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Leg burn

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grtlakes
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Leg burn

Postby grtlakes » Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:32 am

Great day in OBX today.

Quick question. I was out of LF Galaxy and foil fish. I had a great time except I need some advice. My legs were feeling a lot of pressure. I figure it is some kind of balance issue. The mast is set all the way back and the front foot hook is set far forward. I hear about guys foiling for hours. It can’t be this tiring. I tried moving my feet around the board. Next step is move mast forward. Is it that simple?


With a properly trimmed board is there basically equal foot pressure?

OzBungy
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Re: Leg burn

Postby OzBungy » Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:40 am

It's just experience. When you're new you're overdoing the control and being very rigid and overloading your back leg and trimming your front leg. When you develop the feel you can stand upright with straight legs and look at the view. It's effortless.

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NYKiter
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Re: Leg burn

Postby NYKiter » Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:45 am

Foiling does have its costs...

Balancing on a bowling ball wearing high heels is tough on the feet tendons - no doubt....especially in 30+ knots chop...

I never wore any form of shoes when kiting TTs and directionals.....now I wear these:

https://www.nrs.com/product/2335/nrs-atb-wetshoe

Kind of like ski boots...nice feel.

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cglazier
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Re: Leg burn

Postby cglazier » Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:15 am

grtlakes wrote:
Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:32 am
With a properly trimmed board is there basically equal foot pressure?
Yes. When you are riding properly your legs shouldn't get sore.. it's mainly your core (stomach) that gets a work out.
Don't hesitate to move your feet out of your straps or hooks to a more comfortable position. I ride with straps but when I'm just cruising along I often ride with my back foot in front of my back strap.

:wink: CG

matanshapira
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Re: Leg burn

Postby matanshapira » Tue Apr 09, 2019 5:31 am

2 things may help:
removing the foot hook and placing the front foot more forward
switching legs more often

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Slappysan
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Re: Leg burn

Postby Slappysan » Tue Apr 09, 2019 7:14 am

When I do straight downwind sections I get plenty of back leg burn, they are hella fun though.
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Wazza KiteFoil
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Re: Leg burn

Postby Wazza KiteFoil » Tue Apr 09, 2019 8:46 am

I now have far less/almost nil leg burn since upgrading to a Moses 683 wing. The 683 is far more efficient so less drag than my previous wing. I now can go longer, faster and have more fun due to its loose style of foiling.
Foil drag may be a contributing factor to leg burn.

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Re: Leg burn

Postby slowboat » Tue Apr 09, 2019 8:59 am

grtlakes wrote:
Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:32 am
Great day in OBX today.

Quick question. I was out of LF Galaxy and foil fish. I had a great time except I need some advice. My legs were feeling a lot of pressure. I figure it is some kind of balance issue. The mast is set all the way back and the front foot hook is set far forward. I hear about guys foiling for hours. It can’t be this tiring. I tried moving my feet around the board. Next step is move mast forward. Is it that simple?


With a properly trimmed board is there basically equal foot pressure?
It won't be that tiring once your setup is correct and you gain more experience. The type of foil (as others have suggested) should not matter. If your leg burn is more on one leg versus the other, you have to adjust your setup so there is more equal weight on both legs. There is also a possibility that your setup is forcing you into a stance that is too wide and wider than your "natural" stance. Once your setup is correct (basically your belly button should be over the center of your front wing), it is a matter of relaxing, standing up more and mixing it up....changing feet, stance width and also angle to wind will all help. Don't do the same reach back and forth a bunch of times in the same stance.

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Leelanau
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Re: Leg burn

Postby Leelanau » Tue Apr 09, 2019 7:31 pm

Another consideration is the behavior of the LF rocket/fish foil. After I moved on to a new foil (LF Thruster) I realized that the rocket/fish foil was relatively sensitive to pitch adjustments and required far more input for stable flight. All those micro adjustments end up wearing you out faster. I'd imagine with some of the even more stable foils the difference is even more appreciable.

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jumptheshark
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Re: Leg burn

Postby jumptheshark » Tue Apr 09, 2019 8:14 pm

I think once I was up and riding reliably, but before I could transition at all, it was basically a half hour to 45 min and I was done. Legs, glutes, and core tensed like hell plus the level of concentration for that long was exhausting. You'll settle in a bit better once you drop that front hook. Loosen up and find a narrower more balanced stance. Then it's just falling in every time you want to turn around that sapps the energy. Once the jibe starts happening, There is a round two of the leg burn. It's that period of time like Slappysan describes of no foot switches where you realize you gotta learn it cause your back leg gets so burnt only switching when you fall.....or falling when your switch.... their both kinda the same for a while! When the foot switching finally kicks in, it all gets pretty cush. Unless your blasting like a racer.... that stuff looks painful.


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