Author Topic: Skating at 40, no spring 😩  (Read 4784 times)

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Dunc1n

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Skating at 40, no spring 😩
« on: October 29, 2019, 10:31:34 AM »
Hi guys,

Just started skating again at 40 after a 25 year break.
I'm getting back into the swing of things again, basic boardslides, grinds etc, but the main thing I've lost is my Ollie height, and hangtime! I just have no spring or pop anymore.
This might be one of those things that cannot be helped due to my age, but does anyone have any tips or exercises to improve pop and hangtime?
I was once able to kickflip, catch the board with my back foot, then stomp the landing, all in a fluid, almost weightless motion. But now my pop is short and I land like someone throwing a ball of play-doh onto the floor  :'(  ;D
Any tips would be appreciated guys

Thanks
Dunc1n

SneakySecrets

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Re: Skating at 40, no spring 😩
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2019, 09:44:57 AM »
Stem cells.  A lot of stem cells. 

Inject into knees, ankles, glutes and hammies.  Don’t stop until you can taste the stem cells in the back of your throat.  How you get them is your business.  This is all I can tell you.
When nothing in society deserves respect, we should fashion for ourselves in solitude new silent loyalties.

Dunc1n

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Re: Skating at 40, no spring 😩
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2019, 12:06:41 PM »
What wonderful advice!
Thanks mate!!

I hope your next shit is a hedgehog

ramplocal

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Re: Skating at 40, no spring 😩
« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2019, 03:48:31 AM »
I am also 40 and had problems getting pop back, still not back to what i had before but it gets better. Just keep skating, your muscles you use will come back. The fluid movements you mentioned take practice, build up your muscle memory. I am not sure if you lift ot workout but i noticed that when i did squats and deadlifts it def helped w pop, at least for me.

Fred Gerwer Frank Gall

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Re: Skating at 40, no spring 😩
« Reply #4 on: November 13, 2019, 09:00:59 AM »
Ride a bike. Often and far.

BrianF

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Re: Skating at 40, no spring 😩
« Reply #5 on: November 18, 2019, 12:21:17 PM »
I'm 43 and recently got back into it after a more than 25 years.  I basically quit during the big slump at the end of the 80s.  Back then seeing a kickflip was still fairly rare, and I never quite mastered it myself.  I mostly skated small backyard halfpipes, and driveway quaterpipes.

When I started skating, my body remembered how to Ollie, at least sort of.  Unfortunately my legs seemed very weak and my technique was poor.  I'd get tired quickly and then couldn't even pop much at all.

Ollies and pop tricks are quite physically demanding, especially when done in a nice controlled manner.  I've spend the last few months working hard to strengthen my legs and clean up my ollies.  Even if I don't skate a full session, I try to do at least a couple dozen ollies a day just to get stronger and improve my technique.

My ollies are getting better all the time, and I'm now starting to work on some other tricks like pop shoves.  As long as you don't have any medical or joint issues, I do believe that it is possible to get back a fairly decent ollie and pop tricks.

It really just takes time, practice, and maybe some extra exercises to speed up the process.  I mean many people don't do kickflips for a year or more after starting to skate.  It just takes that long to build up the muscles and coordination to do such things.

My advice would be to just keep skating.  Make sure to do plenty of ollies.  If you also want to add in some leg strengthening exercises, then do it.  Mostly just go out, have fun, and keep skating.  It will takes months at least in order to really improve and get your legs back.  So don't look back a day, or even a week.  Look back several months to see if you are getting better.

No amount of practice can make a trick possible today, if your muscles just plain aren't strong enough.  It just takes time to build the strength.  Beginners build that strength naturally as they learn to skate.  Restarters have to accept that their body physically cannot do what their brain remembers doing, at least not yet.

Sundaynuggets

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Re: Skating at 40, no spring 😩
« Reply #6 on: December 17, 2019, 06:03:02 AM »
Same boat. Turned 40 recently but started skating again 3/4 years ago after a 15 year layoff. Pop came back from skating a lot and trying to Ollie over progressively higher stuff. Barbell squats and deadlifts with a fair amount of hip stretching help a lot too for keeping the legs and lower back strong and healthy and improving pop.

sammyz

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Re: Skating at 40, no spring 😩
« Reply #7 on: February 07, 2020, 04:50:42 AM »
I started skating after a long break at 43, about a year ago...i would say my pop is still not what it use to be in my 20’s...i think with age there is a limit to how much of it you get back, but you get most it back, just takes longer.

The only advice i can give, after a year of Skating, where i tore my meniscus, and broke 3 ribs...take your time building up. Unlike beginners, we know in our head how a trick is done, or at least how we use to do it, we know the movements etc, but we forget sometimes that our body after such a long break is not ready for any of that!

So just take your time, build up slowly. In a session keep in mind when you’re warmed up and when you are done and don’t push it when you don't have energy and focus.

Pnw

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Re: Skating at 40, no spring 😩
« Reply #8 on: February 07, 2020, 05:27:13 AM »
Start doing box jumps and instead of focusing on strengthening your legs work on glutes and core muscles because that’s where all your strength comes from.

backinaction

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Re: Skating at 40, no spring 😩
« Reply #9 on: February 10, 2020, 08:51:31 AM »
I took 20 years off and started again when I was 41.  I will never, ever have the pop I did when I was young.  In the interim years I raced bikes - a lot - so I am stronger now than I was when I was 20.  I think the big disconnect is time on the board.  Back then I would skate 10-20 hours a week.  You get good at things when you skate that much.  Now that I'm 47, have a wife, two kids, my own company, do other sports, etc.... I am super lucky when I get a 3-4 hour week.  It's usually a 45 minute session twice a week.  There is just no way to have mastery of anything when you spend that little time doing it.

I would love more pop - but I'm finding I am having more fun skating transition.  With so little time on the board I have to pick and choose my battles.

ZachV

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Re: Skating at 40, no spring 😩
« Reply #10 on: June 08, 2020, 09:42:11 AM »
Young guy here, I find that when I bend my knees more its easier for me to get the energy to pop higher. I also think pop shoves are a great way to get your spring back, definitely try practicing those and see if your pop starts to get higher. 
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chpsk8

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Re: Skating at 40, no spring 😩
« Reply #11 on: August 23, 2020, 03:49:59 PM »
I am also 40 and had problems getting pop back, still not back to what i had before but it gets better. Just keep skating, your muscles you use will come back. The fluid movements you mentioned take practice, build up your muscle memory. I am not sure if you lift ot workout but i noticed that when i did squats and deadlifts it def helped w pop, at least for me.

Truth. 38 getting back into it. I noticed my pop is getting back after a couple of weeks of skating. It will take some time, but I will get there. Age ain't nothing but a number. It's all muscle memory and strength building. You have to have the strength to perform the trick you want to do.