The good news is my daughter is landing her double axel. It is by no means consistent and sometimes it is UGLY! Still it is landed and getting better all the time.

Now, the bad news: I promised her when she was a tiny girl that I would take lessons when she had her double axel. She's holding me to my promise. OY!

I think I can stall until the end of summer but after that, I'm going to have to keep my promise. So, I'm starting my diet and walking for 30 minutes each day. Any suggestions on how to prepare these old bones to do what I said I would when I was obviously out of my mind? Thanks for your suggestions!

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Babyskater's Mom

Heh heh heh...

Well, get yourself some good protection (the ol' kneepad, elbowpad, wristguard) and join us on the ice!!! (And of course, sign up for skating lessons. Private or group... it's your wallet!)

Welcome to the ice, babyskates's Mom!!!

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Yoga or some other stretching regimen will go a long way toward preparing your body for the new movements.

Good for you! I hope you love it like the rest of us do!!

The above suggestions are great.

Mainly, keep a positive mental attitude.

Learning to skate in itself will help you get into proper shape. The muscles you need to use will be developed as you learn.

Skating is great fun!!! Take time and enjoy it with your daughter.

Take it slow and have fun and BEND YOUR KNEES. :-)

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Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
Maurice Setter

Also:

STAY VERTICAL!!!

It was said above, but it won't hurt to say it again - stretch, stretch and stretch!

Welcome to the adult skating world - hope you'll love it!!!

Congrats to your daughter!

Get yourself some durable, comfy skates. Since you have to learn, no sense in suffering in rentals. I second the suggestion to pad up, especially the knees. Get the soft pads for knees, not the roller blading ones.

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STRETCH!!! I know I'm not the first to offer this advice, but it is the best thing you can do! Also, is it possible for you to take a ballet class this summer, perhaps? I just started skating in January (at the ripe old age of 22) and found that all these years of dance lessons really paid off. It really helped with my balance and posture on the ice. Yoga would probably be good, too, though I've never tried it myself.

Of course you must learn to skate! I bet you love it just as much as your daughter does. I agree with what has been said so far, and will add one more idea: ice dance. That has several advantages that I can see:

• At the beginning, you don't have to skate backwards at all
• Until you get pretty advanced, you get to keep one foot on the ice at all times
• You won't be directly competitive with your daughter, so no scornful "Can't you do that yet?"

Don't ever, ever, ever compare your progress with hers. Be happy to progress at your own rate, and if it takes you until Christmas to be able to glide on the ice on one foot, and until next summer to do forwards crossovers, well, so what? Relax and enjoy it.

And congratulations to your daughter, by the way.


Edited to correct a typo I hadn't noticed until I came back to read doobedoo's post

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Congratulations, daughter and mum! She's making great progress.

Walking is great for skating; also cycling uses a lot of the same muscles. Start thinking about what you might wear skating - something warm, wicking, stretchy, comfortable and just a bit glam! Yes, and bend your knees ...

Have fun!

Thanks everyone. In a few minutes, my daughter is going for a walk with me. I told her I have to get myself ready to skate so I don't get hurt. She has agreed to help me get in better shape. I really am looking forward to this in a crazy sort of way. By the end of the summer, I plan to be ready to try the ice - slowly and carefully.

Mrs. Redboots, I like the suggestion to ice dance. Jumping isn't likely for me!

I'm joing a gym, too. I need a trainer to teach me to stretch. The stretches my little rubber band child does would put my into the hospital!

Thanks again for the good suggestions. I'll be using them!

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Babyskater's Mom

I think walking is a great exercise and something most people can enjoy doing. Have fun!

Perhaps dancing will be the way to go....but don't rule out jumping right off the bat. Your daughter inherited her athletic abilities from somewhere...and you are her Mom. You may surprise yourself. There are many of us adult skaters that started late in life. I was two months shy of 43 myself when I started.

Sorry

It is wonderful that you daughter is landing her axle and that you have decided to skate. You will love it.

