How do you find your pop after a long break from skating?

[nekro]

I've recently got back into skating after a 24 year break and after a few months I'm not feeling the pop I used to have.

The last board I rode in 96/97 was a Big Spin with Venture trucks, shock pads and Rat Bones 60mm 97a wheels worn down to about 55mm. I'm not sure of the tail length or steepness as its shredded but it's a 7.75 and completely flat. I used to be able to ollie over a traffic cone on this (about 3ft).

I'm now skating 2 different set--ups:

Quasi Chembaby popsicle 8
32.25 / 14.25 / 6.625
Thunder hollow
Spitfire F4 Classic 97a 54mm
No risers

Tired Terrible shaped 8.75
31.375 / 14 / 6.625
Indy forged hollow
OJ Keyframe 87a 54mm
1/8" risers

I'm feeling more pop in my Quasi but still an efort to get anything decent.

Is it because I'm old, haven't found my timing or not using the right setup? I'm thinking of trying some Ventures, both low and high with and without risers and shock pads and perhaps with larger wheels.  I'm now 42 and dont want to waste ages finding the most suitable setup.
I do a lot of long distance running so I've probably.lodt s lot of my fsdt twitch muscles.

[Mr. Stinky]

Yeah, it's not your gear, it's that you're 24 years older.  You could very well get the gear madness anyway, but what matters in the end is that you keep skating as often as you can, get comfortable riding your board, keep working on getting a fluid ollie back, do it up and over things, do ankle/calf/hamstring exercises, etc.  You have every reason to hope for your pop to get better than it is now, but that's your 2022 pop, which you should absolutely not expect to be as good as it was in 1997.  You are not that person anymore and you are effectively starting over until whatever muscle memory you have kicks in.

I stepped away for about half as long as you, and I can say from experience that your pop will come back as much as your bodily limits allow, provided you keep doing things to make it better and then to maintain it once you've sort of plateaued.  But just skate however you get the most out of it, it's pretty much the best thing in the world.

[Mean salto]

Unfortunately it's both because you are old and took a long break. I'd suggest enjoying the ignorance is bliss and riding whatever you think looks cool because really equipment is 90% mental.
As far as how i personally find my pop, well I basically don't. My backs fucked and i come back significantly worse every time. When I was a teenager I Ollied 42 inches now I can Ollie about 4.2 inches

[Sila]

Time to hit the weights a bit while you get comfortable on your board again. Maybe some low impact full body exercise like swimming will help too. Basically, don't try too much too soon. Skating is not nice to your joints. You'd probably work your leg muscles enougj just pumping on a mini ramp or bowl. Add some calf raises and foot strengthening exercises and you should be good.

[Hedgehog In Da Fog]

Jump rope and keep ollieing over things that aren’t the highest you want to ollie. It’ll do something for you.

[nekro]

Thanks for the advice. These are things I didn't want to hear but probably knew already.  I'll focus on my timing and get some consistent practice done. Maybe some plyometric exercises in the gym to build back fast twitch muscles. I wont waste to much time  money and energy on the board madness as this sounds like it's not a fix at all.

[backinaction]

I took about 20 years off and started back up in 2013. 

In 1992 I could ollie over 5 boards on their side (maybe 6?)

In 2013 I could ollie over 1.

In 2018 I could do 3.

In 2021 I was able to do 5. 

Time and repetition.   There are some setups I find easier to get the pop with - but the reality is that it's all about timing and different setups have different timing.  What works for someone else may not work for you.  And as you get your timing back, the setup you spend most time on is going to be the one you can probably ollie the best, whether that is an 8 or an 8.75. 

[JugeL]

I'm kinda jealous of people who have so many skate homies that they manage to get 5 boards together for high ollies

Also, 60mm wheels with Ventures and shockpads? That will pop to the moon if you have the power to push down that tail

[backinaction]

I'm kinda jealous of people who have so many skate homies that they manage to get 5 boards together for high ollies

I think I have 9 boards built for me, and two for each of my kids (one with soft wheels for the neighborhood and one with park wheels)

[tuesday]

Pop lives in ankles. Search there and you will find it.

[PuffinMuffin]

Pop lives in ankles. Search there and you will find it.

Agreed. Been doing a lot of tibialis raises, pop has returned.

[Brguy]

A good warmup is always good, the other day I was bored and skating badly so I just started doing all the basics, 180s, shove-its, etc. After a while I was feeling much more firm on the board and able to do things proper.

Expand Quote

Pop lives in ankles. Search there and you will find it.

[close]

Agreed. Been doing a lot of tibialis raises, pop has returned.

Apparently that's good for shin splits and apparently I've had this a few times and didn't even know what it was.

