Skate Spinner Experience?

kathrynskates · Dec 5, 2017

I spend A LOT of time working on spins within the little time I have for practice so I'm lacking in good foot work and jumps. The main reason why I purchased a spinner just to help with the positioning of my spins and "doing" it without ice. I do recognize that this doesn't totally emulate actual skating but I hope it will just serve as practice.

Has anybody tried a spinner and does it help?

VegMom · Dec 5, 2017

My kiddo uses one daily. He loves it. We actually have two because we lost one for a few days and he freaked out. It’s definitely helped him.

ETA: anything that helps with balance (spinner, yoga, dance, gymnastics, even riding a bike etc) will be a transferable skill. It won't transfer completely perfectly, but the body awareness and balance used will help with figure skating.
This video is similar to the spinner my skater has and the things she does are similar to what he does: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJADtfJDXbU

Curlygirly81 · Dec 5, 2017

I had one 3 decades ago.. No clue where it is now, probably in a box somewhere and honestly I don't think they've changed at all lol. It's no where near doing a spin on ice but it can help with getting you use to rotating.. I would think it could also help with jump position in the air.

I find doing something like a lay back with the spinner very dangerous bc in my experience the spinner flies out from under you while you're leaning back in position. Id say you're safe to do corkscrew, back spin, sit and camel though.

Ic3Rabbit · Dec 5, 2017

It depends on which kind you are using. There are a few different types.

kathrynskates · Dec 6, 2017

I bought one with a similar design to the Edea one, not the exact brand but has the curved bottom to mimic a rocker with the flat top

hanca · Dec 6, 2017

I didn’t find the skate spinner helpful for spinning because spinning felt very differently to me than doing it on the spinner. But I guess it is very individual. Someone may manage to transfer the skills learned from the spinner, others don’t.

loopy · Dec 6, 2017

My skater had a metal one that was a platform on bearings. It was used mostly for spinning on her butt. I recently sold it because after a few weeks it just gathered dust.

cl2 · Dec 6, 2017

We use a spinner in off-ice class as part of our jump training (essentially, training the back spin position and quick check out for the landing), in combination with other exercises not involving the spinner. We haven't used it for spins training, but I'm sure it can be used for that.

The important thing is, though, that I don't think the spinner should be the sole tool for off-ice training. There are other exercises that can also help make your time spent practicing on ice more efficient.

Chump12 · Dec 19, 2017

I have that one too. Played with it for a few weeks and now sits unused. Guests who come over always have a fun time spinning on it.

hanca · Dec 21, 2017

There are different types of spinners. The ones that are made from two flat squares or circles that spin with the help of bearings don’t really replicate the spinning that happens on the ice because on the ice if you are not centred, you travel, whereas this spin just throws you off. The ones that are made just for one foot are in theory better at replicating the spinning on the ice, but if I don’t count those few YouTube videos, I have never seen anyone actually being able to spin on it properly. And lots of kids did have that spinner. So that makes me wonder what level those demonstrating it on YouTube are and whether using the spinner isn’t actually harder than spinning on the ice

singerskates · Dec 24, 2017

Just found my square metal spinner while we were cleaning out our basement to make room for a new recording studio. Hubby is a percussionist and tinkers on the keyboard and I play the string and wind instruments. I hadn't seen my square steel spinner for over 12 years. When I used it back then we practiced forward and backward corkscrews/scratch spins and camel spin, all our single jumps except Lutz and Axel jumps. I had the hardest time getting my back spin on it and kept on doing loop jumps instead of backspin with it.

Ange · Jun 10, 2018

Just curious about the OP’s experience with the skate spinner. Did you end up finding it helpful? I was looking into one because I’m not used to spinning. I haven’t done ballet or anything that required spinning in the past. So I was thinking I could use it to get used to the spinning sensation and body positions (rather than using it to improve actual spinning on the ice in the sense of edges and balance). I’m assuming that they’re not helpful for a lot of skaters because they are used to the motion of spinning and can keep their body straight etc. So I’m just curious if you’ve had any luck with it

likevelvet · Jun 10, 2018

I find mine (I have an Edea one, the blade rocker replication type) is really helpful for both balance and finding my foot position. It also gives you good practice for check-out positioning, posture, and balance, and I like to experiment with leg positioning on it, ie for my scratch spin. It's also fun, tbh.

SparkySoymilkSkater · Aug 26, 2018

I got the Edea one and I'm worse at using it than I am at spinning on the ice, which is a big challenge for me. It's sooo difficult to balance for more than a couple rotations, but I guess it must be possible to get the hang of it since people do it. It is quite fun though, at least in small increments.

Schpanky · Aug 27, 2018

In my opinion these help. I'm a beginner, however. I used mine to learn how to do twizzles too. Also, spinning gets easier if you do some minor core training. Nothing serious, but I do 10 push ups, 30 sit ups and 40 scissors everyday when I wake up. This has really helped, but it's probably nothing compared to a real skater.
We keep ours in the living room and my son calls it the "hamster wheel" because everyone has so much fun spinning on it. He is not a figure skater, but when he puts on ice skates, he can easily spin 9 rotations on one foot. I think it's DEFINITELY the spinner.

Skate Spinner Experience?

kathrynskates

VegMom

Curlygirly81

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️

kathrynskates

hanca

loopy

cl2

Chump12

hanca

singerskates

Ange

likevelvet

#Bless this mess

SparkySoymilkSkater

Schpanky

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