How Often Do I Need to Do My Off-Ice Training Workouts?

If we all lived in a perfect world in which we had time for everything we wanted to do, we would need 30 hours in every day.  This busy generation of skaters has school, homework, skating, sport #2, musical instrument or drama club of choice, etc..... If you're an adult skater, you have work, kids, driving to kids' various activities above, meals, laundry, etc...  Oh yes, and we expect you to fit in some off-ice training?!

The problem is, without off-ice training, a skater wouldn't be as successful on the ice.  Most skaters need consistent work on flexibility, core strength, plyometrics, functional strength, and balance to keep up with their skating routine.  The question is, how much is enough, and how much is too much?

A skater who is seriously competitive at the level which they are training 4-6 days per week for regionals, sectionals, or nationals should be doing at least 3 days per week of some form of off-ice training, ideally 4-5.  Training should involve all areas of off-ice training: core, full body strength, flexibility work, plyometrics, and cardio.  Periodization rules should be followed to maximize performance throughout the season.

If you are a skater who is competitive and skates to do well at regionals, does other activities, and trains 3-5 days per week, 2-3 days of off-ice work is recommended.  Due to the limited time, it is important to complete the key exercises which will help better your performance.  It is beneficial to meet with a physical therapist or experienced strength trainer to determine your target weaknesses and deficits.  From there, you will know which exercises are most important for your body structure, and will do the most effective workout in a shorter period of time.  Note that every skater should include the appropriate core exercises in his or her routine, as well as exercises that promote proper body alignment and progress to the correct plyometric strengthening program.

Recreational skaters who skate 1-3 days per week typically are involved in many other activities, and have little time to spare.  If you fit in this category, attempt to include 1 off-ice training session in your busy schedule per week.  Since you do not skate as often, the dominant skating muscles may not be as strong as other skaters', and you may progress at a slower pace.  Even one off-ice session per week will benefit you more than none!

An adult skater typically has more responsibilities outside of skating, including family and work.  Sometimes it is hard to fit in one or two sessions per week (and I speak from experience)! If you also fall into that category, try to fit in at least one off-ice training session per week.  In the 'new age' of training, you can do all of the exercises you need in the comfort of your own home with minimal equipment.  If you are the busy skater with young kids under foot, exercise at home while they play!  It is very important for the adult skater to work on flexibility and strength training to prevent injury, which is more prevalent as we get older.

Off-ice training is important to your health and overall longevity in the sport.  Try to follow these general guidelines or guidelines given to you by a qualified health professional to fully develop your athletic potential. "You don't do sports to get fit, you get fit to stay in your sport"- (Attain Sports Performance 2009)

"Inner Champion, a Mental Toughness Training Manual for Figure Skaters"

Sk8Strong is excited to now include a great mental training book in our catalog. I luckily stumbled upon the book "The Inner Champion, a Mental Toughness Training Manual for Figure Skaters" a few months ago. This book, written by Choeleen Loundagin, is a comprehensive guide to sport psychology for figure skaters. Ms. Loundagin's book has received numerous testimonials from top coaches and skaters in the figure skating world, and is a must have for the competitive skater. Visit www.sk8strong.com/catalog.html for detailed information about this great product!

Sk8Strong DVDs Receive PSA Endorsement

Sk8Strong is happy to announce that our DVDs: The Competitive Skater, Developing the Youth Skater, Adult Training, and The Ultimate Dynamic Warmup, have received official endorsement from the PSA: Professional Skaters Association. This organization is the governing body for figure skating coaches around the world, and provides the skating community with quality education. Sk8Strong is proud to be associated with such an excellent orgainization, and pleased to have received their stamp of approval.

Interviews with Patrick Chan, Ashley Wagner, and Adam Rippon

Sk8Strong was happy to have spent a few days at the Liberty summer competition in Pennsylvania, watching some of the top US skaters while educating coaches and parents of proper off-ice training techniques. Patrick Chan, Ashley Wagner, and Adam Rippon were kind enough to take some time to talk with Sk8Strong about their off-ice training regimens.

