Introduction
Longboarding is riding on longboards of various shapes and sizes. Longboard riding is interesting. Compared to skateboard riding, longboards are more stable and durable having larger wheel size and lower wheel durometers.
There are many types and disciplines of longboards. There are four main Longboard riding styles, which are as follows:
- Downhill longboarding
- Freestyle Longboarding
- Cruising Longboarding
- Dancing
Though uphill longboarding is not on the list, still nowadays it has been a new craze. The parts that make up a longboard are trucks, deck, wheels, bushings, bearings. You can get fastest ABEC-9 best longboard bearings from MKL bearing.
Longboarding is one of the most interesting sports, it involves a lot of imagination. The techniques and skills you show on your board are only limited by your imagination and a little by physics.
Why longboarding uphill?
Climbing up an incline section on your swap path in between flatland and downhill sections is adventurous. When crossing longer distances, you may come across inclines that you need to climb and reach your ultimate destination which can be a flatland.
If you’re into freeriding, you may often ride down long devious roads that you can carve and slide on. Once you get to the bottom, chances are you’ll want to go back up again. For this uphill longboarding is necessary.
If you’re into longboard fitness or distance travelling, you may sometimes choose a path with a long devious upward incline for building up your pushing approach. You need to build skill in uphill longboarding for this.
There are at least 3 reasons for longboarding uphill:
- Climbing up an incline segment on your commute path in between flatland and downhill sections. When travelling longer distances, you may come across inclines that you need to climb and reach a hump before finding yourself on flat ground or drop again.
- Returning to the top after a freeride longboard run: If you enjoy freeriding, you may frequently ride down long, twisting routes that allow you to carve and slide. The likelihood is that once you reach the bottom, you’ll want to climb back up for more.
- Long distance pushing: if you’re into longboard fitness or distance traveling, you may occasionally pick a road with a long winding upward inclination for building up your pushing endurance and muscles. A sort of fitness longboarding frequently referred to as “skogging“, short for skating and jogging.
How to do Longboard Uphill?
There are a few steps for going uphill while longboarding. The steps are pushing, pumping and walking. Which one is the best way among the three of them depends on the kind of hill you are facing, your skills and goals.
Pushing uphill requires good stamina and good slogging techniques to distribute the effort across your body. It’s a skill fitness longboarders work on and develop.
Uphill pumping is an art form as much as a physical skill. Physical skill is very important here. This technique also provides an intense full-body workout.
Walking with your longboard can be an effective and sporty option in some situations though it is not much spectacular. From all the three approaches, pushing is the best beginner longboard.
After determining your approach, you have to stand on your longboard. To begin, stand in the centre of your board with your feet while the knees are slightly bent. Then leaning forward and backwards will help to maintain your balance.
Techniques of Uphill Longboarding
Pushing, pumping and walking are the best techniques for uphill longboarding. Among them, pushing is the most natural techniques of longboarding uphill. Pumping is easier incase of flatlands.
When you are facing a short incline in between flatland and downhill, it’s easier to just kick or push the longboard as you would do on the flatlands. Another important technique is alternate pushing using both your feet. Once you learn this skill, it gives you a lot more strength for longboarding uphill on a long incline.
Pumping creates a stable momentum on your uphill longboarding. You need to put more weight on the front trucks of your board and do shorter, faster and forceful rotations with specific body motion. You need to find out the right balance between pump power and frequency.
Walking uphill induces simply hopping off your longboard. It is more efficient in terms of speed and effort.
Comparison with three techniques pushing is the best for beginners. Pushing up milder hills is a great workout but may be less efficient in terms of speed and effort. On steeper inclines pumping takes a lot more energy and slower than pushing uphill.
Pushing uphill on your longboard
Pushing uphill is the most natural approach for many longboarders. When you’re facing a short uphill in between two flat or downhill sections, it’s typically easy to just kick-push your longboard as you would do on flats.
On the other hand, for longer inclines – e.g., a low-grade 1 mile+ hill – you’ll need good endurance and technique to keep you from just getting off your longboard and walk up to the hump. Watch the following 10 seconds:
Skogging uphill
One important technique you need to learn is alternate pushing with both feet, aka skogging. In other words, you alternately push “normal” (kick with rear foot, front foot on deck) and “mongo” (kick with front foot, rear foot on deck).
Pushing with alternate foot allows you to evenly distribute the burden over both your legs and both side of your core muscles. Once you build up this skill, it gives you a lot more endurance and strength for longboarding uphill on long incline stretches. Skogging is also essential for long distance longboard traveling on flatground.
Switch pushing uphill
Besides alternate feet, endurance uphill longboarders also practice pushing switch. This involves switching your stance, which is different from skogging. When switching stance, you go from a regular stance (left foot in front) to a goofy stance (right foot in front) or vice-versa. In contrast, when skogging you keep your natural stance (e.g. left foot in front if you’re regular), always facing the same side of your longboard, but you push with either the front or back foot.
Pushing switch is another way of engaging more muscles in your body as opposed to always the same muscles on the same side. Switch riding, however, requires practice, much more so than alternate pushing. I can skog relatively easily – although not nearly as effectively “regular” than “mongo” – but I’m still not really able to ride switch.
