I have created an online community of folks who participate in the sport of figure skating as adults at the recreational or competitive level as well as those who would like to start or return to the ice. It is a place to exchange information, experiences and encouragement.
Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas!
4 MORE DAYS!!!!!
(Before I leave for the ISU International Adult Figure Skating Competition!!!!!!)
This week I would like to pay thanks to all my coaches and some of the amazing people at my training center who are such an inspiration and encouragement to me! Continue reading
As of today, I will be leaving for the ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition 2012 in 11 days! Right off the top, I have to say that I am really excited about competing at this event. Everyone I’ve talked to who has been there has raved over what a great competition it is and how much fun they had. I’ve wanted to attend for the past few years, but everything finally fell into place this year.
Unlike the World Figure Skating Championships or the Olympics, you do not need to qualify at the National level to compete there and they are always held in the same place, Obertsdorf, Germany, every year. The skater decides what level they will compete at, based on the requirements of each level. There are events for Singles, Dance, Pairs, Synchro and Interpretive, and even former world champions are encouraged to compete. Fortunately for us lesser mortals, they have their own category. Former World Champion and Olympian, Midori Ito competed last year and is scheduled to compete again this year.
I really enjoy competing, even more so than testing. I usually try to do 2-3 local competitions every year, although they are not always adult events due to lack of availability. So, in general, I don’t find the experience nerve wracking; exhilarating yes, but not the near death experience that a test session can be.
But … there are still lots of new things to think about:
Then there are the relatively minor issues; things like packing the right clothes and gear, and staying healthy – the things that need to be remembered for any competition, whether it be local or distant.
Oh yeah, and having fun. This I’m not worried about at all; from what people tell me, this is guaranteed!
I’m also looking forward to posting lots of pictures and reports on the website. I recognize some of the names of commenters on the competition schedule and I’m looking forward to meeting you and seeing you skate in person.
How are your Obertsdorf preparations going?
Keywords: competition, figure skating, adult
To celebrate the end of my series on flexibility for adult figure skaters I made a little movie of some of my current stretching exercises. I have many obscure talents but film-making up until now has not been one of them, have to admit that my crew and I actually had fun filming it. Editing it today was another story but I got the job done in time to go to a real movie with real actors doing an amazing and inspirational job.
In case you were wondering, I saw Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Go see this movie it is great! I don’t think I’ve ever not liked anything that Ewan Macgregor has ever been in, OK maybe Angels and Demons but that wasn’t his fault, it was a really dumb movie!
Back to our regularly scheduled topic!
I would like to thank my husband for his patience as a cameraman, director, wardrobe manger and for his patience in putting up with this afternoon’s rant on all the things that were wrong with Windows MovieMaker.
As always, your comments and suggestions are always welcome. If you want to submit a video of a figure skating related topic or of your new program please consider sharing it with us!
Well, I’m still stretching out this topic over another week! Did you know that there are different types of stretches? Different authors have their own terminology for the ways in which a stretch can be done. For practical purposes, I have narrowed it down to four main types.
Dynamic stretching: Dynamic stretching consists of leg and arm swings that take you to the limits of your range of motion not beyond like in ballistic stretching…. All the swings are done in a controlled and gentle manner and nothing is forced. Some examples of dynamic stretching would be slow, rhythmic leg swings, large arm circles, or torso twists. As mentioned in my April 10th post, dynamic stretching is well suited to a warm up. 8-12 repetitions are recommended.
Active stretching: An active stretch is one where you assume a position and then hold it there with no assistance. In figure skating, a good example would be extending and holding your leg behind you as if you were landing a jump. Thanks to the miracle of reciprocal inhibition, the contraction of the lifting muscles in your leg helps to relax the tight muscles that are preventing you from getting your leg nice and high and stretched. It’s a real win-win situation. Holding this for ten seconds is all that is necessary.
