"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.

PSA Conference Auction

Sk8Strong has donated its complete 4-DVD premium off-ice training set to the auction at the PSA conference this week. This includes Developing the Youth Skater, The Ultimate Dynamic Warmup, The Competitive Skater, and Adult Training. Good luck to all bidders, and Sk8Strong is happy to support the Professional Skater's Association.

Off-Ice Training for the Adult Skater

In celebration of Adult Nationals week, today's topic is off-ice training for the adult skater. Adult figure skating has taken off in the US and many countries in the last ten years, and will only continue to grow. For those of you who haven't seen the high levels of adult competition, you would be in for a surprise. In the highest level, championship masters, the men have completed triple jumps, and the women double axels in the past few years. And the competition should only get better in the years to come.

Adult skaters have a greater need for off-ice training because, as a skater gets older, he or she is more susceptible to injury. Muscles get tighter, joints break down, bones get weaker, and the body requires more strengthening and stretching to keep it healthy. The problem for adult skaters is the lack of time to skate, balance a family, work, and do off-ice training! I have met some amazing adult skaters over the years who have managed to fit it all in. Completing an off-ice program, whether it be 30 or 60 minutes, one to three days per week, will help to keep an adult skater injury free and risk losing precious training time. Appropriate functional exercises will increase stability of the lower extremities and help to prevent osteoporosis, increase joint nutrition, and best of all- improve your balance, strength, and stability to better your skating! A good training program will create a balance of flexibility and strength in a skater's body, to avoid imbalances that can occur by skating too much. (For example, the ITB muscle and hip flexors can become tight, leading to knee or hip problems).

Sk8Strong created "Adult Training" because many adults complained of products or seminars not being targeted towards adults. I follow the Adult exercise program 2-3 times per week, and I assure you it is not easy if you challenge yourself with the exercise progressions. When most people hear the word 'Adult', they think the exercise program is simplified, but that is not the case. The main difference between "Adult Training" and "The Competitive Skater" is the reduced number of plyometric exercises for adults, as adults don't need to pound on their lower extremities with plyos. The difficulty of the majority of the exercises is the same, just catered to adults to prevent injury.

Good luck to all adult competitors this week, and congrats for all of your accomplishments, whether you are a bronze, silver, gold, or masters skater!

"Core Stability Training" DVD for figure skaters

Sk8Strong has introduced a new DVD "Core Stability Training" to the product catalog. This DVD will take skaters through a collection of exercises that range from beginner to advanced level, and includes all of the core exercises from Sk8Strong's other DVDs. If you are just looking for a complete core training program, this is your DVD! To keep your cost down, this DVD is sent in a basic jewel case, rather than the graphic cases from Sk8Strong's original collection. Enjoy!

Sk8Strong MP4 Off-Ice Training Videos for Your Ipod

Due to popular demand, Sk8Strong has created Ipod compatible MP4 videos so you can have your Sk8Strong workouts with you at the gym, the rink, or wherever you please! They have the same content as Sk8Strong DVDs, and can be purchased alone for $29.95 each, or added to your DVD purchase for only an extra $5. As the world becomes more mobile, we thought we would too! Don't miss out on this great addition to your Sk8Strong off-ice training program....

Introducing the Sk8Strong Scholarship

Sk8Strong is sharing some of its profits in the form of a scholarship for a graduating high school senior who is a figure skater. The criteria for applying for the scholarship include: 1) Graduating high school in the spring of 2009 2) Entering a four year college 3) Planning on majoring in a health field-related degree. Sk8Strong is very excited to support a deserving skater who will be working in the health field. Application can be downloaded at www.sk8strong.com/scholarship.html . Good luck!!

Boston Globe Article

Susan Wessling, the editor of International Figure Skating Magazine, was nice enough to feature Sk8Strong and I in an article for the Boston Globe. Thank you Susan, for giving people greater insight into my philosophies. To read the article, please click on this link: http://www.boston.com/jobs/healthcare/oncall/articles/2009/01/16/feature/