Going back uphill in switch stance is a great exercise and workout, and also forces you to place your weight better. It also improves your overall longboarding skills through balancing on your weakest and least natural leg.
Typically, you’ll first work on getting good at skogging so as to train your brain to use the other half of your body more naturally. Then over time, you’ll start practicing your switch stance. Progressively, you’ll be able to push up long inclines without any walking.
Pushing vs walking uphill
Your capacity for pushing uphill is influenced by both your physical capabilities and the degree of the gradient. Although pushing up steeper slopes is a terrific workout, it might not be as quick or efficient as just getting off your longboard and walking upward.
Longboard pumping uphill
Pumping is the second key strategy for longboarding uphill.
It goes without saying that pumping is considerably simpler on level ground than it is uphill, where gravity slows you down. Therefore, pumping differs slightly when longboarding uphill. While uphill pumping entails putting more weight on the front trucks and performing shorter, quicker, and/or more powerful revolutions, flat pumping often requires slower, more relaxed body action.
Tight quick pumps uphill
For some riders, tight carves and short hip pumps with limited upper body rotation work best for longboarding uphill. In fact, on steeper inclines, very forceful pumps sometimes result in some loss of speed while shorter quick pumps with your front foot on the bolts can yield better results, like driving a car in low gear. Your main challenge is to find the right balance between pump power and frequency.
Powerful deeper pumps uphill
Others, however, have greater success pumping uphill while doing broader sweeps and concentrating on stronger pumps and forceful carves. To do this, they draw the front foot inward while simultaneously pushing the rear foot out as they forcibly bring the longboard’s nose in after each carve. Acceleration and thrust are produced by the interaction of the outward push and inward pull of the back foot.
Running a turny rear truck, which offers your rear foot ample force for pushing and pulling harder opposite your front foot, may also make it easier to aggressively rip the board into and out of subsequent carves with both feet.
The wide, full-body movement in this wide sweeps method starts with the upper body and core muscles with strong hip swings that travel down your legs and through your feet. This high-power method takes a lot of work but may lead to efficient flatland pumping and excellent uphill riding.
Arm motion for skating uphill
Efficiency of the uphill longboard pump also depends on arm motion. For pumping up a modest slope, the “shadow boxing” and “rocking the baby” motions mentioned in pavedwave often work well. The rear arm can also be moved in a circle manner for effective effects.
Uphill pushing vs pumping
Generally speaking, pumping requires a lot more energy and moves more slowly than pushing uphill on higher gradient. However, learning how to pump is a fantastic skill and experience, and for some riders, it has become their own passion. Pushing and pumping both provide a full-body exercise, if not more so. Longboarding on flat and incline surfaces may be accomplished effectively by combining both abilities.
Uphill pushing setups
The ideal longboard configurations for pushing uphill are, of course, commuter-oriented models, which are often low-riding (drop-through or drop deck) with a sizable wheelbase for push stability, a little flex for energy when kicking, and a mellow concave for mobility.
Uphill pumping setups
As was already discussed, loosening the rear truck enables for more fluid and forceful pumps while pumping uphill. Pumping uphill may also be made easier with softer bushings, some wedging, and a shorter wheelbase without sacrificing efficiency on level terrain.
History of Longboarding and Uses
Longboarding started in the year 1950 from the thought of surfing in the land when the waves are too small to surf. The surfers of Hawaii made small versions of surfboards with wheels and used their surfing tricks on these.
It was not that popular till the year 1990 when sector 9 started mass producing and selling of longboards. This approach made longboarding more stable. People started to think about using longboard on different purposes.
From then the internet has played an important role in the publicity of longboarding. Longboarding becomes very popular among people in the year 2010. In case of making innovative models of longboards, high-quality and sturdy material is used.
In the year 2012, uphill longboarding was done first. And in this current age, this is quite popular among kids, teenagers, and adults. Now, this sport is relatively advanced. This is ideal for long-distance travelling.
Longboarding whether downhill or uphill has become a very popular sports event among the young generation. Many longboard competitions are arranged nowadays to increase the craze of it. Uphill longboarding is mainly used in travelling long-distance destinations.
Uphill longboard technique is used while carving on milder or steeper hills. For pushing the longboard uphill while on the hills, commuter – oriented longboards are the best as they have relatively large wheelbase.
For across longer distances, uphill longboarding is necessary and for this, a heavier or longer board and larger wheels are needed which will maintain the momentum from a push longer.
Final words
Uphill longboarding is an adventurous sport which is not that dangerous if proper safety precautions are taken. Still, there are some regulations on uphill skateboarding. All you need to do is build up your skills properly and take appropriate safety measures before longboarding uphill.
In terms of safety, it all depends on how well you are protected, you must wear a good quality leather suit, helmet, and protective pads. If you are protected properly you will enjoy the ride more than when you are not as there will be a chance of getting injured.
If you follow all the guidelines correctly you will face no problem in uphill longboarding. If you want to show off your skills you have to master in it and once you are mastered everybody will try to imitate you