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So what are the 5 best exercises for ice skating? The following exercises help in achieving the perfect jump and moves, they are the Kettlebell Goblet Squat, Reverse Lunges, Single Leg Deadlifts, Seated Torso Twist, Yogo, and Stretching – all important exercises for your body conditioning.
To attain the best and unrivalled moves in ice skating or figure skating, it’s imperative how you train outside the ice rink. The diligence and perseverance during the workout determine the ability of the skater. The training does not only help in achieving and maneuvering the jumps but it is also extremely pivotal to circumvent the possible risk of vicious injuries.
The most vulnerable and susceptible parts of the body during the ice skating moves are hamstring, groin, ankles, knees, shoulders, calves, etc; therefore, having strong and robust lower body muscles, bones and joints are immensely important for both elite and recreational skaters. All in all, ice skating requires stupendous strength, prodigious flexibility, and extraordinary balance to win in the rink.
KETTLEBELL GOBLET SQUAT/ KETTLEBELL SUMO SQUAT
The most important part of ice skating is to strengthen your lower body muscles, joints, and bones. Whether you are doing Lutz jump, Double Axel jump or the Salchow loop, you need to have strong inner and outer thigh muscle, glute and hamstring. The sumo squat or the goblet squat workout will provide the prerequisite to accomplish the perfect maneuver.
Both types of squats are marginally different with some variations in execution, but they mainly target the same muscles in the body. These squats integrated with the kettlebell will give staggering results in strengthening and building up the lower body.
It is no doubt very safe to say that the goblet squat with a kettlebell is one of the best 5 exercises for ice skating. It almost targets every necessary muscle that needs to be built up for executing the ice-skating moves. The main emphasis of the workout is on glute muscle, hamstring, inner thigh, outer thigh, quads, and calves. Not only does it increase the strength of the lower body but it also enhances the core strength by targeting the abdominal muscle. Add a kettlebell, it becomes a potent workout for carrying out the moves perfectly on the ice rink.
Why it is helpful in executing the moves in ice skating?
During the jumps in ice skating or figure skating, the lower body parts endure all the stress due to the jarring impact while landing, sometimes the moves demand to land on a single leg. Taking off in the air for moves like Axel jumps, Lutz jump, etc. require remarkable strength as the jumps need the skater to stay in the air for a fair bit of time for spins and turns. Therefore, it is imperative to perform this workout for the impeccable and immaculate execution. Without a strong and brawny lower body and abdominal, these elite jumps are impossible to achieve.
Groin strain is also very common amongst ice skaters which occur due to the high strain on the inner thigh and glute muscle. Goblet squat is one of the best workouts to overcome such injuries. Moreover, this workout is extremely lethal in gaining speed during one leg glide, ankle flexed and provides great strength in a bent-knee position which is imperative in almost every ice skating jump. We have selected a good range of Kettlebells with variable weights online. If you are just starting, aim for 2 x 12kg (set), these are excellent used together for squats or separately for 1st-time Kettlebell Swings. Check out these Kettle Bells here on Amazon.
How to?
Stand with your feet with the toes pointing slightly outwards, keeping the gap between the feet the same as your shoulders’ width, holding a kettlebell right in front of your chest with close grip keeping your elbows parallel with each other. Make sure to keep the back straight, shoulders back and abdominal tight. Bend your knees and squat down slowly until your thighs are parallel to the floor, press the ground to get back to the standing position. Don’t pull the kettlebell upwards, use the actual hip thrust and momentum of the swing to make them move. Remember always quality over quantity on your reps.
REVERSE LUNGES
The 2nd of our 5 best exercises for ice skating are Reverse Lunges. Focusing on our lower body and core strength, it is key to include workouts in the training that help in alleviating injuries and provide firmness and stability while performing the moves in ice skating. Reverse lunges develop prodigious strength to the glutes, core, and hamstring. It reduces the risks of knee injuries, provides more stability to the legs and increases balancing and flexibility.
Reverse lunges are one of the most important arsenals during the training session for any athlete and with making slight variations by putting on extra weights through barbell or kettlebell, the workout establishes great strength and work wonders if executed properly.
Why it is helpful in executing moves in ice skating?
Balancing is one of the most critical parts while carrying out artistic and aesthetic jumps, and what would be a better workout, other than reverse lunges, for attaining firmness in your leg when doing ankle flexed or leg gliding. Any of the prominent jumps in ice skating require a vital landing technique, so to achieve landing stability, core and lower body strength are required.
Reverse lunges can be a go-to workout for athletes who want to be flawless in ice-skating moves. When adding weights through a barbell or kettlebell, it provides tremendous strength especially to the male performer when lifting a female skater. On the whole, reverse lunges are impeccable and important for the ice skating maneuvers.
How to?
Stand upright with chest open and back straight. Put your hands on your hips if you are doing it without extra weight or hold a kettlebell in each hand with hands pointing downwards making a right angle with the ground. Take a big step backward, bend your front knee and bring your hips down so that the front thigh becomes parallel with the floor and the back knee touching the floor with the back thigh making a right angle with the ground.