I also started skating for the first time as an adult and I found that there are muscles in my legs and particularly in my feel that I never knew I had. I walk and ride my bike to build up my legs. I also have one of those ski type machines with a bike movement that I use.


The hardest thing for me after all these years is bending my knees.
I practice that all the time. I also practice movements at home with and without my skates - crossing over etc. Even though I was active in sports as a child and young adult these are not moves that come natural to me.

Good like and let us know how you are doing.

Maureen

I am so out of shape. I can only walk at a good pace for about 30 minutes. The rest of the time, I have to force myself to keep going. I think maybe Ballet might be a better place for me to start although I will keep walking, too. I'm not letting these nasty hills defeat me!

My daughter can't stop laughing at how pathetic I am. I'm getting ready to go on my walk and I have to really warm up my knees or I won't make it to the end of the block! I really have to hand it to you adult skaters. I haven't even hit the ice yet and I'm already huffing and puffing! I didn't know how out of shape a person could get. I guess sitting in the ice rink doing nothing has taken it's toll! I know in a couple of months, it will be easier and I will look and feel great so I'm not giving up. Thanks for all of the encouragement!

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Babyskater's Mom

It will not take long for those walks to become easier....don't get discouraged! Start small and work up. Really 30 minutes is just fine for now. You will see results by the end of a week or two, I promise!

I started running after my last pregnancy. Geez, I could only go maybe 3 minutes to start. Worked up to 20 minutes over the course of a few weeks. It was not easy. Eventually ran 3 miles a day, 6 days a week for several years.

Listen, ten years ago I was so out of shape, you wouldn't believe. Lots fatter than I am now - well, maybe not that much, but a bit - and I smoked 40 cigarettes a day, and had done for the previous 25 years. And all my excess weight was flab - I was a couch potato. So I thought I'd better do something about it, and proceeded to shed 42 lbs, partly by giving up most fats (especially butter, which I used to get through about a pound of each week) and, as I hadn't yet discovered skating, by swimming.

When I first went to the pool, it took me all my time to do ten lengths, just ten, stopping for a rest between each two laps. Six weeks later I could do 20 lengths without stopping (which I hated, because it was so dull, but I could do it!). So you see, it doesn't take long to get a great deal fitter.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

It's not as popular, what with all the new fitness trends, but step aerobics are absolutely the best thing for skate training. Use a little 4" step, and you will have quad muscles in about a month, as well as knee bend. Skating is all about knee bend.

I second the ice dance idea, there's lots of stuff to learn going forwards that makes you look like a skater without ever having to skate backwards, or even do a power crossover. (my particular beef with Skate Canada - what on earth are back 3 turns doing on Canskate 6? Kids don't need to really learn them until Junior Bronze, okay, digression over)

Get good skates, don't scrimp.

Have fun! It's all about what YOU can do.

I agree with Elys2 and Mrs. Redboots -- your exercise will become easier faster than you think.

I started running in mid-May because I decided that I was NOT going to buy plus-sized clothing. I was drawing a line in the sand for myself. I'm going to be 30 next Monday and I'm an asthmatic.

In high school, when I was very fit from dancing 12 hours a week, I could not run a mile. I got up one morning this May and said "I'm going to run a mile." And I did. It took 13 minutes and I thought I might die, but in a little over two months I'm up to 44 minutes and 4 miles four or five times a week -- and I know I'm not going to die (yet). I plan to get that to 5 miles 6 days a week by the end of July. I've also started weight training. Yesteday I ran 4 miles in the morning and walked my dogs 2 miles in the evening. (This provides upper-body workout as controlling 2 85lb. dogs required some strentgh, LOL!)

I guess my point is that I know you can do this! The first week or so might really stink, but you should notice it getting better daily. And then you'll start craving it, LOL! Endorphins are pretty additcive!

I'm so glad you have a clear goal. I think that will help motivate you. And, if you ever need a kick in the pants to get going, we're really good at doing that, too.