# The unspoken frustration of prone foil pumping **URL:** \ **Category:** Prone Surf Foiling\ **Created:** [April 16, 2026, 11:53am UTC](https://forum.progressionproject.com/t/the-unspoken-frustration-of-prone-foil-pumping/15085 "2026-04-16T11:53:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 39
**Author:** ![Matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Matt](https://forum.progressionproject.com/u/Matt)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 11:25am UTC](https://forum.progressionproject.com/t/the-unspoken-frustration-of-prone-foil-pumping/15085/39 "2026-05-07T11:25:32Z")
yes, clear, pumptrack is closest I think if they are broken then just gliding / jumping them, as the back side is really turbulent and you need to wait way longer than you think before it’s “safe” to pump. If they are big and unbroken, then try get a bit of height with a pump, but you can’t be too aggressive because you breach through the back, so just a bit. In this case also there is the most “negative lift” where you need to anticipate the drop that occurs, and get ready to backfoot pressure to keep the nose up. The same for kicking off an unbroken wave, if you nosedive or can’t pump it’s because you didn’t anticipate this energy downdraft or whatever. This to me is the most interesting thing about waves. Lift on front, drop on back. Both above are for wide spaced waves, with a few metres at least between where you can safely pump and gain speed. When the bumps/chop is at the same period as your pump, that is where it gets way trickier, then there is less risk of breaching, but much higher risk of pumping on a down draft, or gliding when you should be pumping, I described that here, but basically, pump the face, glide until the next face: > [@Advanced pumping - aka how the pros pump](https://forum.progressionproject.com/t/advanced-pumping-aka-how-the-pros-pump/3425/112): > > Something to add to this (from this image from [Matt Costa](https://forum.progressionproject.com/t/free-downwind-tips/266/8)), when you pump into waves, you must make sure to put the most effort into pumping at the peak of each wave, where there is maximum lift. You need to glide down the back of each wave. I noticed I was doing this, but didn’t really realise what was going on until looking at this image. Watch someone good pumping out, and you’ll see they sometimes double pump, to get the peak of two bumps close together, and then otherwise do a steady pump … also described [here](https://forum.progressionproject.com/t/pump-downstroke-and-woosh/7715/4) --- _[View the full topic](https://forum.progressionproject.com/t/the-unspoken-frustration-of-prone-foil-pumping/15085)._