Press your front foot against the ground to get back to the original position and repeat it with the alternative steps. Make sure to tighten up your core to put more strength on it. Forward lunges are also very good for balance and core. The last thing you need is baggy bottoms, you want to see your leg position and in time see your muscles improve. The best clothing is Yoga gear and we did spend some time selecting a good page at Amazon. Click here for yoga, stretchable gym clothing.
SINGLE LEG DEADLIFTS
The single leg deadlift is the variation from the traditional deadlift in which more focus is put into lifting humungous weights. It’s 3rd in our best 5 exercises for ice skating. Whereas in single leg deadlift, the main emphasis is on mocking the position of the moves and jumps that would be carried put on the ice rink. It is a great workout to target every single muscle from your core all the way down to your foot. It works perfectly for improving balance, enhancing ankle stability, strengthening your back and core and renders flexibility during the movement of the muscles.
Why it is helpful in executing the moves in ice skating?
The single leg deadlift actually mimics the position of leg gliding or hip hinge during the moves in ice skating. This is a great workout to have in your armory and absolutely essential for the stability of the core, lower back, glute, quads, and hamstring. The main focus of the exercise is to obtain balance, strength, and flexibility during and after the landing of edge jump, lutz jump, etc.
This workout provides good stability to the ankles to prevent spraining which can be very costly and catastrophic especially for an athlete and professional ice skaters. Adding different variations with single leg deadlift will further strengthen the core and legs and alleviate any risk of injury while performing the moves. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are the main concern that occurs due to sudden change in movement or through high jumps, single leg deadlift is a terrific workout to reduce the risk of ACL injuries.
How to?
Stand with your feet firm holding a dumbbell in each hand close to the body with your feet hip width away. Make sure to straighten your back and tighten up your core. Lean forward, bend your knee and extend your leg backward. Keep extending your back leg until you become parallel to the ground, with your upper body and back leg in a straight line. Press your front leg against the floor to stand back in the starting position. Complete the repetitions and switch legs.
SEATED TORSO TWIST
The 4th of our 5 best exercises for ice skating! Again focusing on the core clearly shows the importance of strength training for figure skaters. It is highly imperative to have a strong abdominal core to perform the skating moves and jumps perfectly without getting injured. This particular workout not only strengthens the core but it also provides significant and immense flexibility to your body. In fact, one of the main workouts behind getting a flexible body is the seated torso twist, also known as the Russian twist.
Why it is helpful in executing the moves in ice skating?
How would an ice skater or a figure skater perform a spin or a flip, do a Lutz jump or Salchow jump, or maneuver a Double Axel jump if their body is stiff? It’s distinctly impossible, therefore this workout is important and potent to obtain the perfect body. Without flexibility and mobility, not even a single jump can be done, the seated torso twist provides great mobility of the muscle, enhances the flexibility of joints and improves core strength.
How to?
Sit on your hip, lean back just a little, holding a medicine ball tightly in your hands, knee bent with your feet slightly above the ground and your torso straight. Now move to the right, touching the medicine ball with the floor, get back to the center and rotate on the other side. Make sure to squeeze your abdominal muscle during the workout to bring the best result. Here’s a great selection of Medicine Balls for workouts a home.
STRETCHING, the most important
This is not a single exercise but a series of workouts that provide immense flexibility and mobility to the body. It is essential for any training, especially for the ice skater. Figure skating requires rapid movement of the body and stretching of the arms and legs to the extent that can not be achieved without giving proper time for this training.
A series of stretching exercises should also be included in the warm up session before performing the moves and jumps on the ice rink. It alleviates the danger of injuries and pain that might come across after executing the jumps.
Why it is helpful in executing the moves in ice skating?
Jumping up and down, spinning rapidly here and there, flipping up and over, flexing and gliding with momentous speed requires great stamina, and all these things can nullify if you do not back your body up with proper warm ups. Any maneuver in figure or ice skating requires a great stretch of body muscles and if proper stretching workouts are not carried out, there is a fair possibility that your muscles will pull and get injured.
How to?
The first stretch exercise would be the runner’s stretch, it is a very common stretching exercise. Step a foot forward, keep your leg straight and do not bend your knee, and try to touch your feet with your fingertips, keeping your back straight. The second stretch exercise would be the standing side stretch. Stand with your feet together and your arms straight overhead. Clasp your hands together, with your fingers interlaced and pointer fingers extended bend your upper body to the right and left keeping the arms straight.
The third and the last in the list would be the low lunge arch, it helps in stretching the whole body from shoulders to ankles. Step your right foot forward into a lunge and lower your left knee onto the floor. Bring your arms in front of your right leg and hook your thumbs together, palms facing the floor. Now we struggled to find the right image for this, however if you are into fitness you may be knowledgable already and many tips are on YouTube – we hope to have a channel on there one day.
We hope you have enjoyed reading about the 5 best exercises for ice skating, all of which can easily be done at home. There are many more, including the benefits of Yoga. Give that a read and stay tuned for future posts.
