Anyone who has ever hit the mountain for this sport knows that it’s a great workout, to say the least. It requires hundreds of different muscles to balance yourself and control your motions, and your allover soreness the next day is usually a testament to the waking up of those muscles.

Whether you are spending your time on groomed trails, in the snow park, or in search of untouched powder in the back country, everyone who has strapped a board to their feet knows that it requires a lot of energy and challenges your body to its limits.

Here’s a breakdown of calories burnt snowboarding; find your bodyweight to get your estimate.


Calories burned in one hour:

Weight in lbs ------------------> Cals Expended
100 --------------------------------------> 290
110 --------------------------------------> 317
120 --------------------------------------> 347
130 --------------------------------------> 374
140 --------------------------------------> 402
150 --------------------------------------> 433
160 --------------------------------------> 459
170 --------------------------------------> 487
180 --------------------------------------> 520
190 --------------------------------------> 543
200 --------------------------------------> 574
210 --------------------------------------> 603
220 --------------------------------------> 632
240 --------------------------------------> 687
260 --------------------------------------> 740
280 --------------------------------------> 806


Check out this 28 Minute Snowboarding Workout Video that includes strength training, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, balance and agility, all specifically built for those who like to get their workout in on the mountain.

Exact calories burned snowboarding will depend on variables such as muscle content, gender, metabolism, your intensity levels and even your expertise on the board. Back country dodging of trees, and jumps and tricks at the park will burn more then working on your "S" turns on a nice groomed trail.

If you want to bump this expenditure up even more, then skip the chair lift and strap your gear to your back, grab a pair of snow shoes and start walking. Replacing the leisurely ride up the mountain with a tough hike uphill can easily double or even triple the number of calories you burn in a day on the mountain.

The key to keeping a healthy body weight as you age is finding a physical activity that you enjoy, one that doesn’t feel like working out. This is definitely one of those kinds of exercises; it is so much better than slaving away on the treadmill at the gym (though a little work on the treadmill and in the weight room in the off season definitely pays off once you hit the slopes).