Beginner Plyometrics for Pop and Your First Small Jumps

Plyometrics sounds intimidating, but it simply means jumping drills that teach your muscles to produce force quickly. For a new snowboarder, a little plyo work builds the explosive pop you will eventually use to ollie over a bump or pre-jump a small roller, and it strengthens the joints that absorb every landing.

Start Low and Soft

Beginners should never start with high boxes or hard landings. The first goal is to land softly and absorb impact through bent knees and hips. Master the landing before you chase height.

A Beginner-Safe Plyo Set

• Pogo hops. Small, quick, two-footed hops in place. Stay on the balls of your feet and keep contact time short.
• Squat jumps. Sink into a quarter squat, jump, and land soft back into the squat. Three sets of six is plenty early on.
• Lateral bounds. Hop side to side, landing on one foot and stabilising. This trains the edge-to-edge power snowboarding demands.
• Low box step-downs. Step off a low step and land softly. This teaches impact absorption without the force of a real jump-down.

Rules That Keep You Safe

1. Quality over quantity. Stop when your landings get sloppy. Tired plyo is how people get hurt.
2. Rest between sets. Plyo trains the nervous system, so full recovery between efforts matters more than burning out.
3. Twice a week, max. These drills are demanding on joints, so leave recovery days between sessions.

Add plyometrics only after a few weeks of base strength work from earlier in this plan. By the time real jumps tempt you on snow, your body will already know how to spring and land. Bonvo.Ski can help you scout beginner-friendly terrain features, so you choose your first small rollers on slopes that suit your level.