Off-ice with the kids and on my own

[slcbelle]

Last weekend, I attended the Saturday off-ice training my coach has for her kids which is lead by an accomplished ballet and yoga instructor.  I thought it would completely kick my 41 year old butt but I kept up with the young ones with the exception of walking across the room in a backbend and the thing where they went across the room from a backbend to crab walk to backbend to crabwalk and so on.  I guess I need to work on my backbend.  I slammed my head into the floor every time.

Being that I am not one for group exercise, or team sports, of any kind, I'm retaining the services of the off-ice instructor for private coaching.  We are meeting this Tuesday to develop and off-ice training program to meet my specific needs.  I have a very well equipped home gym, and off-ice training books, but I think my skating will benefit greatly by having someone determine exactly what I should do and how often. 

I know some of my current physical issues include:  limited dorsiflexion (and I stretch my calves and ankles every day!), weak piriformis, need for greater hip turn out for scratch spins, foot turn out, and the ability to safely strengthen my legs to achieve a very deep sit spin.  I also need specific plyometric and core exercises.

Has another adult here ever had an expert design a personalized off-ice training program?  I've been working out for 25 years, 5x a week and have a degree in health behavior but this is out of my league.  I'm more of a rower/resistance trainer/stretcher.  I'm so excited!

[PinkLaces]

Let us know how it goes.

I had a personal trainer for a few years. She wasn't really knowledgeable in skating but tried to help with lots of balance exercises. That helped some, but I would get so sore from other exercise that I felt like my skating often suffered when I got on ice.

I have done a couple of group exercise classes with the kids. My lack of flexibility hinders me. Sometimes the instructor is good at making modifications and sometimes not. I have been thinking about working with an off ice coach that does do group and private lessons.

[Landing~Lutzes]

I started working with a personal trainer to help improve my flexibility, but I had no results. I had a good amount of flexibility, and most would consider it "extreme," however, being a dancer I am always looking to push my flexibility further. I found that the personal trainer I had didn't have much experience with skaters/dancers so didn't know exactly how to help me. I would try to find someone who has experience in the skating field should you choose to go the route of personal training. However, a PT can also address other weaknesses that will benefit your skating, so it's worth a shot!
Keep in mind that with flexibility training will come strength training...flexibility is useless if you don't have the strength to hold it! ;-P Also, for hip and foot turnout, it probably would be a good idea to have a professional help you with this, only because you can do some serious damage to you hip, knee and leg alignment if you don't train the muscles properly.
Just my thoughts, sorry if I'm no help.

[amy1984]

I started working with a personal trainer to help improve my flexibility, but I had no results. I had a good amount of flexibility, and most would consider it "extreme," however, being a dancer I am always looking to push my flexibility further. I found that the personal trainer I had didn't have much experience with skaters/dancers so didn't know exactly how to help me. I would try to find someone who has experience in the skating field should you choose to go the route of personal training. However, a PT can also address other weaknesses that will benefit your skating, so it's worth a shot!
Keep in mind that with flexibility training will come strength training...flexibility is useless if you don't have the strength to hold it! ;-P Also, for hip and foot turnout, it probably would be a good idea to have a professional help you with this, only because you can do some serious damage to you hip, knee and leg alignment if you don't train the muscles properly.
Just my thoughts, sorry if I'm no help.

Pilates or yoga?  I've seen a lot of skaters using that for flexibility.  I had the same issue with my trainer - my trainer didn't know much about how to help me with skating which was discouraging but I guess it's also my fault for not weeding him out before hiring.  I'm also quite flexible, but it was useless bec. I was lacking strength.  I had troubles maintaining the flexibility while gaining strength - seemed I could have one or the other :S

[slcbelle]

I'm going to be working with our dedicated off-ice coach. She works hand-in-hand with my coach. They had a conversation last week about me and what we should focus on first. My coach had 3 skaters at Nationals this year, one took 1st place, so I feel like I'm in good hands. Much more so than if I hired a personal trainer. My PT tried to help but didn't quite get it.

[irenar5]

I think this is a great idea!  Someone who is versed in movement required for skating is incredibly helpful! 

You can also check out sk8strong.com.  This is a program specifically for skaters designed by a PT who was a skater herself. She has  an assesment of current strength, flexibility, etc and various circuits for training all the muscles that are important in skating.  I am sure you know from your background that overtraining any one muscle is counterproductive, you need to be strong in all the right places. (For example, muscles that predominantly work in a scratch spin are slightly different than in a camel or sit spin).

Let us know how your program is working!

[Neverdull44]

That sounds like it's a great plan.

I do yoga at home, with DVDs.  My favorite is the P90X Yoga (but he does alot of talking).  I don't do backbends (bridges).  I do opposite backbends, where I lay on my stomach and grab both my legs to stretch my back. I'd like to join a yoga class, though.  Maybe this Fall?

[rsk8d]

You can also check out sk8strong.com.  This is a program specifically for skaters designed by a PT who was a skater herself. She has  an assesment of current strength, flexibility, etc and various circuits for training all the muscles that are important in skating. 

Thanks for the mention! Slcbelle, this is Lauren from Sk8Strong. Let me know if you (and anyone else too) have any off-ice training questions!

[Query]

I've been working on stretching while in a 103 deg F whirlpool path. Heat increases the plasticity (long-term stretchability) of muscles and ligaments.

For a person with high flexibility, what I do might be terrible, because heat lets you stretch all ligaments as well as all muscles. I also hold the stretches for long periods of time, which some people say is bad, because they are in danger of stretching the ligaments that hold their joints together.

But I have very poor flexibility, and am in no danger of over-stretching anything, muscles or ligaments. What is more, for an inflexible person like me, most muscle stretch positions do not stretch ligaments, because muscles are what limit me. But most of you great skaters are super-flexible, and need to avoid over-stretching the wrong things.

Some experts try to diagnose exactly what muscles you need to stretch to do what you want, then have you exercise those specific muscles for a while to get them warm, then stretch them. A good sports medical professional, like Rsk8d (I guess), can look at your body and what you want to do with it, and figure out exactly what you need.

Someone else's "custom" stretching routine may not give exactly what you need, just like someone else's "custom" boots or gloves or dresses may not fit you. "Custom" doesn't mean "One size fits all".