-15@30 done, where to next?

[Orlando76]

This has been talked about before but I want to ask it from my perspective. I've pretty much have -15@30 knocked out. As long as I'm rested and the wind isn't bad I'll make my first 6 passes while waiting on the ball. Where to next? 31? -22? Go between 15 and 22? One group I ski with wants me stay at -15@30 until my fork is 100% perfect but I feel that's unrealistic, especially at that length. I'm sure Will and Nate would agree their form could improve to some extent at even -32.

 

A couple weeks ago I thought lets speed up to 31 which I was making but definitely fell into bad habits a bit... Mainly turning with back foot and wow what a work out.

 

Two nights ago I was knocking -15 out so easy I decided to cut to -22 but stay at 30. Hell I made the pass!! I did another 4 passes at -22, not making all 6, shadowed a few balls but I could feel the importance of form more so than at -15. I feel if I were to fall into bad habits it wouldn't do me any good as where I can hack my way at -15@31 with my brute strength. At -22 I felt like I was getting a bit more free of the boat which seemed to make more sense of some of the instruction I've received.

 

So do I speed up or shorten the rope?

[MISkier]

I would say speed up until you get to max speed. Then, maybe back down one notch in speed and shorten.

[Ilivetoski]

Speed up, I wouldn't understand cutting the rope if you aren't at max speed

[lcgordon]

Cutting the rope can be done just as doing something different for fun but mainly work on that 32mph for now. If you were at 34 I could understand cutting instead of not wanting to ski 36 but at 30mph you should be speeding up.

[Than_Bogan]

Both. Each will teach you different things you'll need someday.

[Chef23]

I agree with @Than_Bogan. I would do some of both. I am a big believer in speeding up when you make a clean pass. Next time you run 30/15 go to 32. When you run 32 take a look at 34. I also think it makes sense to try going down the rope at 30 mph. Mix it up.

[Fam-man]

I'm about at the same level in my progress, only ski for fun and with no plans for tournaments so I figure challenge yourself and mix it up. When conditions are poor or I'm not skiing great I stay at 15off and 30mph but when things are going good I've been doing the following;

First set work up speed. 15off @ 30mph, 15off @ 31mph, 15off @ 32mph

Second set mix speed & shortening. 15off @ 30mph, 15off @ 31mph, 22off @ 30mph

 

What I've been finding is speeding up is tougher to adjust to because of the timing change. When I'm leveraging well on both sides shortening to 22off @ 30mph is fun but doesn't require the same adjustments as speeding up.

 

I also try not to sacrifice form just to make a ball as I'm changing speed or length. Stay disciplined on technique and the balls will happen.

[BrennanKMN]

Similar to what @Fam-man said. I think it really depends on your goals. Do you plan to start running tournaments or do you want to ski for fun and just get better?

 

If you plan to start tournaments I'd stick with 15 and the occasional 22 until you can ski max speed. If you just want to ski for fun; play around. What I will say is I wouldn't shorten past 28 until you are at least running 32 MPH easily.

[DefectiveDave]

I agree with @Than_Bogan and @Chef23. There is something for you to learn at both 32 MPH and 22-off.

 

The the ski reacts differently at 32 MPH due to the increased speed of the water and you obviously have to react somewhat faster while maintaining a slightly higher average speed. The main thing I learned at 32/34 MPH was maintain my pull through to the centerline of the wakes.

 

22-off will teach you to stay better connected off the second wake and into the buoy, otherwise you will come in narrow. It's still very runnable narrow, but its much easier once you learn to stay connected. You'll also feel very wide when you go back to 15-off.

 

The most important thing is to stay focused and get as much time on the water as possible. Try to mix up pushing your abilities at higher-speeds/shorter-lines and reinforcing learned concepts or learn new concepts at lower-speeds/longer-lines. I think this is called volume and intensity training. Good luck!

