Slide boards have traditionally been used by skaters such as speed skaters and ice hockey players, but the boards offer health benefits for anyone looking to get fit and tone muscles. You wear cotton booties on your feet, and the slippery board has blocks on either end to act as stoppers and to help you push off for your next move.


The movement across the slide board engages your legs and core as well as your arms as you swing them to maintain your balance. For beginners, stick to the basic motion of sliding from one block to the other, dragging your outside foot as you slide. Swing your arms to the outside, toward your dragged foot, as you slide. Keep this up for 20 to 30 minutes. As you gain proficiency on the slide board, squat at the side after stopping at the block or add a leg lift with the dragging leg.

Leg Workouts

The slide board is ideal for building your leg muscles, including your quadriceps and hamstrings in your thighs and your gluteus muscles in your buttocks. Warm up with sliding jack, which is similar to a jumping jack. Start with your feet together and arms by your sides. Slide your feet open wider than shoulder width as you raise your arms out from your shoulders. Pull your feet back in and lower your arms. This specifically targets your inner thigh muscles. The mountain climber works your hamstrings and quadriceps. Turn sideways on the slide board and bend over to hold one of the side blocks with your hands. Stretch your feet out behind you on the board with your back and legs straight. Bring one knee forward toward your chest, then push it back while pulling the other knee in. This exercise also engages your abdominal muscles to pull in your knees.

Upper Body Workouts

Working the upper body on the slide board can be as simple as adding dumbbell biceps curls or overhead presses when you stop at each side block between slides. However, the slide board isn't just for your feet. Lie down in pushup position with the cotton booties under your forearms. Push outward to lower your body and pull inward to raise your body, working your chest and biceps. To increase the intensity, place the booties under your hands with your arms extended as you lift and lower.


In addition to providing a full-body workout, a slide board provides a type of exercise that can help rehabilitate injuries to the ACL, knee or ankle. Many leg exercises leave the joints hanging free, which can lead to sprains or further injury when you're trying to rehabilitate. The sliding motion works the inside and outside of the knee and ankle while supporting the joints; the foot stays on the board, which stabilizes the joints instead of letting them hang free.

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