NoVa: All I gotta say is Wow! Thank you for the very insightful posts.

blisspix: My answer to your original question is YES! do take advantage of using your gym.

My story is that I wanted to participate in a sport that did not "feel" like exercise. I was either going to take up swimming or skating. I knew that in either sport, I was going to be wearing somewhat revealing clothing and I have a greater fear of drowning than I do a fear of falling. I chose skating.

When I first started skating 3 years ago I weighed around 145 lbs. I started watching what I was eating and noticed I was drinking water more regularly. I felt better about myself. A year into skating I decided I wanted to be a better skater. I hated exercise for the sake of exercise alone. The treadmill is so dang boring! Like the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink. Hoever, you can make him thirsty. Skating is what was the big motivator for me to exercise, gain strength and become more flexible. Continuing monitoring my calorie intake, combined with my gym routine, I lost 20 lbs in the process. I feel stronger and better than ever. If I had children I could run after them to catch them and not feel winded, I can out ski the husband after 3 hours and he's fatigued and I could go on til the night ski session. Friends are still telling me that I look great. Going shopping and having trouble finding something in size small is a wonderful problem. (sometimes )

My skating schedule:
Monday: rest day
Tuesday 1 hour freestyle (early sessions before work)
Wednesday 1 hour freestyle
Thursday 1 hour freestyle
Every other Friday Club session or early am freestyle
Saturday 2 hour freestyle
Sunday 2 1/2 hour public session

Gym schedule:
Tuesday: Pilates, Kickboxing, Freeweights
Thursday: Freeweights, Kickboxing, Yoga
I am doing free-weights with the notion that I would ever skate pairs someday. That, plus people think I am wierd practicing loop jump rotations just before kickboxing class in the room with all the mirrors...but who cares.

I was taking a ballet class but they moved it from Monday nights to Thursdays.

For the sake of maintaining your physical and mental well being. using your nearby gym is a great idea.
Sk8pdx

ITA--I can't wait until I can start going running again, as I had some nagging ankle tendonitis that kept me from running/walking for most of the summer. My coach makes me do laps after I do a program, but still, that's only like maybe 5 minutes of continuous motion, so it's not anywhere near having target heart rate for 20-30 minutes. It was a little better when I was working more intensively on moves before my last test because that kept me in motion longer...

(p.s., from one editor to another, nice use of continously vs. continually, NoVa )

As for the OP's question, blisspix, you could try it out for a little while and see if it meets your needs. Perhaps start out with a few goals and see if you find that going to the gym helps. Because of my full schedule, I'm much better at sticking to workouts that don't require me to go anywhere (e.g., running/walking, weights at home, Pilates at home), but when I did have access to a gym during uni, I found it to be quite helpful.

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LOL. Well after all the amazing comments here (and thanks so much for info about your routines too!!!) I'm thinking I will join up.

I definitely like the idea of getting stronger to prevent injuries.

I bought the Conditioning book a while back bit it's just been... erm... sitting on the shelf. I should really go through it and use the therabands too.

thanks everyone!

Now that's what I did instead of the gym .... ballet, jazz, contemporary, yoga, pilates etc etc etc. Give me dance classes over the gym anytime You still tone up, get strong and have the added benefit of flexibility.

If your work gym is incredibly cheap then you're not going to lose by joining especially if they do yoga and pilates which it sounds like you would do

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The best whisper is a click

I don't like the freestanding one b/c it hurts my neck. (I assume you're talking about THIS Squat Machine.)

Oh, 45 degree leg press machine??? When I'm at my "wimp" point (like I am now...) I leg press 2x20 rep at 180 lbs. When I wasn't at my all time high, I did 2x20 at 210lbs. (Keep in mind though, I'm about the same weight range as Marna.) I don't push quick either, but I don't hold for more than 5 seconds either... When I have more time to work out at the gym I'll try simulating holding for about 10 and then 20 seconds. (This is my "impress (or shock) the guys at the gym" exercise.)

I just did walking lunge squats going across the aerobic room tonight. (Back and forth about 5 times.) I haven't tried Roman deadlifts or hack squats yet. I rarely have time to watch TV short of having something on to put me to bed. (Ironically, it's usually the Food Channel! Hey! Gotta have some nice food dreams... )

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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!!!

Since someone asked...
Yes, I lift weights too. But not as much as NoVa does.

I try to get to the gym for lifting two or three times a week, and do chest/bicep/shoulder/tricep/trapezius exercises, plus a little bit of calf and hamstring work. Generally I do one or two exercises per muscle group, primarily with dumbbells rather than machines (except for the leg work). And I do cardio at home on a recumbent bike. I really hate cardio, so I either watch DVDs or shows I have TIVO'd; a one-hour show equates to about a 45-minute workout.

And I always stretch after cardio, and before skating, and other times when possible.

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I need a detachable left foot!

The Smith machine is good, but since it makes you conform to the up-and-down track, it can cause back strain.

That's a good one, and it also doubles as a calf machine: Put your toes at the end of the platform and push away! My gym has another one where you are sitting in a chair and your legs are parallel to the floor, instead of sitting enar the floor staring up at that big weight stack.

