I disagree with that. A good coach will give pointers on off ice exercises and diets. I am a casual beginner skater and the instructor I'm taking from makes a point of giving me suggestions on off ice exercises and diet. The instructor works with all levels of skaters.

My personal experience because I've had a few instructors is that the older, more experienced instructors will bring up off ice exercises and other things to help your skating be productive. The younger instructors (ie the teens trying to earn spending money) generally do not go into that much detail. Just my experience, you can get a little bit out of working with a teen, but it's best to work with an experienced coach who takes pride in his/her work.

No offense to most coaches, but I wouldn't dream of taking nutrition advice from most of them. There's nothing inherent in being a skater that causes one to know the science of nutrition. I've heard too many coaches dispense iditioc diet advice to students AND each other. They're no different from your crazy co-workers who try the diet du jour. In fact, some of the coaches I know are among the worst at health and nutrition.

Granted, there are a few who have taken courses or done their own research or have relevant degrees, but most of them are just typical laymen/consumers like everybody else.

And as long as I'm being contrary I might as well add that most of us don't need a special "diet" for skating. Elite athletes exercising 5-10 hours a day, yes. Hobbyists and recreational skaters exercising a few hours a day, no.

MNSHO

The only diet advice our coaches give out is to the kids...no food in the hockey boxes!!! Gets messy on the blades!

Other than that, it is up to the parents.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

I'll agree with skaternum on this one. Coaches are NOT trained to do diets and if they were professional enough, they would refer you to a dietitian who IS qualified to do this type of stuff. Some will do off ice exercise to help you train. Mine refers me to personal trainers at my gym to and tells me what s/he wants me to achieve. (Number #1: flexibility, Number #2: general strength.)

Skate@Deleware: Love the only diet advice from coaches!!! Then again, at my rink, the coaches and the student's "stuff" take up most of the hockey boxes... the students are supposed to be on the ice!

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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!!!

I'm an adult, and I know enough to know that I don't know much about fitness, or nutrition, or which exercises will increase my flexibility. One of the joys about being a librarian, a heightened awareness of knowing what you don't know

While I have read an awful lot over the years about this sport, I am not a professional, the coach is which is why I would pay them. But as I previously said, it's not that the coach should be doing everything for you, or prescribing a diet, but they should be able to refer you to others or know when you need something else. I don't know any dieticians or physiotherapists etc, so I would be looking to a coach for those referrals.

As for needing a diet as a rec skater - I am aiming to lose a few kilos. I had the horror realisation that I've put on 13 kilos since I last skated regularly, which equates to a lot of extra force on my knees when jumping. So I do need help with finding a diet that will help me lose weight as well as provide the nutrients needed for sport (apart from skating I cycle, ballet, etc). I have incredible resources at work (thanks to all those sports science student textbooks) but I am not 100% confident in doing these things on my own.

I think that in this country basic nutrition may well be part of the training package. Only very basic, but I'm fairly sure it is included in at least the Level 1 (assistant coach) training, and possibly improved upon at the higher levels, I'm not sure.

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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!

Yeah, but that's not really what I'm talking about. Assuming that you're not putting in more than a few hours of exercise a day, you're still talking about a typical weight loss diet. I'm refering to the original request about a "skater's diet." You need the same kind of nutritional advice anyone who is trying to lose weight needs.

10 hours a day might be overdoing it a little. I think 5 hours is the maximum that anyone would work out, including on ice- 3 on ice sessions of an hour each, and then two hours or so at the gym. Maybe another half hour here or there.

I think there's a fundamental difference in the term "diet" that's being used in this thread, though. There's a skater's diet...which mainly focuses on nourishing the body in the best way possible for optimum performance, and then there is a diet that one would need when they want to lose weight and skate, say...1 hour twice a week. Both of those lifestyles requires a certain diet- one because of the limited activity, and one because of the abundance of activity. I agree that you don't need a skater's diet if you're only skating a few hours a week, although since most skaters eat low fat/not very high carbs, it's probably not that bad a diet to adopt even if you aren't skating. And if you're skating a few hours a day every day, that's pretty active in my opinion. Most people don't work out at all.