Here's a great Q & A with Patrick Chan:

1) How many days per week to you do some form of off-ice training?
"I do different kinds of off-ice training at least 6 days a week. On weekdays I do off-ice work around mid day and later in the afternoon: on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I do yoga during my lunch break after my morning session; on Tuesday and Thursday I do a cardio work out instead of yoga. Now after I'm done skating during the day I see my personal trainer where we work on more specific areas of the body. Finally I get a day off on Sunday."

2) What does your typical off-ice training routine include?
"I don't quite know any of the exercises by name, I can sort of describe some of them for you. My off-ice routine usually includes squats, leg presses, plyomertrics (box jumps, hurdles...) and a bunch of body weight resisted exercises. Like chin ups, clapping push ups. I also use medicine balls and swiss balls in many of my exercises. And finally I use exercise bands with different resistance to work my upper body and abs."

3)Do you work with a physical therapist, strength and conditioning specialist, etc.?
"I definitely have physical therapists ready for me if i ever injure myself and i need to get treated immediately. My strength and conditioning "specialist" is basically my personal trainer. It's great because most of my trainers (at home, Florida and Delaware) have great knowledge of strengthening and conditioning. So I don't have to have multiple people working on me, I only need my trainer who has basically all the knowledge needed to help me. All in one!

4)How important is off-ice training to helping you maintain consistency in your skating, and do you find it a necessary component of your training?
"I find off-ice training super super important, even though some coaches disagree and are against high amounts of off-ice training. I don't know how I'd be able to do some of the things I do on the ice if I wasn't doing off-ice preparation. Off-ice training has allowed me to push my limits on the ice and help build stamina through my training sessions on the ice. Without it I'm quite sure I'd have some kind of injury and wishing that I'd had done off-ice training. With todays new judging system and great complexity in our programs, I believe it's a must to have some kind of off-ice training. Like I said, off-ice preparation prepares me for what I have to do on the ice and helps me with injury prevention."

5) Do you use weight machines or body weight resistance exercises?
"I use both weight machines and body weight resisted exercises. It's good to add some variety to your work out and incorporate both types of exercises in your workout. Some people might think that weight machines will bulk you up (as I, myself, thought before) but what I learned is that it's not the machine, it's the way you complete and do the exercises. I believe that machines work the general and larger muscles, and body weight resisted exercises work the smaller more specific muscles. I love both kinds equally and I usually switch back and forth depending on the day and how I feel. "

6) What do you do as a warmup before you skate?
"Before practice and competitions I usually start off with a bit of a run around the rink (around 6 laps) if possible. Usually when I first start warming up I'm quite groggy and sluggish, so I look into doing fast twitching exercises like one foot jumping, long jumps and squat jumps. As well as a few balancing exercises, just to make sure that my body is in tune and I can sharpen my sense of balance (especially in the morning). Finally I do light stretches since I try not to force myself too much into stretches especially when I've just woken up. Too painful! An extremely important stretch for myself is to stretch my neck. There has been way too many occasions where I've skipped the stretch and ended up with a tweaked neck at the end of the session. So no matter what, take the time to stretch your neck, especially with today's crazy footworks and complex body positions in spins. I've had many trainers and specialists tell me that a warm up should at least get you to break a sweat and get you feeling warm, so that's when I know I've almost finished my warm up."

*A special thanks to Patrick and his in-depth answers. Patrick will be incorporating Sk8Strong's dynamic warmup exercises into his routine.

