Ballet on Ice

March 4, 2011 by
Christina and Mark (Photo by David Paterson)

Christina and Mark (Photo by David Paterson)

Do you love ice skating? Do you love ballet? Do you love dance? If you answered yes to one or more of those three questions, Ballet On Ice is the class for you! Ballet is required for most of the top skaters in the world. Russian skaters take ballet lessons from an extremely young age. Male and female skaters of all ages train in ballet to improve their skating.

If you are not training in ballet and different styles of dance for your skating, you may want to seriously consider it. I believe ballet is the basis for all dance. In a way, you could almost say it is the basis for all movement. Ice skaters require grace, fluidity, artistry, passion, and originality. The class Ballet On Ice will develop those aspects of your skating!

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March 4, 2011

How to Cool Down after a Skating Session

May 27, 2010 by
Extra cooling down can be done anywhere - Christina Chitwood at an Obserstdorf, Germany, train station.

Extra cooling down can be done anywhere – Christina Chitwood at a train station in Germany.

Cooling down is very important for competitive skaters. Just getting off the ice after an intense skating workout without any type of cool down can lead to stiffer muscles and joints. This stiffness can lead to injury. Also, stretching and cooling down can help reduce muscle pain and soreness the next day by relieving the tension built up by training.

A short cool down can be helpful for every skater, but the longer and harder you train the more important your cool down will be. I recommend a few cool-down laps at the end of a session or ending with easier elements such as footwork or spins to lower your heart rate. Once you get your skates off, spend 5 to 15 minutes stretching, holding each stretch at least 20 seconds.

Here are the most helpful stretches to do on both legs.

  • Put your leg up in front or to the slide on the skating boards and then reach for the foot for a hamstring stretch.
  • Hold your foot and then bend that leg behind your back for a quad stretch.
  • Bend the front leg and keep the back leg straight for a calf stretch.
  • Flex the front foot up to the board and lean forward for another calf stretch.
  • Split your legs halfway while standing, then bend one leg and lean your body toward the straight leg for a groin stretch.
  • Hold a lunge position for a hip-flexor stretch.
  • Straighten one arm and pull it across your body with the other arm for a shoulder stretch.
  • Bend one arm behind your head and pull it back with the other arm for another shoulder stretch as well as triceps stretch.
  • Bend one wrist back by pulling the fingers of that hand back with the other hand for a wrist stretch.
  • Also, head rolls, body rolls, ankle rolls, and arm- and shoulder rolls are helpful in cooling down.

If you feel comfortable sitting on the ground at the rink, here are a few more good stretches.

  • Reach for your toes with both legs straight while pointing your toes for a good hamstring stretch.
  • Do a straddle split and lean body to both sides and then forward for a hamstring and groin stretch.
  • Lie on your back and keep one leg straight on the ground and then bend the other leg over the top. Twist your body against the bent leg for a back stretch.
  • Turn your front leg out and bend on ground and turn the back leg in on ground. Then lean reach forward over the front leg for a hip-flexor stretch.

These stretches will help you feel more limber and will help improve your flexibility. You get far more from stretching when your muscles are already limber because they can expand farther than when your muscles are cold. Remember, even stretching 5 minutes every day after skating will make a difference in your flexibility.

 

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May 27, 2010

How to Do an Off-Ice Warm-Up

May 13, 2010 by

When it’s time to warm up off-ice, most skaters tend to skip the warm-up completely or just do the bare minimum. This is dangerous. As with any sport, if you jump right in without any warm-up, you greatly increase your risk of pulling a muscle or having an even more severe injury. However, what you do for off-ice warm-up is based on your age and what type of skater you are. 

Off-Ice Warm-Up for Recreational Skaters

If you are a recreational (non-competitive) skater under 30 who is most interested in doing basic skating maneuvers and maybe a few spins and jumps, you should be okay just starting off slow skating around the rink. Since you get stiffer as you age, if you’re over 30 I would recommend doing 15 to 20 slow off-ice squats, 20 high-knee raises, 15 ankle raises, and 15 shoulder rolls in your sneakers before getting on the ice. While this is not mandatory, this very minimal warm-up will help get your legs, knees, and shoulders working so you are less stiff when you begin skating. 

Off-Ice Warm-Up for Competitive Skaters

For all competitive skaters, it’s always a good idea to do at least a minimal warm-up before you get on the ice. This helps avoid the initial stiffness when getting on the ice and gets your body warm before you do anything vigorous. I would recommend doing at least a minimum of jogging up and down the side of the rink. For a full warm-up, do the grapevine exercise next (cross your feet over back and forth quickly while moving sideways) halfway down the side of the rink and back. Then, do high-knee skips halfway down and back. After that, do 15 to 30 seconds of high-knee running in place. This should at least get your heart rate going and your joints loosened up. If you still don’t feel warm, you can double the length of these exercises or add additional warm-up exercises such as jumping rope and jumping jacks. 

