Off-ice spinners? | Golden Skate

Off-ice spinners?

Myblade

Rinkside
Joined
Sep 1, 2014
HI guys, it's Myblade again. Recently, my coach said that I should buy an off-ice spinner to help with my spins. I went and looked online for some spinners, and in the review section, a lot of people say that the spinner does not stimulate the same action as if on ice. Some even said that the spinner made them worse! I am confused, and don't know if I should buy one. Does anyone here use one, and does it really help?
I don't know if this helps- I am working on my camel and sit spin
 
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loopy

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 13, 2012
We have the metal one - it didn't really help. There is no edge on a spinner.
 

sk8forlife

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 12, 2014
A spin training device can help with basic spins if used properly. It will allow you to learn to find your center, and where your free leg should be held while spinning properly. It is also helpful when learning backspins, and can be used to work on toe jumps too.
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
I've never used one, but I can see an immediate problem. Not only is there not an edge, but on a spinner, you would have your foot flat, where you would definitely NOT have it flat on the ice.
 

sillyant

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
ok... i would sound silly...
I just wear a pair of socks and spin on top of kitchen tiles... It doesn't help much for spinnning on ice but it helps me to learn which muscles to move...
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
ok... i would sound silly...
I just wear a pair of socks and spin on top of kitchen tiles... It doesn't help much for spinnning on ice but it helps me to learn which muscles to move...

NO FOR THE LOVE OF PLUSHENCHRIST DON'T DO THIS

I mean, unless you WANT to end up in the hospital...

Seriously, this is REALLY DANGEROUS and you really shouldn't do it.
 

Myblade

Rinkside
Joined
Sep 1, 2014
I've never used one, but I can see an immediate problem. Not only is there not an edge, but on a spinner, you would have your foot flat, where you would definitely NOT have it flat on the ice.

Actually there are some spinners that are curved. That's how you spin, because if your foot was flat, how would it be possible?
 

Loops

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 22, 2015
But your boots have a heel, you don't skate with a flat shoe. I think this is what karne was getting at, as opposed to the lack of a rocker. To replicate this you could use the spinner wearing shoes with an equivalent heel.
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
But your boots have a heel, you don't skate with a flat shoe. I think this is what karne was getting at, as opposed to the lack of a rocker. To replicate this you could use the spinner wearing shoes with an equivalent heel.

This, thankyou for translating. :)
 

Query

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 28, 2015
[Regarding spinning in socks on the kitchen floor]
Seriously, this is REALLY DANGEROUS and you really shouldn't do it.

I've done it too

I think spinning on a spinner is a lot more dangerous, as stepping off center onto the spinner can easily throw you a fair distance. I prefer a larger diameter "twist board" to using a tiny skate spinner (cheaper too), because precise foot placement isn't as important, but socks are still safer.

Of course having lots of empty space around you is a good idea for any type of spin practice, so you don't bump into something hard. Depending on your kitchen layout, that may or may not be possible. You could always wear a helmet and lots of padding, and dress like a hockey player.
 
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leafygreens

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 7, 2011
There are two types of spinners. The lazy-susan style seems almost unuseable, because it's locked in one spot. You can't get the feel of that long curve into the hook. It's hard to do any type of spin on here except for the backspin because it takes up the least traveling space. The plastic foot-shaped style is a little more useable, because it's not locked in one spot so you can travel just a bit like you do on the ice. I don't find either one really necessary for my spin training. The only thing I used one for recently is to warm up my twizzles off ice. It helps get you that feeling of turning in the opposite direction. Other than that I don't even bother using it.
 
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Query

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 28, 2015
The lazy-susan style seems almost unuseable, because it's locked in one spot.

My last coach told me to place my foot off-center, to simulate the non-centered motion of the foot in a skating spin. To put a positive "spin" on it, let's just say that I had mixed results, but that it works somewhat better on a large diameter "twist board" / "wobble board" / "rotation trainer" than a conventional skate spinner.

I suggest you find an anti-gravity device! :) Then you can spin effortlessly almost forever. Might help figuring out jumps too. If you find one, may I borrow it?
 
