Adults: So, why *Do* you skate?

[pegasus99]

Just as a general query, why do you skate?

I do it yes, for fun, and yes, for exercise, but it's also something a bit mythic that I missed out on when I was younger for a myriad of reasons. Now that I have it, it's challenging and wonderful. It's finally a sport that I'm kinda good at that uses all my talents.

There's a bunch of reasons that are hard to state clearly, but I was curious about the reasons why other adults skate.

[Bill_S]

Your reasons sound just like mine. It's fun, it's something I did informally as a kid and was good at, and it's some needed exercise.

I always wanted to impress Peggy Fleming too. 

[twinskaters]

My reasons are very similar to yours. I always wanted to skate as a kid but my Mom put me in ballet and never would consider skating lessons. She had done them with my brother when he was very little and she was pregnant with me, and I think she didn't want to sit around in the cold again. I watched figure skating on TV whenever it was on and loved the sport from afar. When my girls got interested in skating, I let them give it a try, and they love it. It took me a while to take the step of signing up for adult lessons, but I did it and am finding I am not terrible at it. This is a huge revelation to me. I was never sporty and always hated gym class and summer camp sports. I think I was probably just mediocre at everything (except running - that I was truly unusually slow at) and could've been fine if I practiced, but had a close friend who was very insecure and I now realize put me down in order to make herself feel better. But she convinced me I was totally non-athletic. And I was an adequate dancer, not fabulous, not awful. But my high school dance team coach was a horrid shrew who used to scream my name and tell my I sucked in front of everyone and basically destroyed my confidence at any sort of physical pursuit.

So anyway, it felt like a huge risk signing up for lessons, but 8 weeks in I am really loving it. I am completely in awe of the fact that the coach teaching my class (which is a class of 2 people) actually says nice things about my progress and ability and can motivate me to try harder without tearing me down first. I think skating is good for me physically and psychologically, which was totally unexpected!

[mamabear]

I've felt like I'm at a crossroads on this one for a while now...and I need to get my mind straight so maybe typing it out will help. 

When I first began skating, I did it because my kids were in lessons and my son wanted to me to skate with him during the public session that came with lessons.  When I did the math, I quickly realized that it wasn't much more expensive for me to take lessons and I thought I would have a better understanding of what my kids were doing. 

My son didn't want to continue but my daughter did and I loved the feel of being on the ice so I continued as well.

Now?  I still love the feel of being on the ice and I tend to lose myself in the motions of skating which is amazing.  But, I'm also recognizing that it's becoming much more of a training/sport activity for me than it was in the beginning.  That initially I left the ice each time thinking-wow, I can do that?  I didn't think I could do that!  And now, I find myself sore, tired and wondering if I'm detailed enough for this activity.   I think the why I skate is much more of a I want to push myself to see what I can do and because I love the thrill of learning a new skill. 

[robinsnest]

I started because I wanted to sign my kids up for some basic lessons (we had endured a few skating b-day parties which are no fun at all if you can't skate) and noticed there were adult groups at the same time.  Beats waiting around reading my phone, I thought.  I never ice skated as a kid in Florida in the 80's, but my sister and I would roller skate in the driveway a lot, so at 40 when I got onto the kid b-day party ice, I could skate around in circles, do CCW crossovers, and skate backwards.  I signed up for 1X week 30 minute Adult 3 class to start and was immediately bitten by the bug.  7 months later I am up to 5-7 hours a week of ice time, just passed Adult 6 and hired a coach.  I just love it!



- The Accomplishments: I have spent all my life as a klutz and never did any sports or dance except under duress.  I was a very academic kid and my big extracurricular was playing piano.  So I get a huge sense of accomplishment, joy, and wonder with each new skill and with each improvement in this difficult physical activity.  Still a klutz but there is hope for me yet! 

- The Mental Break: Skating allows me to escape completely from the worries and pressure of normal life and its work problems, kid problems, house problems, dog problems, etc.  It takes every bit of concentration I have not to kill my klutzy self out there so I get deep into the zone and the time flies by.  Like a mini vacation every time I step on the ice.

- The Music: I love stroking around or trying my Waltz 8 in time to my favorite tunes and can't wait until I can do a program.

