Does snowboarding help lose weight?

Snowboarding is a popular winter sport that involves sliding down snow-covered slopes on a snowboard. It provides an intense physical workout and many snowboarders find that it helps them lose weight and stay in shape. Here is a closer look at how snowboarding can help with weight loss.

Calorie Burn from Snowboarding

Snowboarding is considered an aerobic activity, which means it elevates your heart rate and keeps your cardiovascular system working hard. Like other aerobic activities, snowboarding burns a significant number of calories. According to Harvard Health, a 155 pound person can expect to burn 222-444 calories per hour while snowboarding at a moderate pace. The intensity of snowboarding can vary based on factors like speed, snow conditions, terrain and skill level. More aggressive snowboarding with higher speeds, jumps and difficult terrain burns even more calories per hour.

In addition to an aerobic workout for your cardiovascular system, snowboarding also engages all of your major muscle groups. You use your core, back, arms and legs to maintain balance and control your snowboard. This muscle engagement further increases calorie burn because your body needs extra energy to work your muscles. The combination of aerobic exercise and full body muscle use makes snowboarding an efficient calorie burning activity.

How Many Calories Can You Burn Snowboarding?

The number of calories you burn snowboarding depends on a variety of factors:

  • Your weight – Heavier people burn more calories per hour than lighter people
  • Intensity – Faster snowboarding burns more calories
  • Terrain – Difficult terrain with moguls and jumps increases calorie burn
  • Duration – The longer you snowboard, the more calories you’ll burn
  • Fitness level – People in better shape tend to burn calories more efficiently

As a general estimate, a 155 pound person can burn anywhere from 300 to 600 calories per hour of snowboarding. If you weigh more than 155 pounds, you could burn even more calories. For example, a 185 pound snowboarder may burn between 360 and 720 calories per hour. Snowboarding for multiple hours at a time can add up to a significant calorie expenditure.

How Snowboarding Compares to Other Sports

Snowboarding delivers an excellent calorie burning workout. But how does it compare to other sports and activities? Here is an estimate of calories burned per hour by a 155 pound person for various sports:

Sport Calories burned per hour
Snowboarding (vigorous pace) 444
Elliptical machine (vigorous effort) 685
Mountain biking (vigorous effort) 644
Running at 8 mph (7 min mile pace) 814
Swimming laps vigorously 722

As you can see, snowboarding can burn just as many or more calories per hour as high intensity cardio machines and aerobic activities like running and swimming. While not quite as vigorous as sprinting or elliptical training, snowboarding still provides an excellent calorie burning workout, especially for a lower impact winter sport.

How Snowboarding Can Help With Fat Loss

Losing weight ultimately comes down to being in a calorie deficit, meaning you burn more calories than you consume. Snowboarding is an effective way to burn extra calories and create a calorie deficit. The more calories you can burn through snowboarding, the easier it will be to lose pounds and body fat.

Here are some of the key ways snowboarding helps lead to fat loss:

  • Burns body fat – The intensive cardio workout shreds both subcutaneous and visceral body fat.
  • Preserves muscle – Snowboarding works your muscles hard, which keeps them conditioned and avoids loss of muscle from dieting.
  • Increases metabolism – Your metabolic rate remains elevated after high intensity exercise, leading to extra calorie burn.
  • Appetite suppression – Vigorous snowboarding helps control appetite hormones like ghrelin to reduce between-meal cravings.

In addition to promoting calorie burn during your time on the slopes, snowboarding may also accelerate fat burning at rest as your body recovers. This makes snowboarding a highly time-efficient fat loss activity.

Ideal Snowboarding Routine for Weight Loss

To lose weight and get in better shape from snowboarding, aim for snowboarding workouts 2-4 days per week for at least 1-2 hours per session. Go at a vigorous intensity that keeps your heart rate elevated. Also vary your terrain and include steeper slopes, moguls and jumps to increase the calorie burn. Taking lessons and improving your skill level will allow you to snowboard more aggressively and burn extra calories too.

Make sure to stay hydrated and fuel up on healthy snacks like fruits, vegetables, nuts and protein bars. Some extra muscle-building resistance training 1-2 days per week will complement your snowboarding workouts. The combination of intense cardio snowboarding sessions and strength training workouts is perfect for torching calories and losing weight.

Nutrition for Weight Loss with Snowboarding

To maximize fat loss from snowboarding, pay close attention to your diet and nutrition too. Here are some dietary strategies that can accelerate weight loss when combined with regular snowboarding workouts:

  • Calorie deficit – Reduce your daily calorie intake to create a deficit for weight loss, but don’t cut calories too aggressively.
  • High protein – Eat around 0.5-1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day to support muscle growth and increase metabolism..
  • Reduce carbs – Limit refined carbs and sugars which can interfere with fat burning. Focus on getting carbs from fruits, vegetables and whole grains instead.
  • Healthy fats – Get 20-30% of calories from sources like avocados, nuts, olive oil and fatty fish.
  • Pre/post-exercise meals – Fuel up on protein and carbs before snowboarding. Have a protein shake after to aid recovery.

With the combination of vigorous snowboarding workouts and proper nutrition, you can enhance fat burning while building lean muscle.

Other Health and Fitness Benefits of Snowboarding

Beyond weight loss and fat burning, snowboarding offers numerous other physical and mental benefits including:

  • Increased cardiovascular fitness – Strengthens your heart and improves VO2 max.
  • Greater leg and core strength – Tones and defines leg, glute and core muscles.
  • Enhanced balance and coordination – Develops better proprioception and body control.
  • Improved mental focus – Requires intense concentration and awareness when carving down slopes.
  • Stress relief – Provides an outlet for relieving mental stress.
  • Fun social activity – Allows you to enjoy quality time outdoors with friends.

Snowboarding truly offers a total body workout combined with fun and mental engagement – making it a rewarding fitness activity.

Conclusion

Snowboarding is a high calorie burning activity that engages your cardiovascular system and all your major muscles at once. Regular snowboarding workouts paired with a good diet can absolutely lead to weight loss, fat burning and a lean, toned physique. Beyond the physical benefits, snowboarding is also great for reducing stress, learning a new skill and spending time with friends. It provides a motivating and enjoyable way to get in shape during the cold winter months.

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