliff Coleman recommends using glue/velcro to attach squares of white plastic cutting board material to an ordinary pair of work gloves. Check out his sliding techniques page here... http://www.geocities.com/sk8sanjose/sliding.html Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjamie Posted April 13, 2005 Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 I had been skating for about half a year and then I found out about extreme carving and bought myself a prior 4wd, catek bindings, and head stratos pro boots. Now that the season is (more-or-less) over I'm back to skating. I recently picked up a new 55" board and outfitted her with randal 180 trucks (also a .5 inch spacer between the board and trucks) and gumball (abec11) wheels. I'll try to get some videos this weekend so I can show you what I ride like, but I try to practice carving as much as possible. I don't use my ankles very much; instead I push or pull the board with my legs to get the deeper carves. Definitely a little scary on moderately steep to very steep hills because even if you're not going too fast the wheels tend to skid more than I would like. If you can get used to that though, and have a nice pair of gloves, you can really throw out some nice looking carves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted April 13, 2005 Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 I find that pumping trany to be great X-training...lately I've felt the urge to start riding a Fixed Gear again...there are a bunch popping up on Ebay lately...BTW I have been riding a SS for about 6 years so the transition won't be as drastic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr. sandman Posted April 14, 2005 Report Share Posted April 14, 2005 How about: :) :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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