hi everybody
need some sugestions on off-ice exercises mainly to get some height and bend for my axel
thanx in advance
~cutie

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During my warm up in the mornings, I skip in the parking lot (when it is daylight savings time and the weather is nice). I concentrate on really bringing the knee up high! While skipping, I try it with bringing both arms through together (as the knee comes up) and also skipping with alternating arms passing through. This helps to give a little muscle memory too.

I've seen my coach cause his students to jump up on to the benches around the rink (with their boots off, of course) - when you see that, you know that X will shortly be learning his or her axel.....

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Mrs Redboots
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Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

I don't know specific exercise for the axel - other than on ice doing a waltz-loop combo.

Off-ice: plyometrics....find a 10 inch box (not too wide!) and jump side to side over it 10 times. Also, step up and down onto a bench or a step with a backpack on your back which has 5 pounds of sand in it - work up to being able to do it for 5 minutes (at a reasonable pace).

Good luck - you lucky skater - heading towards AXELS!!

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Hiya

My coach had me jumping up a step last lesson, I know it sounds stupid but it really did help.

It was just for the hight on the 3 jump, but without the hight my coach said i would find it hard to do the axel. And it did actually help, i started to gain more hight on my jumps. My coach sent me away saying that I have to practice the exercise she does, a 3 jump into a spin, and if i master that okay and still keep the hight on the jump, she thinks she can teach me the axel itself in a few lessons.

Good luck with it all.

Hannah xXx

my coach has an off ice exercise where you do a waltz jump, but land it on to feet, and then immediately you jump a full rotation. You have to work and see how fast you can do both jumps without pauses in between. And then you can practice crossing your legs while you jump.

good luck!

now does anyone have any tips for spirals?

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ice-princess

I've landed my double loop!!!!!YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, if only it was the same with my double flip...

Only 16 more tests to go before the olympics!...or is that 22?....Where's my calculator?

Sprials... hmm... i just practiced mine loads, off and on ice. So off ice, i would hold on to something, most of the time anyway, and go up into a sprial. My coach once said practice infront of a mirror because then you get to see how high your leg gets. Thats all i can think of really.

Oh and also not to rush them when you go up into them. So take is up slowly and try not to lean forward to much.

Good Luck

Hannah xXx

I have a habit of practising spirals infront of my mirror, just while I'm passing through my bedroom or something. Sometimes I do it with my skates on too, so you can see realistically how high your spiral will be with the added weight of a skate.

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I think good spirals require lots of stretching which I never do like I should (*sigh*). However, just a basic tip - keep your weight on your heel. That helps me extend the free leg higher and also prevents the scary wobbly-foot. ;-)

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For me, I can do an adequate spiral in a straight line. My struggle is gettingon an edge. Suggestions anyone?

jump rope... it helped me...
trying them off-ice helps a lot too... but do them outside in the grass or in the sand (if you are near sand) otherwise you could mess up your ankels

The best exercise ever for getting height on an axel is that bench exercise.
Stand right in front of a bench, facing the bench (it must be secured to the wall so it doesn't move). Now jump straight up, lifting with your right knee, do 1/2 turn, and land backwards on the bench on your right foot. When you land, land with your left leg in front, with the left knee bent and the left foot right in front of the left calf. Your arms should be rounded and open in front of you. When you can do this with control, you are ready to try the axel on the floor. The only thing you'll do differently is that once you've done that first 1/2 rotation and you're in that open reverse spin position, you pull the arms and free leg in. Just doing that will give you the extra 360-degrees in the air.

Oops, I meant land backwards on the bench with your left knee bent and your left foot right in front of your right SHIN! :p

Start on a straight line, with good speed and with your weight on the heel of your skating foot. Then gradually ride it around the end of the rink so that it curves.

how high is this bench supose to be ? where can you find one? and out of curiosity how do you do this without killing yourself
sorry for having so many questions. but otherwise the exercise sounds pretty good

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Generally, these benches are anywhere from 18" to 2' high. Look around your rink. Do you see any benches anywhere that are flush against a wall and attached to the wall? We have a few at my rink. If not, maybe there are wide benches that people use for changing into their skates, etc. Even if they don't have a wall behind them, those should be okay because there's a little room for error if they're wide. Also, you might be ble to use the first row of bleachers at your rink, although you'd have to really jump straight up so that you don't overshoot it.

But get creative. Figure out how high you could probably jump without losing control, then look for a stable surface that height. You might even try jumping from a stair 2 steps below the top of a staircase and landing backwards on the landing at the top. I haven't tried it, but it seems like it would work.

As far as not killing yourself, the idea is to complete 1/2 turn and be backwards before your right foot touches down onto the bench. That's what you'll be doing in the air when you do an axel.

As far as not killing yourself, the idea is to complete 1/2 turn and be backwards before your right foot touches down onto the bench. That's what you'll be doing in the air when you do an axel.[/QUOTE]

So........ basically its like doing a waltz jump
(my friends tell me im slow )
im better at seeing than hearing

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sorry messed up on the Quote
don't know wat happened......

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Skating is suppose to be fun , no PRESSURE at all

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So........ basically its like doing a waltz jump
(my friends tell me im slow )
im better at seeing than hearing [/QUOTE]


Yes, it's like a waltz jump, EXCEPT THAT:
(1) You take off straight up, not forward. Bending your right knee (assuming you take off from your left foot) helps lift you straight up, not out.
(2) You're landing with your free leg in front, with the knee bent so that your free foot is right in front of your shin (single loop position, not crossed).

is that all you do(man I'm sloooooooow) thanx for explaining it to me .I hope it works
~cutie

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Skating is suppose to be fun , no PRESSURE at all

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