Hi all. So, I'm a newbie---32 years old, skating 6 weeks now, just tested into LTS basic 4, practicing 7-10 hours a week on the ice, taking 1 group lesson a week and just starting 1 weekly private lesson tomorrow (yay!). I suck at backwards one foot glides and backwards half swizzle pumps on a circle when my right leg has to be the supporting leg due to an old injury (broken ankle) that leaves my right ankle weak and gives me excessive pronation. I have a surefoot insert in the boot of my new skates to help with the latter. I am in physical therapy for that once a week and recently progressed from twice a week. My physical therapist recently approved me to return to pointe (I am just returning to pointe as an adult beginner pointe student; I'm not far along at all there and never have been) and do 1.5-3.5 hours of ballet a week. She wants to keep me in PT it seems until I start jumping onto a single leg in skating. I also do a periodic fitness barre class and yoga class, but not at all regularly, as they conflict with ballet and skating.
Are there any exercises---ballet or otherwise---I can be doing to help with the backward one for glides and backward half swizzles pumps? For the backward glides I can't seem to keep my leg and foot from turning out and so can't seem to manage a glide in a straight line (I always end up on a curve... pretty but wrong). For the backward swizzle pumps I can't seem to keep my supporting knee straight over my skate and end up using that leg to cheat and do tiny swizzles to push me back onto the circle. I suspect a crap-ton of squats may help in both regards. I hope that I am wrong though because I loathe squats.
Suggestions?
Are there any exercises---ballet or otherwise---I can be doing to help with the backward one for glides and backward half swizzles pumps? For the backward glides I can't seem to keep my leg and foot from turning out and so can't seem to manage a glide in a straight line (I always end up on a curve... pretty but wrong). For the backward swizzle pumps I can't seem to keep my supporting knee straight over my skate and end up using that leg to cheat and do tiny swizzles to push me back onto the circle. I suspect a crap-ton of squats may help in both regards. I hope that I am wrong though because I loathe squats.
Suggestions?