- The Peeps: I am having an awesome time with my new friends, my fellow crazy adult skating peeps at the rink.  And the coaches who have so patiently worked with me and my kids to bring such joy into our lives.

- The Ice: When it is fresh, the ice feels amazing under my feet.  Full of serenity and potential.  Like nothing else anywhere.

[sarahspins]

Honestly, because I just flat out enjoy it - it's an easy way to get in a surprising amount of exercise without really feeling like I put in that much effort.

As far as taking lessons and working on improving skills and taking tests - that's all just a bonus in my book, but it's not "why" I skate

[nicklaszlo]

In addition to the reasons mentioned, because skating makes my brain work.  In a different way from my job.

[ChristyRN]

Because I lost ~70 pounds skating!

I love the confidence I get from being the only adult I know that skates (though we do have a medical student that skated as a kid).  Enough coworkers know that they were daring me to do a triple axle in the OR this afternoon.  Can you imagine if the patient had seen me jumping?!?

[kr1981]

Honestly, because I just flat out enjoy it - it's an easy way to get in a surprising amount of exercise without really feeling like I put in that much effort.

This! I skate on my lunch hour 4-5 days a week, and even though I'm only on the ice for about 35 minutes, I can't believe how much I sweat when I get off the ice. I can tell I've had a REALLY good workout in just that short amount of time. When I started skating again 2 months ago (after stopping in 1999), I was completely winded after a half hour. Now I'm not winded at all, and could totally keep going if I had more time. I've also noticed that my legs are getting quite toned in just that short amount of time. So, I love that it's whipping me into shape--and pretty quickly!

Ice skating is the only sport that I honestly find fun, and am truly interested in doing. I decided to take up skating again because I was totally out of shape, had gained a lot of weight, and knew I needed to get off my butt and do SOMETHING. I knew I'd quickly get bored with the gym, running, anything... but thought, skating was the ONE sport that I actually stuck with for 5 years before, and I've always kind of missed it, so why not go back? Before stepping on the ice, my initial goal was to go twice a week. That immediately turned into "every day that I possibly can" (which has consistently been 4-5 times/week). Unlike every other workout I've tried, I actually look forward to skating--because it doesn't FEEL like working out, or "just exercising." I also love how it's a 180 degree break from the office in the middle of the work day.

It's also incredibly rewarding to learn a new skill, or, in my case now, to realize you can still do something you could do when you were 15. And let's be honest, it's pretty cool to do something that very few other people can do--or would be willing to try.

[dlbritton]

Because I love it.   I started skating 11 months ago to regain my strength and rehab my knee after a skiing accident that sidelined me for a season. I originally intend to just get used to sliding on something frozen before ski season started back and have found myself enjoying skating almost as much as skiing.

A big part is the challenge and satisfaction of learning new skills while getting a good workout at the same time. Spending 30 minutes on a tread mill just doesn't impart the same sense of accomplishment.

I really enjoy progressing through the Basic Skills program and look forward to starting the formal testing track. I realize I will never do a jump beyond 1 revolution, if that, but am interested in challenging myself with learning the old figures patterns.

Skating has also given me a renewed self confidence, knowing I can accomplish something many people can't do and won't try. I'm going to venture into the ski terrain park this winter and try trick skiing on twin tip skis since I am now comfortable with backward gliding and stroking from skating. I would never have considered this possible before learning to skate.

All in all, just a great sport that gives me a lot of pleasure while providing a good workout.

[Loops]

Love.  I skate because I love it.

[lutefisk]

"Spending 30 minutes on a tread mill just doesn't impart the same sense of accomplishment."

Amen to that!  Tread mills are monotonous drudge mills in my opinion.  I once owned a Nordic-Trak but I sold it after it became better dressed than I am.  Jogging doesn't thrill me either.  Having said that, I see some individuals who approach skating largely the same way one would approach a tread mill--they stick in their ear buds, crank up the iPod and perimeter skate lap after monotonous lap.  I doubt if I'll ever understand what keeps them going. 