Now that your heart rate is up,  I would do some dynamic stretching (stretching that incorporates movement), such as front kicks while moving forward, back kicks while holding onto the wall, heel raises, body rolls, and arm circles. These dynamic stretching exercises will help stretch out your muscles while warming them up in the process. While dynamic stretching is more beneficial for warm-up than static stretching (non-movement stretching), I always did some static stretches to help improve my flexibility. By using both static stretching and dynamic stretching for warm-up, I felt looser and avoided injuries.

Cooling Down

Also, keep in mind that cooling down is the best time to do static stretching because your muscles stretch easier when they are warm. Plus, streching during cool-down helps alleviate any soreness you may feel after your workout. I’ll talk more about cooling down in the next article.

Whatever you decide to do, try spending at least a few minutes warming up before skating. It really does help you avoid injury.

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May 13, 2010

Top 4 Tips Figure Skaters Can Learn from Olympic Gold Medalists Shen and Zhao

March 9, 2010 by
Shen and Zhao's huge split triple twist during their Olympic short program (Photo by Liz Chastney)

Shen and Zhao's huge split triple twist during their Olympic short program (Photo by Liz Chastney)

2010 Olympic pairs champions Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo were two of my favorite role models during my early years in pairs. They still are two of my favorite role models. Shen and Zhao demonstrate qualities which make champions as well as people of good character. Following are 4 top tips figure skaters can learn from Olympic pairs gold medalists Shen and Zhao.

1. When a team is a good match, it pays to stay together.

Now married, Shen and Zhao have been skating together for 18 years. This time has helped them develop their strong elements, great unison, and overall polish to their skating. Their dedication helped them become two of the very best skaters in the sport.

2. Focus on turning your weaknesses into strengths.

Shen and Zhao during their Olympic long program (Photo by Liz Chastney)

Shen and Zhao during their Olympic long program (Photo by Liz Chastney)

In the past, Shen and Zhao had weaknesses artistically, causing them to earn lower scores than the other top teams. They have worked on improving their expression, artistry, and overall skating skills, giving them an edge over the competition. They combined these skating skills with more advanced choreography to create a strong and elegant style. In addition, they now have good unison and speed in their side-by-side spins, formerly their weakest element.

3. Hard work and dedication pay off.

I remember when my sister and I were training as intermediate pairs competitors in Colorado Springs during October 2000. Shen and Zhao were training at our rink for the upcoming Skate America competition. We were lucky to be able to train on sessions with the elite pairs. Shen and Zhao would skate for the whole session, going from element to element and hardly ever stopping for a break. The work ethic they possessed was the best I’ve seen. Although they are now married, Shen and Zhao have continued to show intense dedication to their skating, even living in separate dorm rooms to train for the 2010 Olympics.

4. Nice guys (people) do finish first.

I’ve only heard good things about what nice people Shen and Zhao are. They have always been very humble and well-mannered. Their sportsmanship has been among the best in the sport, and they have always acted professionally regardless of the competition outcome. Not only are Shen and Zhao great role models for figure skaters, but they are great role models for all athletes.

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March 9, 2010

Top 4 Tips Figure Skaters Can Learn from Olympic Gold Medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir

March 4, 2010 by
Virtue and Moir had incredible levels of difficulty in their Olympic free dance. (Photo by Liz Chastney)

Virtue and Moir had incredible levels of difficulty in their Olympic free dance. (Photo by Liz Chastney)

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir raised ice dance to a new level this season with technical excellence, innovative moves, and smooth, flowing elegance.  They became Olympic gold medalists in the process.  Figure skaters can learn much by following Virtue and Moir’s example.  The following 4 tips are especially noteworthy:

1.  When a team is a good match, it pays to stay together.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir teamed up in 1997.  The example of Olympic silver-medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White adds to this point.  Davis and White also teamed up in 1997.  Two long-standing partnerships had the highest results in the 2010 Olympic ice-dance event.

2.  Smooth stroking pays dividends.

Watch Virture and Moir’s stroking throughout their routines to see the flow and grace it gives them between their moves.  Stroking is one of the most important fundamentals of figure skating, and this team has used it to propel them to the top of the world.

3.  Bend your knees.

Virture and Moir’s knees give them the softness of ballet dancers.  They practically float across the ice in their free dance with their movements looking effortless.  Their knee bend gives them the ability to incorporate some of the most difficult skating maneuvers into their routines.

 

Group hug for training partners Virtue/Moir and Davis/White. (Photo by Liz Chastney

Group hug for training partners Virtue/Moir and Davis/White. (Photo by Liz Chastney)

4. You can be friends with your competitors.

Virture and Moir are close friends and training partners with Meryl Davis and Charlie White.  In an interview, Moir said:

I don’t think either of us would be where we are without the other. We help each other on our bad days, and even push it a little more on the good days. To have each other up there on the podium, side by side, it’s amazing. They’re such great people.

I’m sure they wanted to be up on the top of the podium, but they don’t show any of that to us. . . . They’re just such great friends, and they gave us the best hug.

Virtue and Moir are great role models not just for ice dancers, but for figure skaters in general.  Which of Virtue and Moir’s qualities do you find most helpful?

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March 4, 2010