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#26 Tue, Nov 4, 2008 3:16 PM

ktm300
Karma:   
Regular

Re: Off Season training

I think we miss a lot by guessing about what is going on behind the boat as opposed to actually measuring it.  The British team measures.  I rode in the boat with a strain gauge on the line which was connected to video and a laptop.  It plotted the load so you could see exactly how much load there was and where and when.  With one of the smoothest cats in skiing behind the boat, it was still maxing out at around 650 pounds of load.  The skier was shocked by the number because he had worked his ass off learning to be light on the line.  Remember West Coast Slalom Video.  They were hitting 700 pounds plus load.  Going with the flow, keeping the ski moving and staying one tick ahead of the line may very well lessen the load but, it still creates 600 pounds plus.  IMO some strength training is important, keeping in mind that power in any sport comes from the core and hips.  Strength to weight ratio is where the focus should be.

 

#27 Tue, Nov 4, 2008 9:22 PM

h20dawg79
Karma:   10 
Water Ski Sage
Skis At: Old Hickory Lake, TN.
Foot Forward: left

Re: Off Season training

ktm300 wrote:

IMO some strength training is important, keeping in mind that power in any sport comes from the core and hips.  Strength to weight ratio is where the focus should be.

TO BODY WGT.? OR LINE LOAD?  i'm thinking when ever we do strength training we "should be" improving our strength to body wgt. ratio automatically.( if done correctly, and not gaining EXCESS body wgt. in the process of course...) but, strength to line load??? ( now, thats a bit of a slippery slope  for an off season training objective!!!)  i agree, core strength/hips are our foundation for all things athletic. (on and off the field...) HMMMM...


"Warning" -the Surgeon General has determined; That the preceding statements accurately reflect the views and opinions consistent with "DSS" (Delusional Slalomitis Syndrome) a highly contagious life altering condition... (Handle with Extreme care & Patience)

 

#28 Wed, Nov 5, 2008 3:22 PM

WadeWilliams
Karma:   15 
Pro Skier
From: Lynn, MA
Registered: Tue, May 15, 2007
Posts: 1087
Skis At: Not short enough
Foot Forward: Right

Re: Off Season training

Strength to body weight ratio is the one you can work on in the offseason. And KTM is dead on, there is some serious power involved in the sense that the forces are extreme for a split second.

Strength to line load ratio is something that is more dependent on technique than physical strength... better technique = less line load = greater strength to line load ratio...

but your own strength to weight ratio is a prerequisite to your strength vs the line load.

Offline

 

#29 Wed, Nov 5, 2008 4:33 PM

2gofaster
Karma:   
Slalom Mentor

Re: Off Season training

This winter I'm on a pretty tough circuit training program 4 days a week followed by rowing along with some pretty easy to live with diet rules. It alternates high rep/light weight with lower rep/higher weights. My goal is to get down to 10% body fat and to improve my strength to body weight ratio.


Shane Hill

 

#30 Thu, Nov 6, 2008 2:35 PM

ktm300
Karma:   
Regular

Re: Off Season training

If you could only do one exercise, this would be it:

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/Cros … x15OHS.wmv

 

#31 Fri, Nov 7, 2008 2:47 AM

h20dawg79
Karma:   10 
Water Ski Sage
Skis At: Old Hickory Lake, TN.
Foot Forward: left

Re: Off Season training

ktm300 wrote:

If you could only do one exercise, this would be it:

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/Cros … x15OHS.wmv

OMG! she freakin rocks... only 2 words came to mind watching it: ooooouch  & baaarrrrf!!!


"Warning" -the Surgeon General has determined; That the preceding statements accurately reflect the views and opinions consistent with "DSS" (Delusional Slalomitis Syndrome) a highly contagious life altering condition... (Handle with Extreme care & Patience)

 

#32 Sun, Nov 23, 2008 6:44 PM

CarlyClifton
Karma:   
Pro Skier

Re: Off Season training

I strongly feel that getting into a variety of different sports is the best cross training for water skiing.  I spent most of my years training in the gym, during the off season.  Once I started doing other sports to train instead of using the gym, I felt like it was easier to understand the concepts I am trying to accomplish on the water.  I have been working very hard on my technique for the past three years, not only on the water but on the bike, snow, and rock as well, and now I am just trying to get stronger so that it will all come together.

Since college I have slowly transitioned out of the gym and have gotten into other sports.  I typically mountain bike in the fall a ton, and then start snow skiing for the winter (which is the best for water skiing), and then in the spring we start out mountain biking then add in some rock climbing, while we are taking our first few sets of the season.  The reason I feel that biking is so good for your skiing, is that it requires a lot of balance and fast pace movements, much like that of slalom.  Rock Climbing, is just so good for skiing, because it gets you extremely strong at a fast rate.  And Snow skiing, well that is just obvious.  The same movements happen on snow that happen on water.  I only recently starting snow skiing 5 years ago, and I see my bad habits from water skiing showing up on the hill all the time, so I am able to work on letting my center of mass move through the transitions on the snow and it helps me when I start water skiing again.

The one thing that I found to be most effective from last winters training was trying to get some water ski sets in once a month just to keep the muscles in tune.  So, going somewhere warm in the winter for a long weekend here and there would be very beneficial to your skiing in my opinion.

 

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