Ok, so I am not a small guy. I have been trying to get up out of the water on water skis the past two weeks and I have to say…it is all about technique. First of all, future-brother-in-law TJ Bianchi gets credit for me getting out of the water. I received lots of advice from seasoned water skiiers over the past two weeks…and 99% of it was crap. People were telling me to stay in a ball and keep the rope in. They kept saying it is going to be a fight. Well, after last weekend I had blood blisters on my palms from holding on to the ski rope for as long as I possibly could. The pain in my arms was large to say the least. I figured that it was just part of the routine. Wrong.

This past weekend we were at 1 Lake Burton where Tito gave me a couple of things to do when in the water:

1) Get your legs in as close to your body as you can
2) Tips up and as perpindicular to the water as possible
3) Both hands on top of the rope (palms down)
4) ** MOST IMPORTANT ** Your arms should be extended out straight

All of these are important…number 4 is crucial. If your arms are not out straight, you will not get up out of the water…I can almost guarantee that. Once my hands were placed on top of the rope and extended out straight, I came out of the water. Then the master took me out yesterday and gave me a few more pointers. Once I remembered to do all four steps, I was out of the water. The second attempt at water skiing yesterday resulted in a tour around the lake on my first pull. Anyway, if you are 200+ pounds and you are trying to water ski, follow these 4 steps.