Safety in Wakeboarding

Top 5 Tips for Staying Injury Free

provided by: wwwAustinhair.net

1. There is nothing like time in the gym. The best way to stay on the water is by exercising off of the water.  Lifting weights helps strengthen all the muscles in your body that keep your ligaments from tearing. 
2. Stretch, stretch, and stretch.  My personal favorite way to do this yoga, especially hot yoga, because classes like these force you to stretch for at least an hour at a time. Stretching on your own is also very beneficial right before and right after you ride.  Stretching before you ride gets you loosened up and helps the blood start to flow. Stretching afterwards helps your muscles rebuild quicker and prevents cramps.
3. Warm up properly. This is especially important during winter.  If you jump in the lake cold turkey and start going straight into your tricks, your body is more subject to injury from a fall.  Good warm up techniques include: lunges, squats, pushups, kicks, or anything else you can do on the back of a boat. Start stretching and warming up at least  5 min before you ride so you have time for the blood to start flowing.
4. Get on a supplement.  Wakeboarding is not natural for the body. Compared to something like swimming, it is a hybrid of man's human ability and man's technology.  Wakeboarders and wakeskaters endure a lot of extra wear and tear, and therefore it is necessary to make up for it with a lot of extra supplements.  Your body is going to need more vitamins and minerals than just from a healthy diet.  The best supplement is Mona Vie. It has a high antioxidant berry found in the Amazon called the acai berry. It is also mixed with glucosamine to help lubricate your joints, which is essential as a watersports enthusiast.  Drinking protein after you ride is also important to help rebuild your muscles.  You can find monavie at http://mymonavie.com/austinhair
5. The final tip to stay injury free is to be smart on the water.  If you are trying a new trick and you keep falling really hard, or come repeatedly close to falling really hard, take a break from it. If your brain starts to get ahead of your body, don't be afraid to slow it down and wait a day before you try the trick again.