How do you learn to switch push (alternate or push with both legs?)

Switching legs is a better skill to pickup sooner than later for health reasons, and becomes harder the more stuck in you get using a single leg.

Generally speaking the two tips I give people is:

1. Practice using your switch leg for slower uphill segments of your ride.

2. Learn to switch feet without needing to look down.

   1. It's like how it's easier to drive straight if you look far ahead rather than looking at the line right in front of you.

   2. Use your feet as a reference point, almost everyone uses their arch, or their heel, some familiar portion of their foot that is already placed correctly as an index. Having a reference point is important so when you switch feet you know you're in the right balance point and don't have to adjust.

   3. Like the homing bumps on your keyboard's F and J keys, some people use stops and grip-tape to help with this.

      1. Some people use the neck of the deck or a foot stop, as a front reference.

      2. Others will place a raised portion of griptape they build to use as a placement reference.

3. Learn to longboard dance.

   1. Learning to cross step, ghost ride, and other longboard techniques, will greatly help you, as you will teach your brain how to turn your board in non-ideal foot placements and how to jump on and off your board when you inevitably do goof up or dodge a squirrel.

   2. Adam Colton's trick tips look old now, but they break down a lot of the more simple tricks into something approachable to any skill level.

What Longboard Setup Should a Beginner Pusher Get?

Things to look for in a beginner longboard if you want to get into pushing.

• Look for something low!

• Beginners find low setups easier to push on, easier to learn to stop, easier to slide, and more stable at speed. Terms to know for a beginner looking at low longboards.

• Drop throughs: A deck where the truck goes through the deck, mounted on the opposite side than typical, lowering the deck.

• Dropped decks: Boards with a lowered standing platform.

• Most distance boards have one, or both (double drop), of these features.

Look for something longer!

• Longer setups give you more space, very helpful as you learn foot placement. Don't step on a wheel!

• Longer boards are more stable, helpful for learning to ride faster, safely.

Big soft wheels!

• A sweet spot for pushing wheels ranges from 75-90mm for beginners. Lightweight and lower than some of the bigger pushing race wheels.

• A bigger wheel eats bumps while a soft wheel will help smooth vibrations and be more predictable if you lose traction.

 You get what you pay for. The more you spend the more likely you are to enjoy the sport, but there is a diminishing return. 

• ​My sponsor Pantheon Longboards is my first recommendation, of course, I help develop products with them, and they are really the best company out there in terms of making a perfect product and customer service, instead of focusing on a profit, but I understand if you can't afford that.

• Feel free to message me for other recommendations (adambrproject@gmail.com or @blueridgeproject of instagram).