For me, a sense of satisfaction is derived from learning and being able to execute a new skill (and there is a seemingly endless supply of those in figure skating!) but I think the thing that keeps me going long term is, simply, the delight of doing the activity.  I suppose there's a social aspect (seeing familiar faces at the rink) but there's also the individual aspect (yourself and the ice--might be what those perimeter skaters are all about).  And of course the complexity appeals on many different levels;  one can test, one can compete, one can ignore all that and skate purely as a recreational participant.  If I skate for the remainder of my life I'll never peel all the layers of this onion.

[alejeather]

Like other posters have mentioned, the exercise without feeling like exercise, the friendships, the diversion from work life, and the thrill of learning and achieving. That last one is a big motivator for me, as a large part of my personality is "achieve competency and move on". Skating has given me a lot to move on to without moving on from skating.

Some other side benefits of why I like to skate:
- It's cold. I just feel really comfortable wearing long sleeves and long pants. There are very few forms of exercise where you can do that year round.
- Opportunity to perform. In 15 years of dance, I don't think I ever got the stage to myself. In 3 years of skating, I've had the ice to myself multiple times, from even the very early stages of learning. And on that ice, I get to perform something that was uniquely created for (and a little bit by) me. I can't think of other arts that give you that opportunity so frequently and at so many levels.

[Kitten23]

I started skating because I had just had my heart broken by my ex-boyfriend and my sisters thought that THIS might help me stop crying.  Two months of group lessons later and I was hooked.

Also, I skate because I can.  I have been told, by numerous idiots that I couldn't skate because I was:

Too old
Too tall (5'6 1/4")
Too fat (weighed 129 lbs when I started; more now )
Too slow
The wrong ethnic group (yeah that one surprised me)
Too poor
Jumped/spun in the wrong direction (lefties unite!)
My hips were too wide

If you tell me that I can't, I will do everything in my power to prove that I can.

By the way, 99% of the people who told me the things listed above, no longer skate.  I am still out there, working as hard as possible.

[pegasus99]

Wait... someone said you were "Too Fat" at 129 pounds, 5'6"? Someone's got body issues and it ain't you.

Sheesh. I'm 5' 4" and I sit between 125 and 130. 

I am reading all of these, thank you for replying.

[Loops]

Too tall (5'6 1/4")
Too fat (weighed 129 lbs when I started; more now )
Too slow
The wrong ethnic group (yeah that one surprised me)
Too poor
Jumped/spun in the wrong direction (lefties unite!)
My hips were too wide

Hmm.  I'm 5' 8" ( and I was at 13, too).  And I am NOT 129 lbs.  Pretty sure I never have been either, except perhaps, for a brief spell at the age of 7.  And I am the proud owner of "Child-bearing hips".  Had them at 13, too and they're probably even bigger now after having actually borne children.   I love my curves.

I'm a leftie too!  All hail the south-paw skaters.

Sounds like some of the people at your rink have issues.  Good thing they're gone, and you're still going strong.

[twinskaters]

Yeah, I'm 5'6" and used to be 129 pounds, and when I look at those photos, I am constantly struck by how skinny I look. I've got a good 15 pounds on you now and while I'm a tiny bit heavier than I would like to be, I am nowhere near what anyone in their right mind would call fat. You were skating with a bunch of jerks, so good riddance to them!

[amkw]

First post! thought this would be a good one!

I'm 23 and I fell in love with skating at age 11, I quickly became a natural at it (surprising because I'm awful at other sports ) and begged my parents to go more, for lessons etc. Unfortunately due to money and time constraints, I was only able to skate once a week and take lessons up to freeskate 1 before it became too much. Eventually I lost touch with it, but when I recently moved to Ohio for graduate school I couldn't bear to leave my skates at home...so I brought them with me.

Now i've been back skating for about a month and I have fallen in love again. Not only that, but as an adult still adjusting to being on her own in a new city, it's restored my passion and drive to learn new skills and do what I always wanted to do back in my teens. Even though I have work and class, I am able to now make it a priority in my life. I just ordered new skates which should be shipped to the pro shop soon (turns out 11 year old me didn't know what size skate she was...yikes!) and i'm signing up for group freestyle lessons. Sure, the younger skaters who are landing their axels definitely make me feel old and out of practice, but just like many of you said in your posts, you're never too old!

I'm so excited to be here and for all of us to share our experiences!

