In this guide, i will cover what the best methods to help improve your performance for all the different types of longboarding skills.
Balance training can help your speed up your progression in learning different kinds of longboarding skills and tricks in many ways.
Cross training for longboarding will also allow you to continue to develop your balance skills indoors on days when you can't skate.
Balance training can contribute to improving your coordination, reaction time and agility, improving theses skills can help you help you feel more confident on your board.
You can also combine balance training with skill training to work on getting better at particular movements used in tricks, slides and board dancing.
Experimenting with new tricks on a balance board can be safer than trying them out on a longboard.
Mastering a maneuver on a balance board before you attempt it on a long board may help prevent you from taking a hard fall and speed up your long boarding skills in the long run.
Taking hard falls = Getting injured = Less time spent longboarding while recovering = your skills regressing.
Their are different types of longboarding trainers that would be better for you depending on the style of longboarding you are into or the kinds of skills you wish to improve.
The different type of long boarding styles or skills that can be improved that are covered in this guide.
Slides / Freeride
Downhill
Board walking / Dancing
If you are looking to learn the best ways to improve your performance in ollies, flipping tricks, and manuals check you my balance training guide for street skateboarding.
Balance Training Guide for Street Skateboarding
Balance training for improved performance in freeride and slides.
Mastering the movement patterns for the different type of slides on a balance board will help build your confidence so you can commit 100% into a slide on a longboard.
When balance training for improving your sliding skills it is important to find a board that will allow you to easily spin on the roller so practice similar movement patterns used in sliding on a longboard.
Additionally practicing rotations on a balance board can assist in developing your core strength which will help to make entering into slides easier for you.
The Vew-do El Dorado or the Vew-do longboard (Currently being phased out 7/24/17) are the best balance boards that will allow you to work on sliding skills because they enable you to spin the deck without falling off of the roller.
The Vew-do El Dorato
Types of tricks that can be practiced with vew-do boards.
Balance training for downhill longboarding
Vew-do boards are also an excellent choice of a balance trainer if you are into downhill longboarding because they allow you to work on skills used in downhill longboarding like slides and craving.
Vew boards enable you to develop your heel to toe balance skills that you use when carving by allow you to ride the board up on the edge of the roller.
Training with a balance board can improve your overall sense of balance and reaction time, which will be really helpful when flying down a hill.
Balance training for board walking and dancing
If board walking and dancing is one of the main skills you want to develop I think the best choice would be to use a parallel roller balance board such as the Goofboard or Revolution swell
With these type of balance boards, the roller is placed parallel under the deck of the board. This makes it easier to work on your footwork skills because you do not have to worry about keeping the roller centered over your body as you do with traditional balance boards.
Learning or practicing moves on a board like this can help develop your balance, timing, and muscle memory, while also building strength in your feet and ankles so when you go try moves on a moving longboad you will take fewer falls.
How to build a parallel roller balance board like the Goofboard or Revolution Swell.
The Goofboard in Action.
The Revolution Swell in Action.
Dimension of the Goofboard,and Revolution Swell and the size of the rollers.
GoofboardClassic size is 44 inches by 15 inches the roller is 37 inches long and has a diameter of 4 inches
Revolution swell is 36 inches long and 15 inches wide and the roller is around 30 inches and has a diameter of 5 inches.
The Goofboard vs Revolution Swell
Both these boards have the same width.
The goofboard classic is the longest of the boards, so you will have the most room to practice board walking and dancing skills.
The Goofboard U-blocks that come with all new goofboard will allow you to change how challenging the board is to use.
The U-blocks make the board easier to use so you can use them to progressive challenge yourself by practicing a move with the U-blocks and then move on to using the board with the roller as you begin to feel more confident.
One of the downs sides is that due to the set up of the stoppers it can only be used as parallel roller balance board.
The Revolution is similar to the goofboard classic but almost 8 inches shorter and the stoppers on the bottom of the board are set up differently so you can also use it as traditional rocker type balance board (similar to an Indo board)
The rubber roller of the swell is the same diameter but 7 inches shorter as the goofboard classic but it looks like it would be able to handle abuse much better then the cardboard roller of the goofboard.
To sum it up
The goofboard classic is best for you if you want to only work on board walking and dancing skills it will give you the most room to practice and can also allow you adjust how challenging the board is to use with the U-block.
Choose the swell if you like the designed better then the goofboard classic and don't mind it having a little less room to practice board walking/ dancing skills and want to be able to use the board as a rocker board.
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