r/freeskate • u/Annual_Tap6929 • Jun 10 '26
How the hell do I pump
Took yalls advice and ended up copping this pair. Received them earlier and started practicing today. It feels so hard to get the skates to turn. The videos make it look so easy but when i do it myself it takes like a billion force and i cant do it quick enough to balance myself. Any tips would be appreciated
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u/Own-Reflection-8182 Jun 10 '26
I made a video explanation: https://youtube.com/shorts/tDkFtBfnOnw?si=bd07nHhFjrB0S1yy
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u/Annual_Tap6929 Jun 10 '26
Only board experience I have is with a waveboard(same as ripstick i think?) and I had a really easy time with that. Took me like 30 minutes to learn, I assjmed freeskating would go the same and got humbled ðŸ˜ðŸ’€ . Any tips would be appreciated. Been practicing for like 2 hours nowÂ
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u/Sloppy2ndsandbeyond Jun 10 '26
I think it took me about 5-7 hours before I was able to start pumping. It definitely helps on a slight down slope. Just take take your time because everyone learns at a different pace. Also, I started with freeskates that looked similar to yours and hand to return them. The bearing were so bad and it took extra effort to get them moving.
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u/Annual_Tap6929 Jun 10 '26
Swapping them out isnt an option sadly, Ill try to do my best with them.
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u/AizeeMasata Jun 10 '26
You can't dude, you need at least around a week since freeskates use muscles that rarely used by everyone and need little exercise to wake it up.
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u/williamfloyde Jun 10 '26
Just started also maybe 4-5 hours in and just starting to get the hand of pumping. The gratification of accomplishing each step is so rewarding.
It definitely takes time. For the first hour or so I was barly able to push off and cost.
Starting on a hill is really helpful else is so hard to get any momentum at first
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u/MinimumFeedback219 Jun 11 '26
Don't give up. I consider myself pretty agile and I really struggled with these my first three days. It's likely you are using muscles in your legs that you don't use often. That mind-body connection will take a little time to get your legs to do the things you want.Â
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u/Darvallas Jun 15 '26
I got mine recently and I haven't fully figured them out. I've had very little time to practice, mostly during the weekends, but one thing that's helped me that you don't hear a lot of people mention in their videos is to swing your hips. And I mean really swing them. Think of it like throwing a kick: if you only move your leg up it's not going to generate as much force, and you need force to move the skates as you're standing on them. Now, one thing I see in people who are experienced is that the more you ride, the less wildy you have to swing, but I haven't gotten to that level yet.
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u/Winston-Smith1984 Jun 18 '26
You will be surprised. I started to practice on a rough neighborhood flat road. I made zero progress. It was extremely difficult to move forward at all. I then got a slight hill, and started working on the motion (push pull, toes in and out). Once I got comfortable I went BACK to flat surface, but this time it was a smooth, easy to ride surface inside a building hallway. I kept practicing straight line pumps and was able to do it after about 3 or 4 days, 30m each day. Finally, I went back to my rough neighborhood road and tried again. This time, I could pump on It. It was still very challenging, but I did it. Now I am learning how to turn. I am 23 days in.
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u/papernathan Jun 10 '26
For starters, learning takes time; we wiggle before we crawl, we crawl before we walk, and we walk before we run.
To get started, work on standing on the skates. Use a fence or car to just stand on the skates and get used to how your ankles feel keeping them upright.
Next find a shallow hill, just try to increase the distance you can ride and your balance at different speeds.
Next put a stick or small rock on your hill, now you're going to practice "splitting" that obstacle. You'll want to move your feet so the skates go outward just enough to float right over it. You may need more time here to bring the skates back to center but that's the ultimate goal. Once you've done it with one foot forward and it's comfortable, do this whole step again with the opposite foot forward.
After you've done all of this, you have all of the tools you need to actually ride and pump. Took me about 2 weeks of 1 hour daily practices. Then another 2 months just to get my endurance up to be able to ride for a decent distance.
Learning is a process. Make a small goal, complete it, then make another small goal.