Best Off Ice Training For Skaters?

[sk8ergirl]

Hi Everyone! I was wondering what skaters recommend for best off ice training to supplement skating. At our club they offer ballet, fitness, pilates, even trampoline, but theres only so much one can do, and I am not sure some of the activities help that much.
I am particularly interested in what serious or competitive skaters would recommend both in terms of what is the best off ice activity in their estimation and how often they do it a week.
Thanks for your suggestions!

[Lutzgirl]

Well i take off ice fitness for my skating and i best reccomend taking one of the classes that the fitness trainers have to offer!
They are really great and keep you in great shape if not take one of the ballet or pillates calasses i take the hip hop calss to give me more rhythm and timing when i am skating but i am not sure if that would be for you seeing as i am not sure how old you are!

Or maybe you could try taking one calss each skating day?
If you included more information i could of helped you better but i think off ice with a trainer and ballet would be great and even gojng to a gym in your spare time could help you get into shape :):):)

Well I hope this helps you !

]Lutzie.....Does it again!

[sk8ergirl]

Thanks Lutz, I am 14 and skate five days a week and working on getting all my doubles consistent. Right now I take ballet one day a week, during the summer I took fitness classes as well.

[Lutzgirl]

great! I am 13 and am working on my axel and soon my double salchow!
I live in waterloo near greater Toronto!
I like sit spins the best what do u like ?
I Also took fitness classes in the summer! Dont they keep you in great shape?

Oh and what club are you at? Im at Kitchner-Waterloo skating club! :halo:

Pm me sumtyme cya lutzgirl!

[96.23??]

I do pilates and ballet for off-ice training.

[sk8er1964]

I stretch afer skating, but that's about it. I'd love to do an off ice - but between work and my son's hockey and my own skating, finding the time is hard. The adult pilates session at one rink just doesn't fit into my schedule.

I want to ask you younger folks a question - how would you feel about having an adult in one of your off-ice ballet classes? I'm considering a general session that does fit into my schedule - open to any age and skating level.

[Lutzgirl]

it wouldnt bother me sk8er1964 i think it would be great to have an older skater in one of our office classes!
At my club we have a lot of different age groups in our office but hey make a new thing of it!
Be the first skater to be an oldie in a youngie calss :):halo:

Oh and hey have fuun

:P :P :P :P

[sk8ergirl]

Hi Sk8er1964: At our club we have a real mix of age groups, and it works fine. We have quite a few adult skaters at our club, most attend a pilates class right before their session. In ballet, in a couple of cases where the skaters are younger, their moms participate as well. I don't think it is so much the age, but rather that those in the class are at roughly the same level, otherwise it makes it difficult for the instructor if they have a range of beginner right through to higher level.

[Isabelle]

I would say fitness is a must! Pilates is probably also really good...I don't know about trampolining but I'm sure it's fun! ;) Ballet can be really helpful or almost no help at all, it depends on the teacher and how much you do.

[Mrs Redboots]

What I'm really interested in is flexibility training; one of the mums, a gymnastics/ballet/dance teacher, runs a class for the more advanced skaters at our rink, but she says it wouldn't be suitable for me, and, knowing what those kids are capable of (I'm sure one's body isn't meant to do that!), I quite agree. But I am very stiff, and so is Robert, and it doesn't make our dances any more flowing....

[wannask8]

Some types of yoga are reputedly excellent for flexibility. I'm thinking of yoga for my back. There are apparently many levels and types from which to choose. They can have the added benefits of improving strength and balance.

-- wannask8

[mikawendy]

Originally posted by sk8er1964
I want to ask you younger folks a question - how would you feel about having an adult in one of your off-ice ballet classes? I'm considering a general session that does fit into my schedule - open to any age and skating level.

sk8er1964, I'm not a "younger folk" anymore (i.e., I'm not a teenager anymore), but when I was taking ballet classes as a kid, there were always a few adult women in my classes. They had varying ability and tried everything and had a great attitude. No one thought they were out of place. More recently, before I started skating 2 years ago, I took a great Saturday morning adult ballet class. It was really designed for beginner and intermediate dancers, but a lot of us advanced dancers took it because it was a good time and because breaking everything down and doing it correctly and slowly was good for us. There again was a great age range in the adults who took the class--some were older than my mother, and some were just out of college. Some of the people taking the class were professional dancers. Everybody was there to learn and no one was out of place.

If you are interested in adding a dance class to your off-ice training, you might look around for "open" classes that accept a mix of abilities (I for one found it odd as an 18-year-old to take jazz dance classes with only 6-year-olds, so I found a mixed-age beginner class). Some studios offer teen and adult beginner and intermediate classes.

Good luck! I'm posting another thread about off-ice training (http://www.skatingforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10676) --but it's more about questions about cardiovascular training, so that's why I'm posting it as a new thread.

[sk8er1964]

Thanks everyone for your help with the "old lady in the ballet class" issue. I think I'll talk with the ice treasurer to see what levels are in the class I'm in, and if it's not totally 6 year olds I'll probably go for it! I had considered an all adult class done through the rec department, but it was on Monday night and I often have Monday night work meetings.

You know what's kind of weird? I do a stroking session that has ages from 6-38 (the 38 being me, the only adult) and it doesn't bother me a bit. I "hang out" with the teenagers, anyway, because I'm closer to their level. So I wonder why I am hesitating about ballet.....

[Sk8Bunny]

Originally posted by sk8er1964


You know what's kind of weird? I do a stroking session that has ages from 6-38 (the 38 being me, the only adult) and it doesn't bother me a bit. I "hang out" with the teenagers, anyway, because I'm closer to their level. So I wonder why I am hesitating about ballet.....

Just a guess, but maybe its cause ballet classes tend to be quiet and more discplined. Whereas freestyles and on-ice stroking,etc is loud and everyone talks etc. Ballet you cant talk in, so usually the mind wanders to other things, ie, self-doubts and stuff. At least for me anyways lol. Freestyles there are many kids on the ice, but in ballet class, i find myself with a small group of others and it makes me more uncomfortable, cause more attention is drawn individually, and it doesnt help to have to watch yourself in a full-length mirror! haha. Anyways, just a guess, that maybe you are hesitating because of the environment of ballet class.