Snowboarding is fucking awesome. Honestly, if you're just starting out, get your abs ready. When you fall it's basically a situp plus to get back up. First time I went snowboarding, I must have done the equivalent of 100 or so situps over the course of the day. (I fell a lot, derr) Also, your parents/others couldn't be more wrong. I've never seen any kids/females having problems with it because of lack of muscles or any shit like that.