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I lift a little....lol

Before I began skating I would weight train for size and strength and was at one time 203 lbs at 5'11''

Now that I skate 4 times a week the cardio of skating keeps me at about 193lbs. I train for the strength and not so much the size anymore. I am finding that leg strength along with core/abs training has helped my spins and spiral greatly. I use a stretch machine that helps too.

I do heavy weights 4 times a week, two body parts each day plus abs/core every time I lift. I think I look pretty good for creeping up on 40yrs old! Quad strength has become important to keep my knees stable. The good upper body strength helped me press lift "LoopLoop" the first time I ever tried off ice lifts! It was fun...I dont want to do pairs!

lol

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Why are you skating so slowly? Get out of my way!

If you skate faster, it makes everything look better!

This is exactly why my coach has all her students -- me included -- do kill drills. You have to learn how to do your jumps when tired or else you'll never get them consistant in the program. It's painful, but it really works come Game Day.

I would LOVE to do weights off-ice with a trainer, or Pilates. But I just don't have enough money or time leftover to do it. I swim at the free public pool once a week because it really helps control a nagging neck injury I have. So I do what I can with the resources I have.

Really, we should include a little aerobic skating every session. I am finding that doing a lot of edge work with Husband is really aerobic - I must wear a heart-rate monitor next session, I think.

Years ago, someone on the old udel mailing list said that "You go skating so you don't have to go to a gym, and then you end up going to a gym anyway, so as to improve your skating!"

I don't do as much off-ice as I should, but try to do some strength & flexibility training, as does the Husband.

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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!

Yup! (And it's working too - I joined our local circuit gym earlier this year, and have found that their machines are picking up the muscle groups I don't use as a skater.)

You lift a little what??? A little car? Little truck?

Dude, I've seen pictures of you... I wouldn't wanna mess with 'ya in a dark alley!!! EEEEK!!!

Great! Now I have this image of you at the gym bench pressing reps with LoopLoop as the weight!!! (Not recommending that, of course...)

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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!!!

LOL that definitely rings true to me!

It's funny, I don't think of any other exercise I do as being for its own benefit, but only to help my skating, whether I'm running, doing yoga, ballet, or riding my bike! Oh well, I guess it keeps me motivated

The more and more you say this, the less and less I am convinced!

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Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.
"Do what you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
-Haha, I've *arrived*! I am listed as a reference on Wikipedia.

This is an interesting thread. I have been saying for a while that I MUST start off-ice training (apart from occasionally practising jumps in my living room lol!).

I have problems with stamina, which is partly due to not being able to breathe properly, but mainly due to being unfit. I am also ungainly and inflexible, so need to work on that.

So, from next week I'm going to start. I really don't enjoy the gym at all so am looking at doing step for stamina and this yoga/pilates class for flexibility. I am also going to visit a trampolining club....

S xxx

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Can I come too??? What fun, now my wife won't yell at me for jumping on the bed
Lyle

The person who my Husband skated the Zimmer trophy with is a qualified trampoline teacher and keeps one in her back garden! I believe it helps with diving more than skating, but can be helpful with jumps and stuff.

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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 used to trampoline. I competed at it until I was about 17. I think it helps with fear and can be good for jumps!

Anyone here work with balance balls at their gym?
I've just started and I'm looking for ideas once I get my confidence up on using it.

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I don't go to a gym, but I do have a balance ball which I'm supposed to use at home. Just standing on it is pretty much an achievement, I find - or even sitting on it, if I put it on my chair..... Standing on one foot is pretty impossible.

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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!

YES YES YES, there are several different ones to try, only word of caution is always be ready to bail off it, so don't put it next to the mirror, a rack of weights or whatever. I also recommend that you always wear shoes using them as they tend to make your foot curl otherwise.

one of my favorites is the dynadisk (looks like a deflated ball about 15" wide and 2" thick). THis is a great place to begin as you can start off with your heel or toes at the edge and can rock onto them when you lose your balance. My favorite exercise is to stand on 2 feet and do shoulder presses with light weights while keeping my head up focusing on myself in the mirror. If you have knee problems they are also great for "terminal knee extensions" - i.e. you stand on the disk on your bad leg and extend (go up) on that leg completely locking the knee for a second or two. The important part is the locking of the knee, the motion is small.

My other favorite is the "Bosu Ball" which looks like half a swiss ball on a hard platform on the other side. With the hard side down you can use it as a trampoline jump 2 footed on then back off - the trick is to land with your feet close together. Lots of fun and feels like playtime - be sure to laugh while you do this it'll keep you relaxed! I don't know the name of the hardest exercise I can do - you balance on one foot, bend your knee and touch your free hand outside your standing foot then rise up with arms over your head and free knee up to tummy. If you can do this with the ball flipped over (round side down) then you are a superstar in my book!. Enjoy it, its supposed to be hard
Lyle

I only use the ball for back extensions, stomach crunches, and for chest stretches (my chest muscles are really tight and I have to work extra hard to keep them stretched and open).

I can't imagine trying to balance on one....I have a hard enough time with the above exercises!!!

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

If you want to balance on them (which is often done in off-ice drills), use a slightly deflated ball and try kneeling first. Once you learn how to control your and redirect your weight, then you can graduate to a standing balance.

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Yeap this is the one I've been just doing two foot stands on. We'll see what happens.

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"