mopowpow

I have my old custom foot beds from my snow ski boots in my RS1s. I'm about due for new boots & foot beds for both snow and water. I wouldn't ski without them!

My garage door would be destroyed!

We leased a SN196 around 2003 for our club. For some reason we bought 1 boat and leased the other for a year. When we returned the leased boat, we bought a 2004. We then got on a rotation of keeping each boat 2 years, trading the older each year. We did this through Son Watersports in Clear Lake WI, the last I knew he was a Malibu dealer. Not sure how common leases are on ski boats.

Pulled the boat yesterday. It was a shame on such a beautiful day... We could have left it in a little longer, but we're heading to Colorado for a week. Besides I skied last week and had to wear a wetsuit, I HATE wearing neo after a good summer. I can do it in the spring, but not in the fall.

@jhughes‌, I agree Shore Stations are the best lifts. We had one on a public lake for over 15 years and never had a frayed cable. We purchased a used one for our ski lake that is now over 10 years old and it's still in great shape. Although I have see cables snap on them when overloaded with a huge Cobalt.

Several years ago I free skied behind a friends boat. When he pulled out his rope, it was so old, the sections were neon. I didn't think it was going to quit stretching during my wake crossings. Scary! It broke a couple weeks later on someone trying a deep water start.

The forecast isn't looking too good in Iowa either. Lows in the 30s aren't too good for water temps...

Looks like it will be cold on Saturday at Dream Lake, bring the long johns and down jackets! I hope to catch some of the tourney, we'll be out their pulling the boat out for the season....

Ski Sunset Ranch is at the top of my list too. I was supposed to ski with Terry Winter there about 4 years ago, but had a bad case of bronchitis. Didn't want to cough up a lung into their lake... They told us to stop by anyway. It's a very nice place!

@OldboyII‌, that is an interesting point. I'm also a follower of Harald Harb, I'll think about it next time I ski.

@SDNAH2OSKIER‌, when I used to boat on a public lake, we kept extra USGA vests in the boat to pacify the DNR. Here in Iowa, they didn't care if you used the non-CGA vest to ski/board, but wanted them available if needed.

Still ski 3-5 times per week, bu haven't skied a tournament in 3 years. We only have 1 non-collegiate tournament on our lake each year, and I don't want to waste my time & money traveling out of state to other tournaments. I can get a lot more skiing in by staying home and skiing on my own lake.

@scoot1123, it's Iowa, so of course there are corn & bean fields around.... There is a corn field now to the north of the lake that was a hay field for years, it has a drain tile that dumps into the east lake (dumb move). But our west lake is the one that usually has more algae, it has the homes. We can't get it through the heads of some of the homeowners that all the fertilizer goes right into the lake. The most polluted water in the country, and governor Braindead says the farmers can self regulate to keep our water clean. Yeah, right!

I'm going to suggest a few things again to hopefully clean up the water. For starters I think our grass carport dying and need to be restocked.

My rant for the day.... It's 80 & calm and our lake looks like Lake Erie! How many of you deal with water quality issues? I just can't get in when it looks like this. This is caused by goose $hit, lawn fertilizer, grass clippings, and binding soap. You'd think the homeowners would be more concerned about the water quality. But every other body of water in Iowa looks the same.....

A friend's 14 year old son used one of her 'pink' D3s and loved it, he was probably about your size.

Articles on squatting: http://www.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1145/Dont_Be_Afraid_To_Squat_Low_Seven_Reasons_to_Squat.aspx

http://www.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/388/8_Stupid_Myths_about_Squatting.aspx

http://www.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1074/For_The_Love_of_Squats.aspx

@Dusty‌, start with an empty bar (45 lbs) or lighter if available. You need to work on proper form and range of motion prior to adding weight. I've read articles from some of the best trainers in the world that half squats are actually harder on the knees and back than full squats. This is mainly due to the amount of weight required to do partial squats. You just need to check the ego and go lighter... I'm doing about half the weight with a full squat than I used to do with a half squat.

If you feel you aren't balanced between right & left sides, and can see a weight shift during the squat, start with split squats. Hold dumbells in hands, place front foot on a low bench, bending front knee, slowly drop as low as you can, don't let your front heel rise, push back up keeping the front foot on the bench. The back leg can bend as little or as much as you want. I like to keep mine fairly straight to stretch my tight hip flexors.

Make sure your knees travel over your 2nd toe (knee doesn't track to the inside or outside of the toe). Also, don't worry about your knee traveling forward of your toes. This doesn't apply to full squats, as long as your torso and shins are at the same angle, you are OK.

I found it was easier to get a full squat with good form doing a front squat vs back squat. I started these with a 35 lb bar.

I want to know if his hair ever dries? I have long hair and can sometimes go a week without it completely drying.

@Than_Bogan‌, do you know when most women that lift, lift heavier when they know they can beat a guy in the gym? This mentality got me through a plateau last spring.... I was stuck at 6 pull-ups, saw a young pup struggle to do 6. I then made it to #7 on my next set, about puked, but got it! One of my clients about peed himself laughing when he figured out what I was doing...

@jimbrake, the olymic lifts are great for skiing, both water & snow. I like to do Romainian Deadlifts (slight bend in knee) to work the lower back, glutes, and hammies. Also do 'ass to the grass' or 'leave a stain' squats, deep squats are great for the lower body, you will probably need to drop the weight if currently doing 1/2 squats. I also do a lot of front squats, they recruit the core more than a back squat, and can't be cheated! When waterski season is over I spend some time doing split squats, especially with the front foot on a low bench. This helps balance out my legs and works on range of motion prior to getting into regular squats and deadlifts. I also do split squats with the back leg on a low bench.

I got up to 9 pull-ups last spring before I started skiing, not bad for a woman in her early 50s.... I could do more pull-ups than all of the other female trainers put together at my gym :) I used the following workout from Charles Poliquin: http://www.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1105/How_to_Radically_Improve_Your_Chin-Ups_in_16_Weeks.aspx

This was the strongest I had ever felt starting the season, great grip!

@MS, I didn't know you had them in southern Canada. I think we get a few in southern Iowa, but I've never heard about them around here.

Hearing about snakes & gators makes me appreciate living in Iowa! It gets too damn cold here for critters like that, we just get the occasional snapping turtle. My cousin in Arizona carries a hand gun for the rattlers. She points it at them, moves it from side to side, stops, then BANG, dead snake!

Radar's website said the Graphite and Alloy were also softer flexing, but heavier...

I'm thinking about getting a new ski and was considering the Radar Vapor, I've noticed there are 3 different Vapors: Lithium, Graphite, Alloy. I'm assuming the reviews on BOS are for the Lithium. What would I be giving up if a Graphite or Alloy is purchased? Would I even know the difference at my level?? Would they be better? Or should I stick with a D3?

I'm currently on a 66" D3 Z7ST, 150lb female, skiing no more than 32mph (W5).