You could shave with a hunting knife, but that doesn't make it a razor. By the same token, you could try to snowboard train on a simple entry level balance board, but that doesn't make it snowboard balance board trainer.

It's true; all balance boards are not the same. What makes a Vew-Do Balance board unique among balance boards? It's simply and unarguably this: The tapered "rock." That's why Vew-Do Balance Boards are the World's 1st "Patented" multi-directional balance training devices. Let's find out why.

In 5 minutes I'm going to show you the difference between a Vew-Do Balance Board and simple lateral motion balance boards. Go grab your board and boots out of your basement or closet and meet me in the living room.

Got your gear?… Good. Now clear a small area where you can strap on the board. Put on your snowboarding boots and strap yourself into the bindings like you're ready to rock n' roll. Now, with your knees slightly bent, push down on the balls of your feet and lift your heels. With some decent balance skills, you should be able to tilt the board onto its edge. What you are doing is simulating a static toe turn on your snowboard.

This is the exact same body positioning you'll experience on a Vew-Do Balance Board. But wait, there's more. On your Vew-Do Balance Board, you'll simulate carving and edging while in motion. You'll be sharpening your snowboard carving skills along with your balance skills across every axis. This is all possible because of the taper in the rock.

Now let's see what happens when you're on a simple balance board trainer. First, release your feet by fully opening up your bindings. Stand up and bend your knees slightly. Now push down on the balls of your feet and lift your heels. What happened?...Absolutely nothing, except that now you're standing on your tippy-toes while the board is still flat on the ground.

Some common sense tells us that you don't snowboard on the balls of your feet while the board is still flat on the ground, right? So how can you get snowboard balance board training on a balance board that doesn't pitch the board under your feet and allow you to carve and edge?

Unfortunately balance board trainers without tapered rocks just aren't able to simulate the characteristics of snowboarding. That's because you can't get the unlimited heel/toe capabilities that you get on a Vew-Do Balance Board with its tapered rock. Snowboarding requires edging, pressuring, balance adjustments and carving.

Snowboard balance board training must give you the ability to develop the carving and edging skills you'll need to dominate a snowboard. Limited range of motion bongo board type balance boards cannot give you that. They never have, and never will.

By: Rick Contrata

Are you just starting out snowboarding or skiing or are you looking for a way to get even better?

Either way, balancing yourself while in motion on an ever changing terrain is what snowboarding and skiing is all about. Without the skill to balance yourself on the equipment while in motion, edging and performing heel - toe transfers you will have difficulty becoming a skilled skier or snowboarder. At a minimum, basic balance training will increase the following regardless of your current physical abilities:

• Core balance
• Core musculature strengthening and recruitment
• Proprioception and special awareness

Vew-do balance boards will get you ready for the slopes or the terrain park with more than just basic balance training. With its maple riding deck, sub-deck rail system and tapered rock, Vew-Do balance boards will have you feeling more and more comfortable with the following skiing and snowboarding skills.

• Heel - toe edging
• Lateral edging
• Footwork
• Weight transferring and stimulating your body's propriceptors
• Improving special awareness and in-air stability
• Increasing proper take-off and landing techniques

Below is a list of skiing and snowboarding exercises you can perform using Vew-Do Balance Boards to help you master these sports.

For Balance:

• Lateral balance training
• Vertical balance training
• Heel/Toe balance training
• Static balance training
• Perturbation training

For Strength:

• Dips
• Squats
• Lunges
• Push-ups
• Plyometrics
• Isometrics

Balance is a trainable skill. It's simple. Get better balance you'll learn and get better at skiing and snowboarding. You can hardly experience the fun, excitement and freedom of snow sports without good balance

Snowboarding and skiing requires a balance progression beginning with basic balance and advancing through edging, turning, increased and eventually grinding, aerials like 360's and 540's.

While nothing can replace the wind in your face and the snow under your feet, balance training on a Vew-Do balance board is fun and the next best thing to having a snowy slope in your living room.

