As discussed in another thread,

http://skatingforums.com/showthread.php?t=28487

I was using the wrong muscles (just quads to support bent knee weight) to create motion and weight support, resulting in knee pain, inefficiency and balance issues.

I routinely wear thick sweatsuits, both for warmth and to reduce injury potential. Also, my personal body image does not put me, a guy, in tights.

But if I wore thinner stuff, would most coaches have been able to see the incorrect muscle use, and the incorrect kneecap motion it produced, or does that take something like a PT?

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Mitch Grunes ModifyingBoots FallingGently HomePage

I think a combo of both might help. Regarding clothing, maybe more 'fitted' clothing may help the coaches see if you are in proper alignment. Not tights, especially for men. I don't even think that is allowed in competition anyway. But a fitted/natural fit sweat pant or work out pant would work. If you are wearing like the sweat suit material baggy pants to skate in it does make it harder to see your 'line'.

How bout the coaches out there? What do you think? And for the top if you are wearing the traditional sweatshirt that does nothing for your 'line'. Sports stores like Sports Authority, Modells have many flattering styles that you may feel comfortable in.

A Pt could definitely see your imbalances and help you to work on strengthening them. Does this help?

I don't allow my students to wear baggy clothing, because I can't see their body line properly. Not sure I would have actually seen specific muscle useage, even so.

Not a coach, so I can't help with what is seen when wearing more fitting clothes, but I can say that I have seen some of the boys(and men) at the rink wear more fitting clothing. One boy(14) wears Under Armor pants and shirts. The other one(12/13) wears more of a jogging type pant, fitting but not skin tight. I would think his coach could still see more of a line in those then he would in bulkier clothes. Good luck!

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skating mom to 3 angels on earth and 1 in heaven

I doubt that I could see the details of muscle use, but baggy clothes definitely obscure things like knee position, which you I can see in skaters wearing either tights or close fitting pants. Knees over toes, is the mantra. I think you would even be better off in tight, stretch jeans.

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I think a very well trained instructor may be able to tell muscle use- I had a ballet teacher who would call people out for clenching certain muscles - though pink tights certainly highlight it even more than beige or black ones, but I also think it is unlikely a skating instructor has that sort of training unless they have some speciality training.

However, I think tighter than sweat pants, but not tights, clothes will help instructors teach you overall. It's easier to see the line, the knee bend, the hip alignment, etc if you can see the shape of the leg.

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-Jessi
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Personally, you need to wear what's comfortable but baggy clothing does obscure the lines the coaches need to see. In the reverse, my rink used to have voluminous knee length coats that the coaches had to wear, and it made it more difficult for me to understand when my coach was demonstrating. When they got new, hip length, more fitted jackets, which are just as warm, I was able to see more of what she was demonstrating, so was able to understand it more quickly.

I did have a bulky jacket last winter, but she found a picture of a cabin and a moon on it, and could always tell by where those pictures were positioned on my back if my posture was good or bad - darn, I couldn't hide it from her, ha ha.

My coach firmly says he would rather people wore what they were comfortable in, thank you. Okay, he can see better with tighter-fitting clothes, but he knows some folk simply aren't comfortable with that sort of thing.

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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!

None of the men or boys at my rink (they are few in number) wear tights/under armour but they do wear snug sweats or jogging-type pants. One man wears jeans (he is below ISI Gamma right now).

Actually, one of the coaches wears baggy shorts that end just above the knee, but our rink is rather warm...

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

A lot of people at my rink wear jeans, including the coaches. The last time I wore jeans was about 10 years ago. They were too tight for skating, and when I attempted to do a tap behind, I raised my free leg too high and did a split on ice - meaning I fell back on my rear so hard I split both my jeans and my underwear. It really had nothing to do with the jeans, but I just can't bring myself to wear them skating again - just a mind thing I can't get rid of.

Thanks for your helpful comments.

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Mitch Grunes ModifyingBoots FallingGently HomePage