Off-ice spinners...

[isakswings]

do they help? I have been thinking about buying dd one. Are they useful?

[peanutskates]

http://icemom.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2008-05-05T12%3A22%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=7

this might be helpful for you

[Query]

There have been a few threads here on this.

I strongly suggest you buy yours in a store, and try it before you buy. Even within the top brand, some rotate freely (good), some rotate unevenly or with resistance (bad).

I tried one for a while. Maybe it helped. Not so much with balance as with getting body positions - like I have had trouble forcing my free leg to cross over the skating leg. (Actually, making my arms and legs do more or less the same thing helped more. Have no idea why.)

I'm a bad test case. Learned late, and have trouble spinning.

[Skate@Delaware]

I found mine to be more useful for learning the backspin than for the scratch spin. There was just something different about the backspin that made it harder for me to learn. I practiced on my spinner and eventually it got better on ice.

It will never help you overcome or compensate for bad technique.

[isakswings]

I found mine to be more useful for learning the backspin than for the scratch spin. There was just something different about the backspin that made it harder for me to learn. I practiced on my spinner and eventually it got better on ice.

It will never help you overcome or compensate for bad technique.

Thanks! Dd is working on the back spin right now. Scratch is there and is getting better too. Now the sit spin... oy she needs to stop trying to get so low! LOL! That'll come with time. Her coach started teaching her a camel spin and that one surprised me. I don't think it will take her long to get that one!

Anyway, I think it would be nice to have a spinner. Then she could practice whenever she wanted to. She tries on the carpet and kitchen floor, but that doesn't work too well. LOL!

[sk8tmum]

They helped my kids, as posted in other threads ... we use the two piece metal spinner, and it worked quite well. It wasn't just for "spinning" but also for balance, as the need to control body position, etc., as this thing was spinning them about helped them develop more body awareness and balance. By our coach's account: works for some, doesn't work for others, and you can't tell till you try it.

We did use the one piece plastic one, never worked for us at all, primarily because you had to use it on a hard surface and that hard surface hurt to fall on, and it was simply too unstable. Other coaches swear by them, though.

Be sure to have a lot of room, and a nice padded floor to fall onto, if you do use the metal one. We did see our dog hiding after a while, after a few near misses on child falling off of spinner ...

[isakswings]

They helped my kids, as posted in other threads ... we use the two piece metal spinner, and it worked quite well. It wasn't just for "spinning" but also for balance, as the need to control body position, etc., as this thing was spinning them about helped them develop more body awareness and balance. By our coach's account: works for some, doesn't work for others, and you can't tell till you try it.

We did use the one piece plastic one, never worked for us at all, primarily because you had to use it on a hard surface and that hard surface hurt to fall on, and it was simply too unstable. Other coaches swear by them, though.

Be sure to have a lot of room, and a nice padded floor to fall onto, if you do use the metal one. We did see our dog hiding after a while, after a few near misses on child falling off of spinner ...

It's the metal one I am considering. I just wish I could find one locally! :-) I'll probably have to order online tho. :( Thanks!

[Query]

I'll probably have to order online tho. :( Thanks!

Based on what I've seen, it will probably have sticky bearings. It's worth driving many hours out of town to find a good one, just like it is for a good boot fitter. Think how many hours she might spend on it, and how much lessons cost.


BTW, in another thread

http://skatingforums.com/showthread.php?t=25851&highlight=grease+spinner

we discussed spinning on greased floor material.

[Skate@Delaware]

I have the gold-medal spinner, round with ball bearings. it sure does NOT stick (yeah I've heard some of them do)!! I have to be careful to ease into my spins because it goes round so fast! LOL! The first few times nearly spun be into the next county!
(click here for info)
http://www.rainbosports.com/shop/site/product.cfm/id/4AC584C0-475A-BAC0-57906E2DD06001EB

When you get yours, yes be sure you've cleared a very large radius around you, are wearing SNEAKERS and barely push off. It's great for learning body positioning as you will tumble off if you aren't correctly positioned. Keep a deep knee bend, as you normally would spinning, then when youve centered, raise up. Keep your movements slow.

Have fun!!!

[Ice Dancer]

Twist boards have the same effect but for much less money. I got one a month or so ago after losing my spins, and it really has helped, my positions are much better. It is easy to fall off though, so as others have said do allow lots of room.

The twist board I've got is plastic, and you can also use it for ab exercises so it's doubly useful!

[isakswings]

Based on what I've seen, it will probably have sticky bearings. It's worth driving many hours out of town to find a good one, just like it is for a good boot fitter. Think how many hours she might spend on it, and how much lessons cost.


BTW, in another thread

http://skatingforums.com/showthread.php?t=25851&highlight=grease+spinner

we discussed spinning on greased floor material.

Thanks! unfortunately, we don't have any real pro shops near us or even far from us. I'll have todo a search for retailers and hope I find one.

I will have to check out that other thread.

[Query]

If no one else has them, try

http://www.rainbosports.com/shop/site/department.cfm?id=20EB5563-475A-BAC0-5729E5C623BF8A3C

http://www.figureskatingstore.com/product_info.php?products_id=1078

Or search for "Gold Medal Pro Spinner" at a search engine like

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu7.9NApJM.gAUB9XNyoA?p=%22Gold+Med al+Pro+Spinner%22&fr=yfp-t-501&ei=UTF-8

The "Gold Medal Pro Skate Spinner" is probably the top brand and model. If it is bad, maybe you can return it. But 3 out of 4 of the ones I looked at in stores (if I remember right) had sticky bearings.

If you find a good one, keep it clean and store it in a closed container. They used unsealed bearings that are open to the air and that collect dust. Maybe you can talk to a retailer on the phone, say you are picky, and ask that they check for one that turns smoothly.

Good luck. May your daughter spin til the world turns dizzy.

[icerinque]

Any adult skaters have success with an off ice spinner?

[Schmeck]

Spraying the BBs/track with WD40 can loosen up all the gunk - we used to refresh ours every few weeks as we have a cat hair problem around here...

[Skate@Delaware]

Gosh, mine spins so freely I have to be careful to use it on the plush carpet! I wish it WOULD be sticky!

If you want to work on balance, try a bosu or a balance disk-use one of the inflatable ones from a mass retailer...it has grippy fingers on one side and is smooth on the other; you pump it up and stand on it. Works great! I got mine for under $20 from Target. You can also use two of them for pushups (one for each hand).

[katz in boots]

I do have a metal spinner, which I bought off ebay. It didn't stick - until I lent it to someone else - after 2 weeks it came back sticking very badly :evil:

I really didn't find it helpful with spins. Easier with backspins, though my technique was incorrect at the time, it might be better now, if it worked.

I also have a one-piece plastic spinner, which came highly recommended by others who'd found it good. I bought it before realising I don't have a floor suitable to use it. :lol:

[Query]

I bought it before realizing I don't have a floor suitable to use it. :lol:

You could buy a square of wooden laminate floor tile and spin on it!

I found mine (from Rainbo) very hard to control and balance.

Too bad they don't sell little 1 or 2 square meter mini ice rinks for your home. Then again, those of us who travel would just bump into the walls.

[katz in boots]

You could buy a square of wooden laminate floor tile and spin on it!

Yeah, not a bad idea!

Too bad they don't sell little 1 or 2 square meter mini ice rinks for your home. Then again, those of us who travel would just bump into the walls.

:lol: Oh, I can picture it now :lol:

[Sessy]

Actually, the covering for the mini ice rinks is sold by the square metre according to the site. I imagine they have some sort of "starting" cost though that makes it not sensible to buy just one or two square metres though.