By: Rick Contrata

How to do Snowboard Heel Turns on a Vew-Do Balance Board - First, find your center of balance on the board. This is easily done by positioning your body evenly over the rock with your knees slightly bent and your back straight. Then maneuver yourself into your snowboarding stance. For heel turns, slightly shift your weight back on your heels by bending your knees and elevating your toes.

         

When you do this, you will automatically engage the taper in the rock. Careful Sparky, too much lean and you'll end up jumping off the board like a gymnast that just double-stepped a dismount. So keep yourself balanced.

Keep your body centered over the rock and bend either knee while simultaneously straightening the opposite leg. Only a small amount of straightening is needed to set the board in motion. The board will start to move in the direction of the straightened leg to start.

Proprioception will almost automatically induce you to roll your hips over the rock to maintain your balance on the board. Stay balanced over the rock, gravity will take over the physics of moving the board.

Simulating a snowboard heel turn on the balance board is activated by pushing the trailing foot heel in the direction you want to turn. The forward foot pulls into the direction of the turn and acts as a steering wheel to set the arc and angle of the turn. The more you push-pull, the tighter the turn will be.

After reaching the stops at the end of the board, repeat the same sequence by straightening the opposite leg. Maybe without even realizing it, you're also teaching yourself how to correctly use your snowboard edges for carving.

Too much bite and you'll lose your balance and fall off the board. Not enough bite and you won't engage the taper in the rock. What you're doing is creating muscle memory in the best sport specific environment outside of actually being on a snowboard.

How to do Snowboard Toe Turns on a Vew-Do Balance Board - In the same way you did on the heel turn, find your center of balance on the board. This is easily done by positioning your body evenly over the rock with your knees slightly bent and your back straight. Then again, maneuver yourself into your snowboarding stance.

For toe turns, slightly shift your weight forward onto the balls of your feet by bending your knees and elevating your heels. When you do this, you will automatically engage the taper in the rock. Keep your body centered over the rock and bend either knee while simultaneously straightening the opposite leg. Just like the in the heel turn, only a small amount of straightening is needed to set the board in motion. The board will start to move in the direction of the straightened leg to start.

 

Now, your hips will naturally roll over the rock as the board moves to help you maintain your balance. Stay balanced over the rock, gravity will take over the physics of moving the board.

Simulating a snowboard toe turn on the balance board is activated by pushing the trailing foot toes in the direction you want to turn. The forward foot pushes into the direction of the turn and acts as a steering wheel to set the arc and angle of the turn. (Photo 7) Again, the more you push-pull, the tighter the turn will be.

Reaching the end stops requires you to repeat the sequence to continue your roll across the rock. Too much bite from the toes and you'll lose your balance. Not enough bite and the rock won't engage.

The best way to get the most out of snowboard training on a Vew-Do balance board is to master this - Switch from a heel turn to an opposite stance toe turn each time the board spans the rock. Then switch from a toe turn to an opposite direction heel turn. Eventually, you will want to turn your head, eyes, shoulders and hands in the direction you want to travel thereby initiating the turn with your upper body. From there it's onto rotations but we will save that for another lesson.

There you have it. Snowboarding heel turns and toe turns on a Vew-Do Balance Board. That's the basics of snowboard balance board training.

By: Rick Contrata

"Vew-Do balance boards are far superior to any other balance board on the market.." - Tyler Emond, Team Member – Elan Snowboards

How to bring the skatepark to you…

Are you a skateboarder? Want to get better at it faster with big ollies, kickflips and stalls? Want to bring a skatepark to you, rain or shine? Then skateboard balance board training is something that will interest you. We're going to tell you why it helps, how to do it using a Vew-Do balance board and why you can't get what you need from any other balance training product. The only thing you need to bring a skatepark to you is a dry, open, three to five foot square area and a Vew-Do Balance Board.

Almost every body motion from athletics to common everyday movement requires dynamic balance using the entire body, in three planes of motion; not one just one joint or limb at a time.