Passive (or relaxed) Stretching: In this stretch, something or someone is holding the body part in the stretched position. Dancers use the barre to support their leg while they stretch it. As an Occupational Therapist, I used to passively stretch injured finger joints when I worked in a hand-injury clinic. Slow, passive stretching is also a helpful way to relax muscle cramps and for cool downs.
PNF stretching (contract-relax): PNF stands for proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, which is the fastest and most effective way known to increase flexibility. The term PNF stretching seems to have been appropriated from the rehabilitation world. Originally, it was developed as a method of treating increased muscle tone typically seen in stroke patients or kids with cerebral palsy.
Like many things in life, PNF stretching works better when you do it with a friend. This is how it works:
Start by passively stretching the muscle. While still in the stretched position, contract that same muscle for 7-15 seconds. Relax for 2-3 seconds and then get your helper to passively stretch the muscle a little further, hold this new position for 10-15 seconds. Be sure and wait 20 seconds before attempting the same stretch again.
Remember that if you really aspire to that donut or Beilmann spin, to first check with your rehab practitioner, who can determine if there is any reason why you should not attempt certain flexibility exercises. For example, certain types of joint surgery will cause a permanent limitation in joint mobility. As well, some people are just naturally more flexible. However, anyone can improve flexibility and even if you never do those big flashy figure skating moves, your skating will improve in other ways and you lessen your chance of injuries.
I hope this sheds some light on the topic of stretching and that you feel looser and maybe even a little lighter on your feet, as you improve your stretching regimen. This is not a one-size-fits-all situation; find the combination of stretches that best suits your body. Stay loose and enjoy your skating!
Please tell me if you find this too simple, or too complicated. I want this to be as fun for you to read as it is for me to write. Next week, we’ll look at some specific exercises for figure skating.
Although I have not trained ice dance for the last five years or so I always like to pop into the Yahoo Ice Dancers site to see what’s happening in the world of adult ice dance. A few weeks ago one of the members a quick screening test to assess the mental and physical status of your ice dance partner. I understand that this screening test was developed through years of arduous field research. Continue reading 
Alrighty figure skaters, now that you are all warmed up, it is finally time to stretch those stiff joints! Let’s start with some basic principles. Continue reading
It just struck me that the northern hemisphere is in the process of warming up as I write this week’s post. This is appropriate, since today’s topic is … the pre-stretch warm-up. I realize that the metaphor falls flat for any southern hemisphere figure skaters, but you will be getting your very own metaphor when I cover the topic of cool-downs, so just hang in there. Continue reading
My next few blogs will be on the topic of good care and maintenance of your muscles. But first, I thought we might need this quick overview of what muscles are, as a background preparation. For those of you with a science background this will be a pretty basic review. For the squeamish or non scientists out there, I have tried to spare you the gory details.
Muscles come in many different shapes and sizes. There are cardiac muscles, for the heart, and smooth muscle in the chest and abdomen. The muscles we will discuss today are the ones you have control over and are aware of when you do physical activity. The diagram at the lest shows a picture of the biceps muscle (the muscle that bends your elbow). Continue reading
Can we adult figure skaters improve flexibility? Why would we want to? It hurts!!! Come on people, we spent the past month huffing and puffing our way to improved endurance and stamina! Remember, “What doesn’t kill you ….” (You know the rest of it, right?). Be encouraged dear readers, improving your flexibility will neither kill nor hurt you! Now how often do you get that kind of great news?
Photo at right: Wishful thinking?
Improving flexibility helps to prevent injury. For figure skaters, there is another incentive: improving flexibility can be essential in order to get credit for an element (for example, a spiral sequence) under the CPC (Cumulative Points Calculation) system of judging. Improved flexibility can also help in obtaining a higher level in a spin, by allowing the skater to perform a difficult variation and thereby increase the level of the spin. Continue reading
For the month of March, our theme of sorts has been building endurance and stamina. Along the way I have received some great comments and suggestions which I thought would be fun to share.
This first comment was in response to my observation that a three minute program, much to my surprise was no easier than a three and a half minute program: Continue reading
