Better skating | Golden Skate

Better skating

sk8chis

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 4, 2018
hello.
so one of my bigger goals this year is to become a better skater all around.
better edges, stronger jumps, less choppy motions, better technique.

I’m signed up for ballet and pilates so i know that’s something for off ice. but i was wondering what other things i can do? like on ice and off ice. exercises or even random things you found that helped you at all.

i know plyometrics also helps but it’s so f*#cking hard :(
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
hello.
so one of my bigger goals this year is to become a better skater all around.
better edges, stronger jumps, less choppy motions, better technique.

I’m signed up for ballet and pilates so i know that’s something for off ice. but i was wondering what other things i can do? like on ice and off ice. exercises or even random things you found that helped you at all.

i know plyometrics also helps but it’s so f*#cking hard :(

Plyo is a necessary evil.
 

energywithin22

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 6, 2019
Wow.. turns out I was doing quite a lot of plyometrics for the last half year, unknowingly, and I actually quite like some f them! :D that explains a lot

As for excercises, I'd say it's not only what you do but when and where. I even do some small excercises at work everyday :D
 

sk8chis

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 4, 2018
Plyo is a necessary evil.

i watch videos on it and it literally makes me nauseous. i’ve mentioned a bunch of times before but i’ve had really fast metabolism growing up and have always been on the petite/leaner side so exercise, like actual exercise, has never been in my life. even my parents laughed when i once asked for a gym membership.
so plyo exercises intimidate me so much, cause i feel like it require a lot of strength and endurance i don’t yet have.

i know i just need to start small but i don’t even know where to haha. i thought about getting a personal trainer through my university buttt, between classes, skating practice, working at the week, ballet and pilates, i’m not sure i can 1000% commit myself to a trainer either.
 

sk8chis

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 4, 2018
Wow.. turns out I was doing quite a lot of plyometrics for the last half year, unknowingly, and I actually quite like some f them! :D that explains a lot

As for excercises, I'd say it's not only what you do but when and where. I even do some small excercises at work everyday :D

i will try! there’s a nice video on youtube that’s a more outdoor focused plyo work out and as long as i don’t mind people potentially staring at me through their windows, my apartment has a great outdoor area to start at.
 

WednesdayMarch

Nicer When Fed
Medalist
Joined
Mar 24, 2019
Country
United-Kingdom
Take up ice dance. Ice dance and Moves In The Field are the key to stronger, better edges and flow, which in turn raise the all round standard of your skating. Also, when you're practising crossovers, bend your knees more than you thought possible. And then a bit more. It'll feel weird as heck to start with but video it and you'll see that you still need more bend...
 

Nimyue

On the Ice
Joined
May 15, 2018
Juat a small tip for smoother skating in general, is that my coach had me not just say keep upper body up for good posture, but I think of creating space between my hips and my chest. Focusing on stretching in that way has really smoothed out my jump landings and overall skating.
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
Off ice: Squats, planks, and stretching. So much stretching and foam rolling. General posture improvement from my favorite blog to shove down everyone's throat at the slightest opportunity: http://www.posturedirect.com . Wacky balance exercises that I learned in physical therapy and are probably a big "don't try this at home!" for anyone who didn't learn to do them with supervision from a professional. Eating healthier and getting more sun. At first I was scared to exercise more and eat healthier because I have zero extra weight to lose, but I somehow ended up gaining 2 pounds overall, which was actually more like 3-5 pounds of muscle because I lost a ton of supposedly genetic belly fat. (Too much Russian food is not genetics, Mom! :laugh:)

On ice: Ice dance, hours and hours of edge drills while making a concerted effort to keep the best posture I can and go as fast as I can without sacrificing technique. Watching my favorite skaters and copying what I find impressive about them (all the fancy stuff like hydroblading, spirals, Ina Bauers, spread eagles, that ankle-on-the-knee-bend-over-arms-up backward glide thing that Yuzuru Hanyu does, not just jumps and spins). One of my secret weapons? Going to public skating sessions and zooming around as fast as I can doing power stroking or slaloms or edge pulls down the long part of the rink and consecutive edges across the shorter part while listening to symphonic metal on my bluetooth headphones. :laugh: (Low volume, of course!).

And what WednesdayMarch said about videos and knee bend is spot on. It always feels like I'm bending them much more than I really am. :slink:
 

sk8chis

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 4, 2018
Off ice: Squats, planks, and stretching. So much stretching and foam rolling. General posture improvement from my favorite blog to shove down everyone's throat at the slightest opportunity: http://www.posturedirect.com . Wacky balance exercises that I learned in physical therapy and are probably a big "don't try this at home!" for anyone who didn't learn to do them with supervision from a professional. Eating healthier and getting more sun. At first I was scared to exercise more and eat healthier because I have zero extra weight to lose, but I somehow ended up gaining 2 pounds overall, which was actually more like 3-5 pounds of muscle because I lost a ton of supposedly genetic belly fat. (Too much Russian food is not genetics, Mom! :laugh:)

On ice: Ice dance, hours and hours of edge drills while making a concerted effort to keep the best posture I can and go as fast as I can without sacrificing technique. Watching my favorite skaters and copying what I find impressive about them (all the fancy stuff like hydroblading, spirals, Ina Bauers, spread eagles, that ankle-on-the-knee-bend-over-arms-up backward glide thing that Yuzuru Hanyu does, not just jumps and spins). One of my secret weapons? Going to public skating sessions and zooming around as fast as I can doing power stroking or slaloms or edge pulls down the long part of the rink and consecutive edges across the shorter part while listening to symphonic metal on my bluetooth headphones. :laugh: (Low volume, of course!).

And what WednesdayMarch said about videos and knee bend is spot on. It always feels like I'm bending them much more than I really am. :slink:

Yes! i never want to exercise because i truthfully do not have any weight to lose. even now, my google searches is “how to tone and gain strength without weight training” [emoji23] but i will look into the ice dance because ive never actually heard that mentioned before until now. I will try the knee bend too because i record myself skating and my knee bend is good but not great 🥴 especially with entering spins
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Yes! i never want to exercise because i truthfully do not have any weight to lose. even now, my google searches is “how to tone and gain strength without weight training” [emoji23] but i will look into the ice dance because ive never actually heard that mentioned before until now. I will try the knee bend too because i record myself skating and my knee bend is good but not great �� especially with entering spins

Many skaters don't have weight to lose, most actually. But we still do weight, plyo, yoga, pilates, and other training to keep ourselves toned and our muscles and cores kept strong and in check regularly. Without a strong core, there's not much you can do.
 

cl2

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 9, 2014
Many skaters don't have weight to lose, most actually. But we still do weight, plyo, yoga, pilates, and other training to keep ourselves toned and our muscles and cores kept strong and in check regularly. Without a strong core, there's not much you can do.

Absolutely agree. People need to shed the misconception that exercise is for weight loss! Exercise is for health and skating! :D
 
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