In reality, balance training is actually training for sub-conscious balance recovery. The body loses balance while skateboarding and most other activities very easily. When you ride a Vew-Do Balance Board, the action and motion of the board throws you off-balance, just like the out of balance situations you encounter on a skateboard. So, when we balance train, we are really training for balance recovery. The recovery mechanism is stimulated by motion and gets stamped into the central nervous system through muscle memory. It fires up sub-consciously when a similar situation occurs. The more you train, the more consistent your reactions will be.

From the shape and composition of the riding deck, the patented tapered design of the rock to the action and motion of the board and the body positioning required to ride it, nothing comes closer to skateboarding than riding a Vew-Do balance board. And there is no piece of balance training equipment on the planet that is better for skateboarding than the Vew-Do Sk8.

As you set a Vew-Do board in motion, whole body, dynamic (in motion) balance recovery in all three planes of motion fires up the proprioceptors in skeletal muscles, joints and ligaments.

While riding and stunting a Vew-Do board, the heel/toe action of the board on the rock while you're in motion allows you turn (carve) just like the action you feel from the trucks on a skateboard. And don't forget about that landing Eugene. After taking air from an ollie, kickflip, blunt stall or any skateboard stunt, you'll need to adjust your balance on landing to the horizontal flex of the skateboard's trucks. It's all about balance recovery and the versatility of your training tool.

Nothing beats the fun, crossover benefits and versatility of Vew-Do

Let's take a look at what, how and why…

Balance training devices, like wobble, teeter and rocker boards and balance boards with a fixed fulcrum (boards that don't move over the rock) - These are static balance training, recovery and stabilization devices. We can compare this to an upside-down pyramid in that the base of support and center of balance never changes, its static. They're fine for basic balance training and rehab, but not skateboarding. Skateboarding requires dynamic, whole body movement across all planes of motion.

Balance boards with non-tapered cylinder type rollers and flat riding decks - You can get lateral dynamic balance training on them, however, these boards lack any heel/toe balance recovery benefit. Not only does this leave you short for turning and carving, but there's another problem with these types of boards for skateboarders. That's balance recovery training for the landing. The trucks on a skateboard flex horizontally. When you're practicing landing an ollie, a kickflip or any other skateboard maneuver that requires you to take air, you won't be landing on a stable base. Heel/toe training on a concave riding deck is a must for skateboarders.

Other multi-directional dynamic balance boards - Ever wonder why you'll only see the occasional lame ollie or kickflip on these boards? That's because either the decks or the rocks aren't designed or constructed to handle the 300 pounds of force generated when a 150 pound person lands after taking air. Don't take our word for it. Talk to any dealer that sells Vew-Do and any other balance board. Just ask them which brands have the highest rate of breakage and returns. Vew-do performance series boards like the Sk8 are virtually bomb-proof.

Balance/Swiss/BOSU™ Balls - Balance/Swiss balls are popular and have their place, but not in a skateboarder's balance training toolbox. Balance balls have no ability to balance train the lower extremities, regardless of sport or activity. You would find it almost impossible to find any functional motion that mimics standing on a ball. Some users will claim that standing on a balance ball is balance training. In actuality, the body positioning required to balance on a ball puts your musculature so out of whack, there is absolutely no crossover benefit to any functional activity and only exposes the user to upper and lower body injury.

Another popular balance training tool is the BOSU™, unfortunately, not for skateboarding. First, it's static, just like an upside-down pyramid, whichever side is up. Now unless you skateboard with a thick rubber seat cushion glued to the deck there are no dynamic or proprioceptive crossover benefits. It doesn't feel or react like a skateboard flat side up either. That's because standing on something akin to half a beach ball with a plastic platform doesn't have the feel, form or motion that you get when riding on a skate deck. Geez… almost forgot to mention that you can't kickflip one either.

Hopefully we've helped you reprogram whatever you previously knew or didn't know about skateboard balance training and why a Vew-Do Balance Board is the best balance tool for skateboarders. Now all you have to do is get yourself a board and ride. We recommend the Vew-Do Sk8 for skateboarders and those interested in high-performance balance training.

By: Brew Moscarello