As the school year comes to a close, many skaters are enrolling in intense summer skating camps. But not all training is done on the rink. To supplement on-ice workouts, athletes and coaches have found out-of-the-box exercises to add an element of fun and creativity into their regime. These fitness classes divert from common go-tos like ballet, yoga, pilates and jump roping. At surface level, trampoline and puppetry may appear unrelated to figure skating, but you'll be surprised to learn just how applicable they are to the sport. Be sure to check back here on the Fan Zone to learn about more off-ice training options throughout the summer!Â
Motorized Rotation Training System
Harnesses have been used on the ice for decades to help skaters increase jump rotation abilities. Kendall Ice Arena skating program director Kent Johnson took this concept off-ice and created a revolutionary motorized rotation training system, which made its debut at the Miami rink in March.
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Strapped in a harness, a skater stands on a motorized circular disk that spins around. The athlete can remain on the disk to practice spin positions and speed or lift off to practice jump rotations. This helps skaters improve balance by concentrating on their vestibular system and sensorimotor skills. Athletes must adapt to rotation and changes of direction at high speeds, while avoiding dizziness and maintaining balance.
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Barre
Fitness classes using a ballet barre are available at studios and gyms nationwide. By using plies, arabesques and stretches from dance, participants lift, tone and burn muscles, as well as increase flexibility and pliability. You can target glutes and hamstrings, but also isolate muscles you never even knew existed. Skaters will see results on the ice with higher spirals and lower sit spins. The certified instructors are trained to ensure students align their bodies properly to achieve beautiful lines and posture. Portions of barre classes are done in bursts of speed to offer a cardio workout as well.
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Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski is an advocate of barre. A few years ago, she partnered with gym chain Equinox to develop Gold Barre Workout, which was available at select locations, to help even non-skaters achieve a desirable skater's body.
"It's such a fun experience to mix my knowledge from ice skating and my love for barre. It fuses them together to make a class that's really difficult," Lipinski told
Furthermore/from Equinox in a Q&A. "When I go to it, I'm so sore in the following days it feels like I was on the ice."
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While most barre classes are done on a carpeted floor, Gold Barre uses a wood floor or smooth surface, so participants can place a foot on a gliding disc to slide their leg into a lunge.
"These are great because they mimic the same thing you do on the ice as you're skating, Lipinski explained. They allow you to get in that low speed-skater position, sliding your legs in and out."
The structure of the class was modeled after a skating routine, according to
Shape, and focuses on muscular and cardio endurance. The first 12 minutes are spent warming up at the barre with graceful movements, followed by stroking and footwork sequences with gliding discs in the center of the room. Next up, participants use a yoga strap at the barre for single-leg spinning exercises. Finally, there are two jumping sequences with a 30-second active recovery sandwiched in between.
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"By the time a skater gets to her first jump in her program, her legs are already fatigued," Nicole De Anda, Equinox's national barre manager, told
Shape. "That's what we designed this program to feel like. After all of the warmup, the stroking and the footwork, when you finally get to the jumping sequence, your legs are tired."
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