[WaltzJump413]

Welcome, amkw!

I skate because I love the feeling when I've finally learned something that once seemed totally impossible. I love being able to look back at all I've accomplished.

I love the feeling of a good spiral or spin--it isn't like anything else!

I love the life lessons I learn, too--mostly perseverance, getting back up every time I fall.

And it's just plain cool.

Thanks for posing this question, pegasus99!

[ChristyRN]

For me, a sense of satisfaction is derived from learning and being able to execute a new skill (and there is a seemingly endless supply of those in figure skating!)

And I hope to keep going until I get to quad salchow! (says the working-on-bronze-MIFT skater)   

[Gabby on Ice]

I skate because I love it. Before I started skating, I had self-esteem problems, but then after I started, the next thing I knew I was hooked. My self-esteem has improved, and I love feeling the cold air on my face. I am also very stubborn and determined, which makes me a good skater. It is great exercise, and it burns a lot of calories. I especially love competing and learning new elements.

[skategeek]

Many of the reasons already listed apply to me.  I started because I started taking classes along with my daughter, since it looked like fun.  She's taking a break but I'm enjoying the challenge of learning new things, the exercise, the break from thinking about other stuff, and maybe now the people (after 2 years I'm just now starting to actually connect with some of the regulars at my rink... I'm a total introvert).  Plus an excuse to browse online for clothes I would never in a million years wear under other circumstances (for me, dressy is the good jeans and the black Reeboks).  Convenience helps- 3 rinks within 15 minutes of home, one of which is on my campus.

Finally, it's the one thing in my life right now that I'm doing for me and nobody else.  I'm working to get over feeling horribly selfish about it.

[cbskater]

So many reasons...

Because no matter how bad my day/week has been, I am in a better mood after I have skated. It takes all of my mental focus to be in lesson or practice & the rest of the world fades away for a while.

I started after watching my daughter take lessons & practice for 1 1/2 years. I never skated as a child. I thought it looked cool & I don't like to sit around. I would rather be active and in disgustingly hot & humid Florida where we live the cold in the rink is wonderful!

I was scared all of the time on the ice for quite a while. It has felt good to reduce the fear to certain elements & get comfortable on the ice. I love learning new skills & improving old ones. I am enjoying being more physically fit than I have ever been even though I've always been fairly active.

I have met so many nice people at my home rink & other rinks that I have skated at and I have acquired a great group of friends at my home rink.

For several years it was nice to share this sport with my daughter. Since I started skating, I could totally understand what she was talking about sometimes where I wouldn't have really understood it before. Sadly after 5 1/2 years she quit skating this past spring.

I can't imagine not skating on a regular basis. Hopefully I can continue for many, many years.

[Vicki7]

I skated for about 18 months as a kid, but didn't progress well in group lessons (I'm visually impaired).

When my rink opened, I still wanted to skate, so I went down, had a chat to the coach (who I've been working with for 18 months now) and started lessons. I wanted to see if private lessons would be any different to when I was a kid. I do it for enjoyment, exercise, and the social side.

But most of all, I love that when I'm out there, on the ice, I'm not Vicki, the visually impaired girl, any more. You can't tell from looking at me I've got a hidden disability (although you can't off ice either).

I'm Vicki, the skater.

That's the best feeling in the world, right there.

[HeidiIce]

As a kid in Germany I rollerskated on the sidewalks (the scew-on kind) and loved the sensation of gliding.  About 30 years ago, in Upstate NY a friend lend me her ice skates to skate on the lake.  I loved it immediately and bought cheap skates for my two kids and me. 28 years ago we moved to FL.  I went to visit my daughter and the grandkids wanted to go ice skating, so we all went in Frankfurt, Germany.  The rented skates were uncomfortable, but I didn't fall.  I drive an hour and a half one way to the rink and have been
taking group lessons and a few private lessons for about 5 years now. 

I work a lot, but when I open the door to the rink, it's like Alice in Wonderland - a different world, different friends, and I can only think about skating.  I am almost finished with the basic skills level and have participated in competitions.  I love the comraderie and friendships and exercising when it doesn't feel like exercising (I used to skip gymn).  The gliding sensation is kind of like flying.  Even at 68, it's never too late.