Ashley Wagner is the US senior ladies pewter medalist and winner of the 2009 ladies freeskate. She currently trains in Delaware, and does some form of off-ice training every day! She keeps it light, running on the weekends, then spends her week in pilates and conditioning classes that emphasize core and lower body strengthening. She favors body weight resisted exercises versus machines, and uses the TRX training system, which consists of two sport cords with handles, which are perfect for the traveling skater! Ashley also added ballet and dance to her regimen last year, which she said 'greatly improved my artistry.' Sk8Strong agrees! Ashley works hard to prevent injury: "I work with a physical therapist. My back is my biggest problem, and that helps to maintain it. Off-ice training is equally important as on-ice training in maintaining consistency." Ashley is definately on the right track, and I look forward to seeing her skate this season.

Adam Rippon is the World junior champion and upcoming senior medal contender for the US. He includes off-ice training in his routine five days per week, and follows periodization guidelines by upping his training in the summer. He does "a lot of dynamic warmups and plyometrics" and also includes body weight resisted exercises in his workouts. Adam said he started taking his off-ice training seriously three years ago, which helped him gain consistency. "I also work with a physical therapist. If I didn't have my PT, I would break. It is very important to prevent injury!" Let's hope Adam keeps working with that therapist, as Sk8Strong would like to enjoy his skating for years to come.

How Off-Ice Training Really Works...

I thought I'd share my personal story with you. I delivered my wonderful daughter in April 2008. As I had returned to the ice and competed after my son was born, I figured getting back up to speed would be just as easy after the second child: wrong! I started skating again after three months after childbirth, with little strength training. It took me several weeks to get a feel for single jumps, let alone doubles, as my legs felt weak. After a month, I could do my double salchow, and tried in vain at the double loop and flip. To my surprise, they did not come very easily. I decided to take this season off and work on my off-ice strength and conditioning to get back in shape. My program consists of two days a week of a circuit of lower, upper body, and core interval training with plyometrics once a week. Very similar to the programs in "Adult Training".

My first day back skating (not including many hours of teaching) was the other day, after an eight month break. How excited was I when I was able to do double salchow, double loop, and double flip on the first attempts. No wobbly legs, and I felt like my old self after half of a session! This is the reason I diligently promote off-ice training. Without my strength and conditioning program, I would never have been able to pick up the jumps that quickly. Off-ice training is a necessary component to every skater's training program, and I would not be where I am today without it. Now on to double lutz-double toe tomorrow.....

How Old Does My Child Have to Be to Exercise?

There are several theories out there about how old children should be when they start weight training. When looking at those theories, you have to consider the exercise program. Should 7 and 8 year olds be lifting heavy weights? No. Should they be doing body weight resisted exercises that will help develop correct movement patterns? Definately! Also termed 'functional exercises,' these exercises are an excellent tool to help a skater develop correct biomechanical alignment movement at an early age. Why wait until a skater is 12 years old with knee problems? Head off injury in the teen-age years by promoting health and strength at an early age. A skater needs to develop balance and symmetry of muscle flexibility, balance, and strength to complete jumps and spins properly, as well as core strength to keep a spin centered and check out of a jump with strength.
Basic exercises for the hip stabilizers, quadriceps, and hamstrings will help a skater with the alignment of the ankle, knee, and hip, as well as improve single leg stability. There is a balance component to many exercises; therefore, you are training two components at once. Training these muscles at a young age will help develop muscle memory that will last throughout the skater's life, and will prevent development of bad habits and movement patterns. Sk8Strong's "Developing the Youth Skater" contains a comprehensive exercise program for a skater to develop these correct movement patterns and more. A skater will learn how to use the core muscles for stability, correct lower body alignment, balance in various positions, and become a better skater through sport specific exercise.

"Skate Mom's Workout"

Several skating parents have expressed interest in a workout that mom's can do during their child's skating sessions. Sk8Strong is considering putting together "Skate Mom's Workout", a follow-along 45 minute video that mom's can do right at the rink, without equipment involved. No more sitting on cold bleachers! This video would be in ipod-compatible format, so you can follow right along with a group of parents. Please let Sk8strong know if you or your fellow skating parents are interested, and we'll put together a great workout program for you! Email us at laurensteve@sk8strong.com with your feedback.