Do you feel that some skaters seem to have a much better balance than you? You are a fairly good skater, but you seem to be having some difficulties at staying balanced with your skate. You wonder if it is the boot they are wearing that might create such firm grips into the ground, and you are hoping to find any skates that will keep you better balanced. Balance in general depends a lot on your center of gravity.
The more you skate the better your balance. In time you will develop strong abs. These muscles are formed by just simply standing with your skates on. You might not be aware of it but by just standing with your skates are using your abs. But I would also recommend that you do yoga and pilates as off skate training for balance. Now you can use the new revolutionized Wii fit balance board; it is awesome. It features four main areas: yoga, strength training, aerobic exercise, balance training. It is not a replacement for off-skate training, however, it can be helpful.
To improve your balance, you need to work on your leg and your core muscles the most. Any kind of stretches and, also balance boards may be helpful; or you can put your back flat to the wall and go into a sitting position and then make sure that your legs are at a 90-degree angle. A weak lower body is equal to little or no balance on the ice. You will need to work on your arms and upper body as well. Find a point of focus. Concentrate on something in front of you; if you look at your feet, you tend to fall easier. When you glide, do not push off your toe pick, try and push off from the side of your skate. When you glide, you want to bend a lot into your knees and push off hard with your edges.
Try these quick simple tests to establish how balance you are:
Put each sock completely on your foot while standing solely on the other.
If you have to move your grounded foot around or hop around to keep your balance, your balance is probably not up to the basics of a reasonable figure skater. Most figure skaters don’t need to move from the spot while on one leg.
Also, another test is to close your eyes and stand absolutely steady for a half minute; have someone tell you whether you swayed at all or whether you were still able to keep perfect balance. This will be worth knowing if you are a figure skater.
Balance has to do with your center of gravity. The lower your center of gravity is, the easier it is to balance. The shorter you are, the closer you are to the ground. Do you ever marvel at how can fall while skating and get up as if nothing happened and resume skating? The reason most adults are insecure on skate is usually due to their distance away from the ground, especially if they are very tall. In order to build up muscle strength, it takes exercises and a lot of muscle memory. Bending your knees is the most important thing you will learn as a skater. When you are skating forward, it can help to think of pushing your feet right down into the ground, through the balls of your feet. That way, your weight stays over the right part of the wheels constantly and you should feel a little more stable. Remember to keep your knees bent.
Try some off-skate exercises. When you are at home just practice standing on one leg and bending it.
1. Stand on one foot with your other foot held up but not touching your leg, arms outstretched to the side as you would in skating, head held up. When you can do that for 30 seconds on each leg, repeat it with your eyes closed. If you have no problem with that, buy a wobble board, a half foam roller, a BOSU board, anything that makes balance harder as you practice your way to better balance.
2. Do basic core exercises – crunches for instance. A strong core makes balance easier.
If you choose to use weights, keep it light three or 5lb. weights will be fine if you are new at it. It’s better to do more reps (15 – 20) with less weight than fewer reps with more weight. Talk to your coach or someone at the rink who specializes in off-ice training for additional assistance.
Before you go put on the skates, it is important that you warm up first; just basic jogging on the spot, or jump rope may help. You must definitely stretch before and after skating to avoid injuries.
