List Of Ice Skating Exercises

The sport of ice skating involves more than the dancing and skating that you see on TV. Ice skaters practice many hours a week and have lots of exercising and conditioning to help prepare them. Let’s learn about the most common ice skating exercises and how they help ice skaters perform!

Core Strength Exercises

To be an ice skater one needs to have a strong core. This is because the skater needs to perfect spins and turns. Having a strong core benefits ice skaters by giving them the ability to move gracefully on the ice.

Curl-Up

With this exercise, it helps strengthen the center of the core and helps with the ability to do spins or turns. This is an exercise that is easy to do and can significantly help a skater’s jumps and moves. It requires ice skaters to lie on their back and have their knees bent with the arms starting off on the thighs. Next the arms and the upper half of the body will move up the thighs, while keeping the bottom half of the body still. The arms and upper half of the body will move towards the knees together until the hands have gone past the knees.

Plank

A plank is a perfect way to strengthen the core and build endurance. This exercise requires an ice skater to have the forearms flat and face down on the ground. The feet will then be facing the wall with the toes touching the ground. With this exercise, the back will need to be straight, and most importantly this position will be held for as long as desired. Good timing for this would be around thirty seconds to a minute.

Superman

This exercise does a good job of improving the core of a figure skater and improving the posture. For this exercise, the skater will need to be lying flat on their stomach on the floor. Then the legs and arms will be lifted while the stomach is still touching the floor. The goal of this exercise is to lift as much of the body off the floor to create a stronger core. A way to do this exercise is to have the body lift off the floor for several seconds at a time, or to do quick pulses of lifting the body off and on the ground.

Balance Exercises

Balance is an essential factor that goes into ice skating. It helps maintain a strong endurance and helps with spins. Another reason for this is due to how skating requires the ability to be able to skate on one foot.

Single-Leg Balance

This exercise is very beneficial for being able to maintain balance in the legs. This exercise starts off by having one leg on the ground and the upper half of the body facing the ground. The other leg will then go behind the leg on the ground. The goal of this is to stay standing with one leg on the ground for as long as possible.

Tree Pose

This exercise is also beneficial for an ice skater to maintain a sturdy leg balance. For this exercise, the skater will be standing on one foot, while the other foot is raised to the inner thigh of the foot on the ground. The foot on the inner thigh should have the bottom of it touching the thigh. Next, the hands will be raised to the chest and the hands should come together so they are touching. The goal of this exercise is to hold this position for as long as possible.

Heel-To-Toe Stretch

This is a perfect exercise for skaters as it helps to strengthen the skater’s stride across the ice and to be able to maintain a sturdy structure. Both feet will be on the ground, with the skater standing straight up. Next, one foot will need to go directly in front of the other with the heel of the front foot touching the toes of the back foot. Then for the rest of the exercise, the skater will continue walking with one foot in front of the other. Drawing a line with chalk or making a line with tape or string can make this exercise easier for the skater.

Strength and Power Exercises

Strength and power in ice skating are important to be able to perform complex moves. It is needed to have strong and intricate spins and turns. Strength and power are a key part in this sport. The legs are continuously used while performing, so it is important to have powerful legs.

Kettlebell Goblet/Sumo Squat

This is an exercise that is important to help strengthen the muscles of the lower body. This exercise requires ice skaters to stand at shoulder width distance with toes pointed slightly outward. Then, the kettlebell will be placed in front of the chest with both elbows parallel with each other. Next, the skater will need to bend their knees and slowly squat. Once at the bottom of the squat, the skater will need to straighten the body and go back to a standing position. While doing this exercise, the kettlebell will be swung by using the momentum of a hip thrust and power in the arms.

Reverse Lunges

This exercise is beneficial for strengthening jumps and improving ankle stability. Starting off, it is needed for the skater to stand upright with the back and chest straight. Next, a large step will be taken backward using one leg. The front knee will be bent and the hips will be down. The back knee should be close to touching the ground. The front foot should be on the floor and in the original flat-footed position. To increase the intensity of the exercise, make sure to tighten the core while performing this workout.

Flexibility Exercises

For a skater, flexibility is beneficial in being able to perform jumps, strokes, and spins. It gives the skater the ability to perform more moves and techniques while performing.

Calf Stretch

This exercise helps to stretch the calf muscles. One will need to stand facing the wall with a foot or two length behind it. Have one foot in front of the other and have the front knee slightly bent. The back leg’s knee should be straight and one will need to be leaning forward and have their hands touching the wall. This exercise should last for around twenty to thirty seconds.

Toe Touch

This is a popular exercise for ice skaters due to its ability to improve flexibility and stabilization on the ice. For this exercise, the skater will need to be sitting on the ground with their legs straight and flat on the ground. The upper half of the body will be facing the wall. Next, the hands will move towards the feet, aiming to touch the feet or to reach as far as possible. By doing this each day, it will allow the skater to become more flexible in the hamstring area.

Butterfly Stretch

This final exercise really focuses on stretching one’s quadriceps. For this exercise, the skater will need to be sitting on the floor with one leg bent and the bottom of that foot facing the wall. Meanwhile, the other leg is doing the same thing but in the opposite direction. The bottoms of both feet should be touching each other and the back should be straight. To get more of a stretch bring the feet closer to the body or move the knee area of the legs slightly up and down.