Say,I was wondering how skaters keep from having to stop to rest on the ice from skating in the middle of their Programs? I mean,when I skate,I have to stop and rest every once in a while. How do famous skaters, even with all the pratice know there not going to have to stop and rest,and just do it non-stop?

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FSWer

You build up to it. You work segments.

And remember, a program is only a few minutes long. You work very hard during those few minutes, but a practice session is much longer than that so you're used to it. Some skaters also cross train in other sports. I have started running, for instance. Skating my program feels really easy now that I can run a couple of miles!

For the same reason runners don't have to stop and rest during a race!

When you do double or triple run-throughs and re-skate segments for your coach in practice with no rest in between, doing your program in competition isn't so bad. (Coaches are MEAN! )

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

At first, you just skate a program that is about a minute and a half. You may not be able to get all the way through it, so you just do the first half, rest a little, then do the second half. After doing that for awhile, your stamina improves so that you can skate the whole thing without stopping. You gradually increase the length of your program as you become a higher levle skater, and your stamina increases so that by the time you are a Senior level skater (like the skaters at the Olympics), you can skate a 4-minute or 4-1/2 minute program without stopping.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

Do the Judges except skaters doing that?

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FSWer

She means when they're first learning the program and practicing it. By the time they actually skate the program in a competition, they are able to skate it all the way through without stopping.

How is it possible even THEN to skate all the way through without stopping? Practice or not...your body tires.

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FSWer

The same way a soccer player plays for 90 minutes or a marathon runner runs for 26.2 miles. Elite athlete training is rigorous and they are in incredible shape. It's just about training the strength and stamina.

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Youtube Videos

Some triathlons are 112 miles of biking, followed immediately by 2.5 miles of swimming, followed immediately by 26.2 miles of running. If the human body can do that, there's no way 4.5 minutes of skating is a problem for people who train for it. Notice though the elite skaters are still always panting by the time they finish, and they're in much better shape than most of us.

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I'm a boy, and I can figure skate if I want to.

See here

You may well still be getting tired quickly because your style of skating isn't yet efficient. As you become a better skater, not only can you do it for longer without getting out of breath or tired because your muscle tone and aerobic fitness have improved but it also takes less effort to do certain movements as you have improved the way you do them.

When I started skating a year ago I was out of breath after about ten minutes. I can now stay on the ice as long as I like. Why? My technique has improved and my endurance has improved. That's what practice does for you

Sarah

Yes, your body will tire, but as you advance in your training it takes longer for it to get tired. Take my running, which is a new activity for me. The first time I did it, I only ran for 3 minutes without stopping and I was tired. The next time, I ran for 5 minutes. Then 8. By increasing my time little by little, I was able to go longer before I got tired. Now I can run for 25 minutes without stopping.

It's the same with skating. Each time you skate, see if you can last a little bit longer before you have to take a rest break. You'll see that you'll be able to last longer and longer. It's the same for all athletes - we train until we're able to do what we need to do.

And if you really ARE tired, it's perfectly okay to take a break! We're more likely to have accidents if we're overly tired, and you don't want to get hurt.

Keep in mind that the famous skaters skate EVERY day and have been doing that for many many years. They've built up their endurance over a long time.

Program lengths increase with the levels. A Beginner program in Basic Skills is only a minute long and generally the kids have trouble skating fast enough to do the elements they need in that time. As they get better, it gets easier. Then as they test, the programs get longer usually by about 30 seconds. So the skaters have had time over the years to adjust to skating longer and longer periods without resting.

Yep; all the above is true, PLUS learning to breathe; finding spots in your program to remind yourself to breathe! (i'm still working on that; it's hard to focus on what's next PLUS breathing!). The demands just keep increasing! lol

Actually, it's swim-bike-run in that order with Ironman (the distance you are speaking of) having a common start time with pros starting 15 minutes before the 2000 person horde. Average finish time around 12.5-13 hours.

Basically, as everyone has said, you work up to it. If you have a really astute coach, the choreograph breathing places in the program. You don't stop per se, but you do have something planned where you get a deep breath in.

Panting...that's the word I was looking for. Thanks Tec. Can you explain choreograghing breathing? How it works.

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FSWer

It means that when you plan the movements of the program and where the different elements will happen you mix up the easy and hard things. If you do all the hard things right in a row, it's harder than if there are some easy things planned in between to give you time to catch your breath. Many skaters also plan their programs so that their hardest moves come near the beginning before they get real tired. Of course, you get more points if you do a jump near the end of your program, because it's harder to do when you're tired.

So you basicly put resting in as PART of your Program.right?

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FSWer

That's right. Like techskater said, you don't stop, but since you're doing something easier you get a little bit of a rest. My coach always yells "breathe, breathe!" during spirals because it's a good time to catch my breath when I'm just gliding along.

Exactly - there are some transitions that lend themselves to a good breathing spot such as a point where you turn back to front or front to back while doing Mohawks/three turns. It looks like you're really "doing" something but you can get a deep breath.