Off-ice Weightlifting

[supra]

Off ice is something I do a lot, because what started as just "off ice" for figure skating turned into a secondary hobby and sport of weightlifting, and I find 99% of the weightlifting I do to be very helpful for figure skating.

I made a big big post about this whole thing in my weightlifting thread, so I'll try not to repeat myself too much in this thread.

I've been squatting and deadlifting and generally lifting really heavy less lately. I'm working on the more explosive lifts, so I can potentially be a better jumper. I've got enough stroking speed to do just fine I think, so while the "slow" lifts build power, they don't seem to build speedy power, if that makes sense.

Lately, my absolute favorite weight exercise is the split snatch. If I can only do one weight exercise, I do it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZwNmC6wSLA I noticed almost an instant improvement in my waltz jump from it. It's like a very explosive lunge, I'm loving it and I can lift more weight split style than squat style. You can also switch feet, too. You can also clean and jerk that way, too. I'm really liking split style, and it's one of those cases where I can see almost instant gains on the ice from an exercise.

Otherwise, instead of deadlifts, I've been doing snatch pulls, with a really wide grip and less weight than a sumo deadlift. I don't know if it's laziness or fear that's causing me to lift less heavy than I used to, or if I'm just exceeding the usefulness of it. Snatch pull, though, it's harder in a lot of ways than a regular deadlift, as you have to pull the bar higher and the stress placed on your arms is more. Who knows.

I've also been kinda not feeling good lately, feeling better now, though, so my off ice regimen could maybe go to something harder again than showing up at the gym and screwing around with snatches for an hour or two a week. I used to put in like 2-3 hours at the gym at a time like 3-5 days a week. I'm wondering if I got really far into the "overtraining" zone because of that, and I got sick, both physically and mentally some this summer, but now I'm feeling better.

So I might try "heavy" weeks and "light" weeks and alternate them. Basically, lift heavy very hard one week, then the next week, do only light sets and assistance (isolation exercises) for endurance, that and do cardio, I almost have no cardio besides skating right now. I used to do slideboard a lot. So that's an idea I'm going to have to make a spreadsheet of. I used to hear of doing month or even half a year or so long training cycles with weights, and then I heard someone just talk about it simplistically as doing a "light week/heavy week" cycle.

So the big problem in my off ice currently, is lack of organization and planning. I just sorta do it when I feel like it, and don't when I don't. Not a very effective way of doing stuff. It's a problem on the ice, too.

What else....some assistance exercises I really wanna work on more...
Overhead squat. It takes an incredible amount of balance. My big problem is I always feel like I'm falling back, and can't keep my feet planted.
Squats with my toes on a piece of wood. Basically the same purpose as the overhead squat, to get me comfortable with being more "back" in posture and squatting down, a skill needed in skating (at least I think it's needed, judging from how crappy my backward anything is...)
Shoulder flies. In most weightlifting/bodybuilding circles, it's sorta thought of as a lame exercise, but I saw the Russian off ice coach at my rink having her girls do them, and it seems like as far as athletic activities, skating would be one activity it's actually useful in, basically how your arms go from off your sides.
Oblique twists/turns. Maybe it's just from seeing the Chinese lifter Lu Xiaojun doing this, I'm tempted to try it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aJGUPDpMR0

Lastly, diet is a bit odd for me. Again, I think it's more consistency that's needed, the biggest problem in my life, consistency and regularity. I pretty much just eat a ton of food. Like...half of a Michael Phelps diet... I don't get "fat" from it, but I think it's something preventing me from getting "ripped" and "shredded" and having visible abs. I found out I like potatoes a lot for carbs, so a good breakfast for me is 2-3 small/medium potatoes, and 2-3 eggs, I've skated on that and feel good with it. I'm trying to switch a lot of my meat to fish, and have found canned fish to be quite cheap and tasty. I probably do eat over 3000 calories a day most days, some days probably exceeding like 4-5K. I'd like to get down to 10% bodyfat and/or be 180lbs again, instead of 195, I've got more muscle mass now, so I look better at 195, but it's 195 at the same bodyfat as 180, so if I get down to 180, I'd like it a lot... I always kinda wished I could be like 130lbs and super skinny, but I just don't have the genetics for it, but then I got skinny friends who wanna get bigger, so it's more just a case of grass being greener on the other side.

Oh well, that's about it.

OH! Can anyone link me a good daily stretching routine, and rink warmup stretch routine? I'm pretty clueless about stretching and warmups to be honest. Flexibility is something lacking for me, not horrendously so, but it's a weakness and I'm not on a level I'd like to be. Thanks!

OK, now really that's all.


Mod note: thread split

EDIT:
I really gotta figure out how to say what I want in less words... Oh well...

[sampaguita]

You can find most stretching routines on the net, and I think there's a thread in this forum as well ("stretching routine" is the keyword, I think). For warmup, I usually do some Jazzercise, which starts with general side stretching, followed by isolations, then some cardio mostly involving the leg muscles. After 15 minutes, I find my muscles nicely warmed up.

[ONskater74]

supra, holy cow.
Wait til you get another 20 years on you.... 
Squate with toes on block of wood??? Geez, I do squats with my heels on a block of wood, actually a special inclined platform I threw together. if I do squats flat on the floor my knees scream for days. I concentrate on my core and lower body, hips, thighs, knees. Do a few bicep curls and vertical shoulder presses with barbells just cuz'... but I was a farmer and really strong up top, it was my stick legs that needed help. I wear 15 lbs ankle weights on each ankle. Try to work that lower body from every angle.
Since late summer it has really made a difference... Got some nice butt happening couple inches off my waist got transferred down...

I was into hardcore weight lifting ten years ago, but tore a rotator cuff in my shoulder and gave it up. It's not too bad now as long as I'm careful. I think a male pairs skater would really need to pump some iron off ice to execute some of the lifts and throws gracefully and precisely.