Inline skating (off ice training)-anyone, anyone?

[gregyoshi]

Hi all,

I just wondered if anyone here does any inline skating for your off ice training? Experiences? Do you feel this helps or hinders your figure skating? Just wondering.

I have inline skates and I did quite a bit of skating a few years ago but when my skates wore out and I was tired of road rash, I put them away and only recently bought a new pair of skates. They're a soft boot and I tried them out today for the first time since I got them and my ankles felt weak and tired after only a few mins of skating.

What do you think? I don't need advice on how to jump or spin with inline (forget it-it's way too hard) but just want opinions using them for endurance training and if it improves your strength and stroking on the ice, etc. Thanks much! Greg

[jestemkkool]

I used to do inline skating on the side but I was using aggressive skates with grinding rods and realized that inline skating was making my figure skating worse. But, if you are very interested, you should look into quad skates and you can use them for jumps and spins in almost the same manner as you use ice skates.

[InsideAxel]

They make an artistic inline skate that mimics ice skating...somewhat. USA Rollersports (the governing body for competitive roller skating) has sanctioned inline artistic as a qualifying event for their National Championships, and you can find a few skaters competing in roller inline events at almost every competition now. I briefly looked into inlines before transitioning from roller to ice (which I am so glad I did!) and found it interesting. There are (were?) instructional tapes available in which ice skaters demo'd the inlines. I seem to recall one of the skaters doing a triple Lutz on one of the tapes. The middle wheels are rockered to simulate ice skates to facilitate spins and such.

Google "snyder triax" and "pic" (the two big brands) in reference to skating and you should come across alot more info.

C'ya!

Kelton

[babeonblades]

i remember when i was younger i had a lot of trouble pushing with two feet i could only use my left foot to push for some reason but then that sumer i got rollar blades for my birthday and my dad took me to some unused tennis courts to try them well i could instantly use them and i would use both legs to push. when i went back to skating i found that i could suddenly push with both feet and i wasnt scared to go faster on the ice

[flippet]

There are (were?) instructional tapes available in which ice skaters demo'd the inlines. I seem to recall one of the skaters doing a triple Lutz on one of the tapes. The middle wheels are rockered to simulate ice skates to facilitate spins and such.

Google "snyder triax" and "pic" (the two big brands) in reference to skating and you should come across alot more info.
Pic Skates were, I believe, the first brand of these out there. Michael Weiss does some of the demos on the tape, and he does at least some doubles on them. I'd have to dig out my tape to be sure.



I used to rollerblade a lot before I started ice skating, and for a while I'd switch back and forth. But I eventually stopped rollerblading, because I found that the balance point in 'blades' is MUCH different than in figure skates. It seems the balance in rollerblades is more towards the heel, and it's more towards the ball of the foot in figure boots. I didn't like feeling like I was going to fall off the back of my rollerblades onto my head (even though I'd previously been a pretty good rollerblader). I'd just gotten too used to the feel of figure skates (and preferred it), and couldn't (and didn't want to try to) transition rapidly any more.

[TashaKat]

I got some 'pic' type roller blades to go onto my old figure skating boots :) I could do 3-turns and waltz jumps on them but it wasn't as smooth or as easy as on the ice.

An old friend used to be able to spin and jump with 'regular' rollerblades but then he did used to be one of the top UK skaters!

I found that I stopped rollerblading the more that I ice skated, it was great exercise though and certainly helped my fitness levels (I used to rollerblade on the streets so used them as a form of transport at weekends :) ).

[kayskate]

You can get the "coaches' video" from the Picskate web site. It is inexpensive and interesting. I have pics. They are useful for stroking exercises and MITF (IMO). I am a good ice spinner, but cannot spin on pics at all.

I used to distance skate in a park on quads. Really enjoyed it. Great exercise and keeps the legs in shape. I did this mainly in summer. However, this summer I had god ice time, so I never quad skated. I took some quad dance lessons recently. I think quad skating improved my ice b/c I had to push harder, so it built strength. When I got on the ice, I just flew. It felt to much easier. I had to give up the quad dance lesson b/c I was just too busy to devote enough time to it. Unfortunately, the session was so early in the morning, I just couldn't stick w/ it even though it was very worthwhile.

Kay