[gsm_peter]

I am also at similar level but a bit more inconsistent. :'(

A successful day can be 6 full passes out of 8 passes on 30 mph or 2 at 30, 2 at 32 and a few boies at 34.

A poor day I miss 6 out of 8 on 30....

The fun seems to start at 32 so I would like to have that as starting speed.

 

My goal is to run 34 this season. It does not look perfect yet. Have done full 32.7 mph and 3 at 34.

 

Should I start to run some 34 to get used to the speed or stay at 32 to become more consistent?

I seldom shorten the rope.

 

Background.

(Just ski for fun. Do not plan to enter tournaments. I am 58, ski my fifth season. Do take a lot of coaching. We seldom have nice conditions at our club)

 

 

[Niles Taylor]

If you are out skiing for fun, do both. I personally never plan on skiing 36 mph. I'm not ever going to ski tournaments.

[Lars]

Is max speed always 36? I thought there was some competitions at 34

[TallSkinnyGuy]

@Lars Depends on your age and gender. Max speed for pros and some of the younger age brackets is 36 while most age brackets have a 34 max speed. Some have 32 and the slowest max speed IIRC is 30.

[ScottScott]

The boat you ski behind most could also play into that decision. Does bumping up the speed a little, or shortening the rope make a bigger difference in smoothing out the wake?

[Orlando76]

My life long goal was -28@34 being that I'm 33 and I've been working the course for 2.5 years now, 3x a week year round, I feel like I'm well behind schedule. At this point I'd be happy with -28@32. I will never ski a tournament. I should try 31 tomorrow but settle for shadowing the balls rather than feel like I have to go around them?

 

Disclaimer: my speeds appear slightly faster than I'm stating according to the screen times. I'm new to PP Classic,yes ~16 years late. When I ski the 07 SN w ZO A1 at 30.2 it feels slower than my boat yet harder overall if that makes sense.

[wtrskior]

I think you need to set higher goals...

 

At your age you should be focusing on getting up to 34. You have like 30 years before it ages down to 32... regardless of tournament skiing or not.

 

I don't find skiing at 32 nearly as much fun as 34. The ski feels stuck in the mud. Perhaps a wider ski wouldn't, but I digress. Bump the speed up. If youre getting nowhere at 32, go from 30 to 31, 31.5, etc

 

No harm in cutting the rope but you will be much further away from 28/34 of you don't get used to the faster speed's.

 

Free ski at 35mph. Free ski at short ropes,

 

Spend some money on coaching. You're in Orlando for God sakes!

[Orlando76]

@wtrskior I've actually spent some coin on local coaching my first 1.5 years in the course with mixed emotions. The last year I hadn't seen a coach per se as half of my skiing is with a previous Big Dawg competitor who gives me endless advice.

[wskier]

I'd speed up the boat to 36 and shorten rope to 41 off. Just go for It .

[wtrskior]

@Orlando76 we all have a different path in this sport. It can be overwhelming at times, regardless of your buoy count.

 

I was in your boat, I started skiing the course 9 years ago after not skiing for 5 years. I had dabbled when I was a teenager but like most big lake skiers, also dabbled in a other waters ports

 

I think you should free ski more to work on body position without buoys. They will come. . Make 20 turns instead of 4...Try some different coaches but there is no magic bullet!

[paco]

Speed it up! I'm only slightly ahead of you in the game. I finally got 15off at 32mph whipped just the other day. I'll probably run one more set at 32 and then I'm going to 34. I'm a bigger skier at 200lb so I got away from 30mph asap! Even before I could consistently run it....

 

Don't know if this will help you or not, just like @wtrskior said, everyone is different, but for me it just clicked when I started making a conscient effort of bringing the handle to my hip out of the turn. I kept trying to keep correct posture and stay in better body position, but just couldn't make it happen. Handle to the hip makes nearly perfect body position for me, at least it feels that way. At 32mph I am way early and waiting on every bouy with what feels like an effortless pull.