Hands Hurt

Hello all.

I Recently started wakeboarding and cannot seem to shake this hand pain that comes even after 6 or 7 tows. My hands hurt so bad that later when I'm on the boat I can't even open them up all the way. Any ideas?

I've never seen anyone wear gloves, my rope is at 50ft (could it be longer), and I'm beign towed at 19-22mph without a tower.

Intermediate rider who wants to get better but beat these hand pains, pleae help.

i have had hand pains also but never anything that severe, i just rub them and kind of work the pain out, you seem to have a real problem but maybe you just need to get used to boarding more?

Can you define 6 or 7 tows? I mean, how many sets are you doing?

It sounds like a conditioning situation. I do wrist curls and reverse wrist curls to keep the strength up. The other thing is proper stretching between sets. You have to have blood flow to move the latic acid out of the area.

try using a EVA foam handle that worked for me

Thanks all for the insight. I guess I'm doing 6 or 7 tows per set & about three sets a day.

I think that gloves, until my hands get used to the pulling, will do the trick along with stretches and wrist conditioning.

You may be being pulled too slow. I do not know how much you weigh, but, if you are going too slow and/or have too small a board, you may have a lot of drag. I am a big guy and I found out the hard way of being pulled too slow. You should be able to pull yourself toward the boat without using your last bit of strength, while riding directly behind the boat. Smaller the board, faster you typically have to ride.

Also, if you have a handle that is too narrow, you have to cock your wrists in at wierd angles and it can lead to your arms being pumped prematurely.

The last option could be you have the right board, speed and handle and the others are right. You could just not be used to it. Being a beginner though, it is very likely you do not have your other factors dialed in and thought I would throw them at ya. Have fun....

Rope at 50 feet? What are you riding behind if I may ask? what kind of rope? Is it a wakeboarding rope that is non stretch? I do not think I have heard of anyone riding anything under 60 feet.

The only times my hands ever hurt like that is when we forgot our regular gloves and used some thicker scuba gloves I had in the boat. They were so thick it was requiring much more effort to grip the handle, and consequently our hands were pretty sore after only a few runs. I'd try the conditioning exercises.

If I am just doing a w2w TS and HS my hands don't hurt when I am done. But when I try to learn new inverts and stuff, man my hands are killing me the next day. Maybe because I taught myself not to let go of the handle until I have whipped out and when I finally let go, OUCH

It could possibly be your handle diameter is too big, and takes a lot of work to hold onto it. just a thought.

I wear gloves most of the time and they do save the hands. Some people complain that you loose the feel of the rope, and this may be true if your gloves are too thick. If you go with a thinner pair they should give you the feel and some protection.

someone has a bad case of pussyitis

leo that sucks but it is probably true

get some more potassium in my diet. bannans, could help.

Thanks again for the advice everyone...Thanks for the pussyitits, Leo. I figured I'd get that response as all my friends said the same thing, but then again they don't wakeboard. I wanted to see if this had occured with anyone else.

So I'll check the handle width & diameter, rope length (get it at 60 or above), the board size is 144 (i'm 6'0 at 175), and the rope I'm sure is probably not a non-stretch wakeboard rope, gloves to will help until i get used to the feeling.

I am usually towed behind a friends '03 Bayliner with NO tower at 19-22 mph.

i wore gloves sometimes cuz i got blisters till i purchased my premier handle... mmmm im in love with it

Try strengthening your grip.Just grab a pullup bar and hang for 2 minutes at a time,and if you can,throw in some pullups.
As for your rope length,your wake is gonna dictate where it goes.
Make sure you have a nice handle,if you can't buy a new one,get a used one.
If you can get a non-stretch rope,it'll make it better for you.

Dude I have that problem sometimes too. From what I figured out it's a combination problem. 1. Handle- foam or softer grip is the way to go, if you serious spend the money. 2. You don't realize how much harder it is on you to be pulled out of the water by a lower point on the boat ( no tower) your hands grip harder than you think. I can do my usual amount of sets behind a tower and feel no pain, but if I ride behind my ghetto swinger '86 Sea Ray I/O.. man let me tell ya! Stregth conditioning is another way to help out fo sho!
Some of us just aren't lucky enough to ride behind a boat with a tower.

Rope length won't make a huge diff behind an I/O, trust me I've played with it alot. About 50' sounds right for you speed and the boat your riding behind. It will make some diff but it won't solve your prob.

(Message edited by brettly on March 09, 2004)

It seems, its just a matter of toughening (sp) up your hands. The pull up bar is a great idea. I do them every day, with this god awful bar, that would just rip up your hands it you didn't have callouses. I'm not saying go that far, but a few pull ups a do strengthen your hands. look into one of these EVA handles, should help a bit.

take vitamin E it makes your hands tough!

everybody loves mangos and sunshine

weiner.

glad i could help

thanks everyone...talk to you after my arms fall off.

Your board has too much ROCKER,YOUR BOARD IS PUSHING WATER.

good ol' rocker science, eh Moosie??

it is what it is...And that what it is.

Hands hurt? Well now you back's gonna hurt, cuz you just pulled landscaping duty!!!

pussyitis->thats some funny chit!
man-up dude. I went a whole damn summer without my tower and never had a problem.
try using one of those hand squeezing things that fitness gurues use.

Dude if you are riding aqt 50 you are going to have a constant strong pull from the boat at you'll probably feel the need to hold the handle tighter to feel in control. Id definitely go to 60 -65 on a nonstretch line and see if theres any difference