[PuffinMuffin]

There are also some studies that suggest a stronger tibialis protects the first of the knee.

[Skatebeard]

Switch out to a 7.5-7.75 with a short wheel base while you get your legs back, will be easier to throw around with less effort.

I've recently switched back to a skinny spare setup from an 8.25, and it's noticeably less effort to skate and get up in the air.

Couple that with some conditioning and you should be golden.

[Dimitrov]

Remember to pop when you're coming up from your crouch before the trick

[SneakySecrets]

I started walking around clutching a nickel between my butt cheeks throughout my day for as long as I can stand it and got another 8” on my ollies.

[Mean salto]

I started walking around clutching a nickel between my butt cheeks throughout my day for as long as I can stand it and got another 8” on my ollies.

Did you used to play Poirot?

[SaySo]

As others have said it's about regular, consistent practice/exposure as well as managing realistic expectations. Getting that magic synergy of coordination, timing, and properly applied force.

Think of our skating ability like a funnel or hourglass - each time we skate we put a grain of sand into the funnel. The more regularly we skate, the more the funnel fills, but it's also continuously emptying out. Also, the more often we skate, the larger the funnel becomes, but if we stop the funnel empties and starts to shrink.

What's worked for me after a period off the board is making sure that as much as I can, I try to get out at least every other day even if it's just to push around. That helps maintain my overall level of comfort on the board more so it's not like I'm John Lennon post-Beatles, "just starting over" each time I step on the plank.

I also try to make sure I stretch even on non-skate days to stay limber and do conditioning exercises to strengthen and condition muscles and tendons - not just in my legs but also back, abs, chest, neck, shoulders/arms, etc. An imbalance anywhere can cause a ripple effect (at least in my experience). It helps me to think of the body as a chain/linked system. The pop starts in the feet/ankles but as much coordination as we're able to create increases the fluidity of pop/ollies.

There are some good tips in this thread, from some of the same heads who have chimed in here already:
https://www.slapmagazine.com/index.php?topic=121192.0

[IUTSM]

stand on a step with 2/3 of your feet hanging off edge. dip heel, the raise heel til you're standing on your toes. do this one foot at a time and have something to hold onto with your hands. barefoot is best. 3 sets of 10.

practice balancing on one foot. 60 seconds at a time. transition from standing on flat, solid ground, to doing it on a stationary skateboard, to doing it on a really loose stationary skateboard.

1 legged squats.

and some people on slap aren't into it, but jogging is great for building pop. ain't gotta be a run, ain't gotta be long, just gotta do it.

also, following up with someone else, work the ankles. use resistance bands

I didn't skate for nearly 10 years, started again, tore ligaments in the popping ankle 4 months into my return, started doing all that shit to heal up and can now consistently ollie over standard (30 gallon?) trash cans on their side.

remember, suck your knees up toward the arm pits and you'll ollie high as fuck

[rocklobster]

I started walking around clutching a nickel between my butt cheeks throughout my day for as long as I can stand it and got another 8” on my ollies.

I would suggest using a squat plug as suggested by the guys on bodybuilding forums. Getting a good Ollie is about having tight muscular control around the ankles, calfs, thighs and especially the glutes.

[LebowskisRug]

I took a few breaks from skating:

2002-2004ish. Boards were still pretty similar so it wasn't too hard to come back.
2008-2012. Boards dramatically increased in size, but 8" was still pretty common so it wasn't super hard to find something close.
2013-2018. Boards increased in size and now it was pretty standard to ride 8.25"+ and trucks were bigger.

For me it was all about trying to find a middle ground setup. When I came back I got an 8.5 with 149 Thunders since that's what I rode in the past but it felt completely crazy since it was 14.5 and 32.25 length. Just huge. I then went the other way and was on an 8" with 14" WB and 147 Thunders and it felt familiar, but I quickly realized why boards had gotten larger. Thanks to Slap and Tactics measurements I gathered that 14.25 was a pretty middle ground WB lots of brands offer shapes 8" to 8.5" with this measurement and moderate kicks/concave. From there it was about consistency so I could get used to popping modern dimensions.

[biaherl]

I would suggest an DNA test at Ancestry.com they'll be able to get you in touch with some of your distant relatives that might of seen or know where your Pop is

Good luck!

[layzieyez]

I would suggest an DNA test at Ancestry.com they'll be able to get you in touch with some of your distant relatives that might of seen or know where your Pop is

Good luck!

Thanks for the dad joke.

[rocklobster]

I would suggest an DNA test at Ancestry.com they'll be able to get you in touch with some of your distant relatives that might of seen or know where your Pop is

Good luck!

Fucking +1

[Dimitrov]

Box jumps