Losing weight for Zero Off

[Ralph Lee]

Until recently I have skied exclusively behind perfect pass. I took a ski trip to Florida last fall hitting Swiss, Fluid Ski, McCormicks, Chet Raley, and Mapple's. Zero Off felt like a nightmare!! All coaches emphasized how much of a disadvantage Zero Off is for bigger skiers. I am joining the tournament scene next year, and considering trying to drop around 40 lbs before I start the season. Interested in any opinions or motivation on the significants of losing that much weight for Zero Off.

[Wish]

Screw ZO, if you need to drop that much weight, the motivation is all around you. All you have to do is look at your family and friends. They want you healthy and around for years to come and you want to be around for them. It's that simple. Will ZO work better for you..hell ya. But there's way more important reasons. Drop all breads and starch (carbs) consumption after 12 noon (your lunch). Don't drink any calories. Try to make a breakfast or lunch carb free 2-3 times a week as well. If you don't drop 2-3 pounds a week I would be shocked. It's really not that hard to do and adding extra exercise will help greatly but you still lose the weight if you don't.

 

More specifically to ZO; listen to no one as to what setting you should pick. You MUST go through them all yourself and feel out the one that is best for you. You will know it when you find it. Don't think a certain setting is "like PP". That's BS. You're trying to find a setting that helps your style of skiing and makes it easier to ski.

[bogboy]

@Ralph Lee‌ I agree with wish; I have lost close to 40 lbs. over the last 3 or so years, and it will really help your skiing. You will like zero off after you get use to it. Good luck.

[Ralph Lee]

No, better scores in the course is the most important then my family! Just kidding! I'm not out of shape, just not built like the average skier.

[SkiJay]

Good on ya @Ralph Lee‌. One of the best aspects of water skiing is how powerful a motivator it can be, especially regarding fitness. It certainly kept me grinding away in gyms through some long cold winters.

Your Florida tour sounds like a fantasy trip!

[ozski]

This is a good thread - http://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/8385/power-to-weight discussing power to weight. True ZO can be a bit of a beast but it can also be your best friend if your skiing it right. Scores are getting better not worse and I've heard it argued more than once that the difference between Smith and Parish is due to ZO working better for Nate.. Personally I think there is an optimal weight range for every skier and if your a bit on the porky side its not going to do you any favors, try strapping a 30lb weight around your middle and see how you ski.. @ Skijay - Skiing has motivated me to build up my strength and stamina, I'm doing intense cardio daily with high ish resistance. Sprinting up hills, spinner, rowing machine and lots of cable training.. Stick to a clean diet, no alcohol or sugar and I agree with @Wish limit carb intake, remove wheat from your diet altogether... Coffee is still your friend but don't over do it. You will be amazed how much difference a few minor lifestyle changes will make.

[Edbrazil]

Zero Arf can be a bummer at first. A good friend who was a Sr. skier into 38 off says that he

'lost' 3 passes when first dealing with ZO. He's now well back, and occasional into 39 on ZO.

He also credits losing some weight.

 

Can't speak for myself, as I've been skiing only rarely and not competitively. Maybe a comeback

by Men9, though.

[klindy]

@Ralph Lee‌ what do you weight now?

[JohnCox]

@Ralph Lee - If you enter the tournament scene this year, I think you'll be surprised by what the "average skier" is built like. The guys that are getting in to fairly deep short line are, for the most part, in pretty dang good shape. For me, skiing was my trigger to loose a ton of weight, and continues to be my motivation to get in better shape. We all know when we are out of shape, and all have good reasons to do it (family, health, the cost of life insurance...). I did for over a decade - joined gyms, tried every diet there is, tried the fad diet pills. Nothing stuck. You need something to actually make you stick to it. For me, it was skiing.

 

I'm not a big believer in eliminating carbs....but I do spend a fair amount of time in the gym. I do reduce the carbs in my afternoon meals (depending on the time of year and my goals, I eat between 4 and 7 full meals a day), and eliminate them in my last meal. But, I could still be eating, say, 8-10 baked potatoes a day...

 

Anyway - there's nothing all that magic about my approach. Low fat, low sugar, low sodium. Eat clean, and often enough to keep your metabolism up (never more than 4 hours between meals). And, or course, exercise. I weight train, but there are other ways to get the body going.

