Snowboarding burns up to 600 calories per hour, matching the intensity of vigorous rowing.

The high caloric burn of snowboarding stems from the recruitment of large muscle groups and the metabolic demands of thermoregulation. According to Harvard Health Publishing, a 155-pound (70 kg) person burns approximately 450 to 600 calories per hour during vigorous downhill snowboarding—comparable to moderate rowing or jogging at 5 mph (8 km/h).A 2014 study in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine found that cold-weather sports trigger non-shivering thermogenesis, a process involving brown adipose tissue activation. This tissue burns glucose and lipids to produce heat, causing the body to consume extra energy to prevent hypothermia in sub-freezing alpine conditions.Snowboarding also demands constant isometric and eccentric muscle contractions to stabilize the body on uneven terrain. The core, quadriceps, and calves remain under near-continuous tension to manage the board's edge and absorb impacts. Research from the University of Salzburg shows that recreational snowboarders often reach 60 to 80 percent of their maximum heart rate, placing the activity firmly in the aerobic and anaerobic training zones.