Skate Plateuing

[rf3ray]

Has anyone had the experience of like getting good at skating for a few weeks then going through a bad patch and then going good again.... Does it feel like their plateuing? I dunno, is it me having too much skating? Anyone!?!?!

[phoenix]

all. the. time. Welcome to skating! This is your life. :giveup:

[NoVa Sk8r]

Has anyone had the experience of like getting good at skating for a few weeks then going through a bad patch and then going good again.... Does it feel like their plateauing? I dunno, is it me having too much skating? Anyone!?!?!Your stretches last *only* a few weeks? Count yourself lucky! ;)

[skaternum]

Dude, this is how you make progress in skating. Two steps forward. One step back. One step forward. Stay there for 3 months. One step forward. ...

[Mrs Redboots]

My coach likens it to a mountain range with a plateau in between each peak - but each plateau is a higher level than the one before. You reach a peak, then you go down a bit, then you climb a little higher and reach another peak, and go down a bit again (but not so far as you were before), and so on.

[coskater64]

Skating is soooo totally that way--you level off and then you get a little better, then worse, then back to better. I hit a high mark about a year ago w/ some nice doubles then lost them when I lost my vision due to a mishap w/ my eye surgery. Now the jumps are coming back, a year later, and I am having eye surgery again, will the jumps stay? Or will they go? This is why I have been doing dance and spinning so hard they seem to be less effected by my utter lack of depth perception and the fact that the wall is always to close to me. So while my jumps remain ghastly, every thing else gets stronger and I know with time the jumps will come. But those highs and lows can be painful and difficult to deal w/. I use videotape to watch the slow but steady process. You are not alone.

la

[rf3ray]

Yeah its good to hear that.... you sorta think to yourself.... (why the hell am I killing myself over this) aaah oh well looks like tomorrow back to basic stroking something that I can make look good, even if I get the elements here and there :frus: :) :giveup:

[NCSkater02]

I broke my ankle in January, so I had to go waaaaayyy back down the mountain. In a way, it was good, because a lot of my basic skills have gotten better since I couldn't jump for a long time after I was allowed to skate again. Now, I'm headed back up the mountain....at least until the next plateau.

[Chico]

Yep =-) This is the story of skating and if your not paitent when you start this sport you will learn to become more so. Either that, or you will jump off one of those peaks Redboots was talking about. I am NOT a paitent person, and this has been one of the biggest challenges of this sport for me. While being paitent isn't one of my good points being persistent IS. Another important aspect to have as a skater. Your normal, =-), good luck and have fun.

[Figuresk8_katie]

So after reading this "plateauing" thread I decided to visit Sasha Cohen's website. I was reading her journal from today and this is an EXACT quote!

"Summer training is like I’m at the bottom of the mountain working my way up."

I thought it was VERY appropriate to this conversation plus rather enthusing to know that a skater as talented as Sasha faces the same "mountains" when training!

Anyway...I just thought it was interesting!

-Katie

[stardust skies]

It's good to keep in mind that Sasha is talking about the state of her conditioning, and her triple jumps. She can always land her singles and doubles, and obviously do her spins and all her footwork. What she refers to is called periodization. It is intended to let a skater not overwork their body during the off season, so that they may peak during the on season. This means that during the off season, the athlete isn't spending as much time on the ice and not attempting as many triple jumps, and not trying harder combinations, or running through programs. It is an *intended* period of rest. It's not as if she suddenly lost her technique. When the season os about to begin once again (usually about 6 weeks before the season starts), the athelte kicks up their cardiovascular training to get ready to get through those 4 minute programs, and to lose any excess weight (I'm talking 5 pounds...not anything major) they might have incured during the off season. Then they'll start doing their triples again, and after a month or so they should be back to good form. Then, if all goes well, they peak right around Nationals. They then go through a much smaller version of the "off season" so they can "cool down" before training back up for the Olys and Worlds.

It's all controlled, all intended, and all decided by the skater. It's the way most elite athletes run their training, altering the dates depending on when their important events are. But it's not something you should do if you're still working your way up the ranks. You're not going to hear about an Intermediate skater going through periodization. Periodization is for people who are at the top already.

As to what you are going through...it does happen to everyone. All you can do is try and determine exactly what makes you plateau. Is it when you're happy you landed a new jump and so your mind thinks it doesn't have to work as hard? You can usually pinpoint why you're plateau-ing. Once you figure it out, work on correcting whatever is affecting you. EVENTUALLY, when you get more experienced, you can recognize the onset of a plateau and force your mind and body out of it. I still plateau sometimes, but it *never* lasts more than a couple of days, because I can force myself out of it. Before I went through the process though, I could plateau for months and not even realize it. It's a horrible, frustrating feeling. But it's within your control, and recognizing that is the first step to reclaiming your training and realizing that YOU decide how fast you are going to progress- all reasonable limits factored, of course. ;) GOOD LUCK!