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StitchMonkey

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
My last coach told me to place my foot off-center, to simulate the non-centered motion of the foot in a skating spin. To put a positive "spin" on it, let's just say that I had mixed results, but that it works somewhat better on a large diameter "twist board" / "wobble board" / "rotation trainer" than a conventional skate spinner.

I suggest you find an anti-gravity device! :) Then you can spin effortlessly almost forever. Might help figuring out jumps too. If you find one, may I borrow it?

https://www.gozerog.com/

Have to admit, I have often wished this company would do a training session with skaters. I think it would be so fun to see skaters try to spin and jump in low/no G. I wonder if it would help or screw up your muscles.

But if you want to try it.... you could charter a flight and spin around.
 

Ployliesk8

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 8, 2015
Not really.... an off ice spinner doesn't really help you... You can only do back spins and stuffs on it and sometimes it even makes your spins worse so yeah.. So nope, in my opinion, off ice spinners aren't that helpful.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
I've found my off-ice spinner to be marginally helpful. They're good at learning to stabilize your core while spinning and "lock" your body when doing a specific position... just like on the ice, if your body is too loose during a position or change of position, then you will lose your centering and be thrown off balance. So in that respect the spinner is useful. It's also good at getting used to the sensation of spinning fast and avoiding getting dizzy. Honestly the hardest part is remembering to practice on it, lol.

As pointed out, there's no edge on a spinner (or rather not an edge that simulates a skate blade, so it's not perfect, but it's not completely useless either, IMO.
 

Query

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 28, 2015
https://www.gozerog.com/

Have to admit, I have often wished this company would do a training session with skaters. I think it would be so fun to see skaters try to spin and jump in low/no G. I wonder if it would help or screw up your muscles.

But if you want to try it.... you could charter a flight and spin around.

Thanks!

I'm not sure "vomit comet" flights are ideal learn-to-skate practices. E.g., after you get spinning, the plane would have to accelerate in such a way as to stabilize your position within the plane - but I think it would be a lot of fun.

I used to fly on a plane, doing experiments low over the water. We strapped ourselves in so we wouldn't bounce hard between the floor and ceiling, but there might have been times in between when I could have enjoyed zero-g if I wasn't so airsick.

Hopefully the zero-g plane consumer market flights are a bit better controlled. :) I'll be very interested if they get the costs down to $15 / flight.

I tried playing with a trampoline (during an ice dance clinic, the off-ice exercise room became unavailable, so they used the trampoline instead one day) but the "flights" weren't long enough to do much, and it wasn't quite taut enough for adults my weight, so that I just touched the floor at bottom, but it was fun.

IMO, Skate spinners are much the same - you might not learn much about spinning on skates, but it's fun to try.

Just get one and play. The twist-board type only costs $10-15, much less than a private lesson.
 
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Ducky

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
I wanted to re-up this conversation since so many rinks are closed now and we’re all working from home or taking video classes.

What’s the best you can recommend.
 

taylorskat3s

Spectator
Joined
Jul 1, 2022
HI guys, it's Myblade again. Recently, my coach said that I should buy an off-ice spinner to help with my spins. I went and looked online for some spinners, and in the review section, a lot of people say that the spinner does not stimulate the same action as if on ice. Some even said that the spinner made them worse! I am confused, and don't know if I should buy one. Does anyone here use one, and does it really help?
I don't know if this helps- I am working on my camel and sit spin
don’t it made my spins so much worse i bought an edea spinner. At first i thought it helped but you can’t really pull in like you normally would with a spin you just have to immediately go into the position of the spin if that makes sense. so i now have a bad habit of pulling in wayyyy to quickly with my spins on ice. not to mention the amount of times i’ve fallen off trying camel spins 😭
 

kolyadafan2002

Fan of Kolyada
Final Flight
Joined
Jun 6, 2019
I find spinners have a use, and it's not to learn spins.
It can train core strength required in jumps, as well as vestibular awareness.
For spin technique itself, they are not brilliant.
 
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