I decided to start a new thread about this in hopes of getting more input on the issue. It's buried inside an unrelated topic at the moment and I really would love to hear what people have heard about it.

Is swimming detrimental to skaters or not? Why or why not? The most recent thing I have heard is that Swimming and Skating use opposing muscle groups and if a skater is also a swimmer, it could lead to injuries.

We tested the no swimming theory this weekend. My daughter who is a 9 year old juvenile level skater, went swimming for most of the day yesterday. She was having so much fun that I couldn't see not letting her stay in the pool. She's not a very good swimmer. I mean she wasn't vigorously swimming for hours on end. She was splashing around and practicing swimming from side to side in the shallow end. She only got out long enough for rest periods I insisted on and to eat. She slept for the entire 2 hour ride home and then crashed into bed as soon as we got home. She got 10 1/2 hours sleep.

This morning, when she went for her lesson, she STUNK! She told her coach that her legs felt like jello and she could barely move. She wasn't sore or anything, she said she felt good but when she tried to jump, she was weak. Her jumps are usually huge but this morning, she was getting no lift off the ice. She was overrotating, prerotating and generally pitiful. She was upset but I told her that I think her muscles were tired from so much swimming. Is there a better explanation for what happened today?

She plans to skate after school. Is she likely to continue where she left off this morning? I told her that I thought her muscles would be back to normal after school. That, of course, is wishful thinking.

Incedentally, the coach's response when my daughter told her about her day of swimming was, "Did you enjoy it?" (Daughter: "Yes!") "Then it was worth it."

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Babyskater's Mom

Great response from the coach! Kids should be allowed to have fun.

But yes, I've heard many times from long time coaches/skaters (though havn't read any studies to prove it) that swimming and skating use opposing muscle groups and therefore your legs are basically jello the next day and it's difficult to get any spring off the ice.

I've never heard that it would lead to injuries, however.

My first coach said that it was a good idea not to swim on the same day before a competition, because of this effect of loosening up the muscles. In his youth, he and fellow competitors had noticed they performed less well as a result.

However, he thought it was very good to swim after skating because of the all over stretching and muscle workout, and because it worked other parts of the body, and in particular the arms, shoulders and knee flexibility.

One year, after a competition, I spent a long time in the sauna, and swimming, and drinking champagne in the jacuzzi, and I couldn't have skated next day if you'd paid me. Luckily, I didn't have to. Told my coach about it afterwards and he said that he did the same thing once before a competition and skated really badly (mind you, one can do that without a jacuzzi the night before; I just have!). But he says always skate first and then swim, and, like doobedoo, I've found it does help to stretch out after a hard workout, at a camp, for instance.

(I have just learnt that my sister has had a pool installed at her bed-and-breakfast establishment. More trouble than it's worth, I would have thought, but my brother has one so I suppose she has to!)

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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!

Also, let's face it, swimming is a sport you can do for life, whereas skating tends to desert people at some point or other (Quote: "Why did you give up skating?" Answer: "I didn't give it up. *It* gave *me* up!".) Plus swimming opens the door to other water sports, like sailing, water-skiing, diving etc.

I think it makes a difference if you swim regularly or whether you just do it once in awhile. It never hindered my other sports performance because I did it almost every day, and was conditioned for it. But if you aren't conditioned to swimming regularly, I would imagine it would exhaust muscles that aren't used to that activity. That's my theory, and I think the poster on the other thread who swims and skates regularly is an example.

When it comes to the hottub, a 10-15 min. session doesn't seem to do any harm, but longer than that tends to make me more relaxed and tired rather than rejuvinated.

Just wanted to add that I think swimming skills are essential for everyone. I know being a good swimmer saved my life as an adult while we were boating, and I insist my kids know how to swim well. I'm a bit behind in getting the youngest to be as proficient as I want, but I'm working on it.

I totally agree. Your child should be able to swim at least 25 metres long before s/he goes anywhere near an ice rink!

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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!

I have never heard that swimming is bad for skating except right before a competition because it relaxes the muscles.

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"Keep a positive attitude!" ~ Marie-France

We have an above-ground pool in our yard. It's strictly a social device - at 18 ft. diameter, it isn't big enough for anything like serious fitness. Taz Jr. lives in there in the afternoons and weekends over the summer. I can't say that we've ever noticed any adverse effects on her summer skating due to hanging out in the pool, but I'm also of the opinion that she's *supposed* to have time to hang out in the pool over the summer. If she happens to not land her double lutz on the day after swimming, so be it. We aren't Olympic bound - she should be having some fun over the summer.

I do agree that kids ought to learn basic swimming skills for their own safety. I'd like to see Jr. be a little more comfortable in water over her head than she is. Hopefully that is something she will never "need" but you never really know.

Hi Everyone,

The material that I have read on this subject usually has said that to train for swimming is detrimental to figure skating (not just hanging out in the pool). The reason being that Skating needs what's known as the "fast twitch muscle response" (think plyometrics) where as swimming trains the muscles to do the opposite. There are some terrific excercises for skaters that you can do in the pool, I know Lake Placid has a swim class meant for skaters (though they don't really swim in it). It's really the training such as distance swimming that is a problem for skaters.

You can train in the pool for jumping in the shallow end for multi rotational jumps. I also took as class once where they had us sit in those noodle things to train core body strength.

Let your daughter have fun in the pool. You are only young once and as someone said, knowing how to swim is a very neccesary life skill.

Lara

Quite right too! And even if you were Olympic-bound, she should have fun over the summer. And winter. Skating, and any other sport for that matter, should be fun for the child, and they should look forward to it with pleasure. I do except learn-to-swim classes, as I reckon every child should learn to swim, like it or not - but once you can, you usually do like it!

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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!

Most of the skaters I know, myself included, are not too good of swimmers. I don't spend very much time in the pool unless its to do jump rotations. I've also noticed that if I swim the day of, or the day before training or competing, my muscles feel slow and lazy-I basically can't do anything...

I kind of feel better on ice after my swim practices, I'm a competitive swimmer, it may be just me but I like swimming before I skate.

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beks~
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