After a half dozen runs my back leg calf is burning, should I widen my stance or get used to it?

Question

Also: How do you know when you have to wax a new board?

Answer 1

It's called lactic acid burn which means your muscles there are starving for oxygen.  As your circulation improves, it will go away.  Did you get a physical before you started running?  If not, get one now because you don't want to strain your heart, just give it a workout.  I just realized you're talking about surfing, but the muscle burn answer is the same--you're straining that set of muscles.  Don't widen your stance much or the strain will be worse.

Answer 2

Well... you could widen your stance - but a narrower stance is generally better for downhill and a wider for freestyle.

alternatively you could adjust your increase the angle of your highbacks

BUT... your leg muscles will begin to get stronger and after a while you won't even notice the burning - well that's what happened to me!

also it's recomended that you sould wax a new board about every week (i think that's a bit excessive and do it about three times a season and my board's fine)

hope that helps

Answer 3

mine was the same just before my heart attack

Answer 4

LACTIC ACID STOPS BEING PRODUCED AFTER A FEW MONTHS OF EXERCISE.  WAX IT WHEN THE OLD WAX IS GONE OR THE BOARD STARTS TRUNING WHITE.  CAPS LOCK WAS ON AND I WAS TO LAZY TO TURN IT OFF.

Answer 5

try chewing some tums with the calcium it helps with muscle aches.

Answer 6

Dude unless you ride every single day.  Your always going to get a little calf burn, it will get less and less with time. I try and ride just about every day, and usually the 1st run there is a little burn and toward the end of the day when im getting a little tired...

Id say yea widen your stance, here is why.   The wider your stance the more your knees are bent, the more your knees are bent the better position your in to maneuver the snowboard, weather it be carving down the mountain or popin a 360 off a roller, id say keep it wide,   YES it will hurt your calf a little more, BUT your riding will improve,,and the more you ride and feel that burn, the stronger your legs will be getting....

If your board is NEW NEW like just bought, you probably have  a 1 or 2 months of riding before it needs another coat of wax, New snowboards  9 times out of 10 come with a factory wax job that is usually very good.  But you will know when you need wax, for 1 you will feel it, and 2  just look at the bottom of the deck, if its got a little glaze on it, its good. If its like a flat looking, might be time to get some dakine rub on or something.

Happy shredding dude

Answer 7

you should check your forward lean.....

Answer 8

Conditioning will make a difference. Squats, lunges, stair climbs. You can also strap on your board at home and practice getting up from sitting position. If you are falling a lot, you will use a lot of muscle effort to get up from the sitting position. Also, while you're strapped in... stand in the riding postion (knees bent) both stationary (static) and shifting your weight heel/toe and nose/tail repeatedly. You can even do this while you watch winter X-Games on TV!

Try some different adjustments to see what works.

You can even try some different stances at home and see if any of them feel better than others. Keep in mind that there are a lot of adjustments you can make - highback lean angle, how far the binding is (heel/toe direction) from the centerline of the board, how far the boot is fwd/backward in the binding, binding angles, stance width, weight distribution (tail to nose), and some boots even have wedge shaped insoles to adjust the lean of your foot from side-to-side in the boot.

Insoles could make a big difference.

There's nothing wrong with experimenting with your stance.

If you look in a snowboarding magazine, some of the rider bios give the binding settings each rider uses... not that you should copy their numbers.. just notice that there is a very wide variety of settings even among riders in the same type of competition (or other riding style).

Wax not only makes you faster, but it helps protect the base material... but oddly, there shouldn't be enough wax that you can see the thickness of it (none should be on the surface).

Most people put on too much wax.

For good instructions on waxing, see the link below.

Answer 9

it's pow leg, play around with your stance and see if it goes away, but it probably won't.

As far as wax goes, I wax my board every 2 or 3 trips, or immediately after an icy day (that tends to strip your base like crazy). Look for dry patches on your base. if ya got any it's time to wax.