 

I can't speak much to the differences between PP and ZO. In my fat era, I went for 12 years without skiing at all, so I basically went from manual driving to star gazer (less than one season) to zero off. Once I find the setting that works for me, I love it.

 

Go get it!

[Fatroll]

I used to be 312 pounds and could run 15 off. When I dropped 100 pounds, I was able to run into 28 off on occasion. With practice, the last few season, 28 off became more consistent. This last off season, I made a effort to not only be lighter but be stronger in my core and have better overall fitness. My goal was to run -35 (Ran it last week). Last winter, I used purple sections from old ropes as motivation. I put one on my gym bag, one of the refrigerator door, and one on the rear view mirror of my car. These served as a reminder to avoid some of my life long bad habits and focus on good habits. So, find something to keep you focused, the difference on the water is worth it, not to mention all of the health and life benefits. Good fitness with core strength and ZO practice, I would expect things to take of themselves.

[Ralph Lee]

6 foot 220. Exercising every day, lots of basketball, mountain biking, and construction work. But when it comes to being ''light on the line,'' Aidan at Mapple skis said he was going to hook two ski ropes together, then connect them to my handle! lol

[RazorRoss3]

@Ralph Lee‌ , I'm 5'8, in the past I usually ran around 190, this year I slimmed down to 180 and even a little under abd it definitely benefitted my skiing. With ZO the less you pull away and the more you pull across the better it works. As a side not on build, I used to power lift competitively so I understand the feeling of feeling a bit bulky for the sport but the added strength I've found to be an added advantage.

[6balls]

@ralph Lee I was 5'11 and 220lbs of muscle at one point back in Men II. Was breaking ropes left and right always carried new spares in my trunk to give to friends after breaking theirs. Began dropping weight a few years ago and now weigh around 185. Last two seasons were best I've skied (missed the most immediate season due to neck surgery). If you can lighten up it will help you.

[jimbrake]

I HATE these types of threads. F. I can cut carbs, I can burn more calories, but cutting beer? Seriously? Shut up!

[mwetskier]

@jimbrake -i recently discovered that adding a wedge of lime to low carb michelob ultra make it taste just like a high quality mexican beer. either that or its been way to long since i was in cancun. . .

[The_MS]

HELP, I cant taste my beer.

[Chef23]

Losing weight definitely can help and at 6' 220 (about what I am at right now) you can definitely be lighter (I am not saying you are overweight because there are all kinds of body types).

 

That said if they were talking about hooking multiple ropes together there are some definite technique issues. Last year I ran mid/deep 35 off consistently at 215-220 (I have been hurt most of this year) and I have never broken a rope (I did have one handle break but it was old.) If you let the ski finish and hook up properly you can ski behind ZO. You can't slow a ZO boat down like you could in the old days of hand driving or even PP.

 

I am targeting 200 for the spring we will see if I can shut my pie hole enough to get there.

[Ralph Lee]

My problem is the more I exercise, the more I eat! I haven't skied much ZO, but the times I have I'm almost 9 buoys short of my average. I think I'm going to go for it this winter and see how much it helps... and if it doesn't, I'm going to be really pissed and put the weight back on as quick as I can!!

[jimbrake]

Maybe I should just go with silver bullets during the week and leave the IPA, double IPAs, ambers, porters, and such for the weekend.

[A_B]

Don't be afraid to try the + settings on ZO. I went from C1/C2 to A1+ and it was noticeably better for me. The + bumps the rpm a little at the gate and then settles down a little more in the course. At least that is what I feel. I tried C1+ and felt terrible. I credit @Ed_Johnson‌ for the setting.

[klindy]

I am 6'-6" and did weigh 250 lbs. ZO is clearly different from PP in that us bigger guys can't pull it around like PP. I agree with @AB that the "plus" (+) settings with ZO are about as good of a compromise as there has been. I went from C2 to B2+ and notice a world of difference. Granted it's only at the gate you really feel it but it sets up the rest of the course so much better than being pulled over the front of the ski heading into #1.

 

I also would agree that the "hooking two ropes together" comment suggests some technique improvement is in order. Perhaps you're "arm skiing" or really starting far more aggressively than is optimal.