Wilmington Ice Skating

“Jyväskylä – ice skating” by Tiia Monto. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Whether you are looking to win a race, or go out on a breakaway, skating faster on the rink would be great. For many kids, and some adults, they never learn how to skate faster the correct way. The assumption is that if you simply skate often enough, eventually over time you will learn how to skate faster. This is certainly not the case. There are techniques you can learn that will help you to sail down the ice at much higher speeds, allowing you to blow by your opponents. If you are looking for some ways to improve your skating, we have some tips that will help you out.

The first thing you want to learn is to swing your arm. Swinging your arm will give you extra momentum and allow you to pick up speed. If you are carrying a stick, you can still complete the arm swing using only one hand. Learn to swing your arm as you take strides, using the motion to push you forward.

The next thing to think about is your range of motion. Imagine for a second trying to race down the ice with your skates tied. Without even trying it you know that it would not go very well. This image alone is enough to show you how important your range of motion is. Before you skate, be sure you stretch out your hips so that they can get a full range of motion. You don’t want to be stiff when you get out onto the ice, as it will severely limit your performance.

Third, you want to maximize the amount of force you are applying to the ice. The harder you can push off with each step, the faster you will be able to go. This is why so many athletes spend time in the gym working on their leg muscles. When you push off the ice, remember that you should not be pushing straight down. Instead, you want to be pushing down and out, almost at an angle. This will propel your feet forward instead of up.

Lastly, focus how you are transitioning from one step to the next. The fewer strides you can take while you are skating, the less energy you will exert and the faster you will go. Transitioning requires proper balance and focus. If you take a look at kids learning to skate, you will see their legs working really hard, but their body is barely moving. This is because they have a poor transitioning technique. You need to learn how to glide and switch from leg to leg to maximize your performance.

Hopefully these few tips were able to help you learn about power skating. Learning to skate fast is not something you can solely read about on the internet however. You need to get out there and practice as much as you can. It is important to practice the right way however, and to turn these tips into habits. Keep them in the back of your mind as you skate, and you should be out racing everyone else on the rink before long.

“Ice Skate Rink, Rockefeller Center” by Andy C – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Learning to ice skate can be a difficult process. You need to balance on a tiny blade on a slippery sheet of ice. No matter who you are, chances are that you are going to fall down quite a bit when you are learning to skate. To help you out with this process a little bit, we have compiled some basic ice skating tips to get you started. Our hope is that if you follow our advice, you will learn to ice skate a little bit quicker, and with a little more ease.

1. Keep Your Head Up – One common mistake that people make is they try to look at their feet when they are skating. Our brains try and control our feet to make them stay straight, and to do this we feel the need to see where we are going. A better idea is to look straight ahead, and keep your eyes off of your feet. At the very least, you will be able to see if you are about to collide with someone!

2. Get Good Skates – There is a big difference between a cheap pair of skates, and a quality set. When you are learning to skate, you want to be sure that you have a good pair. This will make skating more comfortable, and will encourage you to keep at it.

3. Lace Em Up – If you tie your skate incorrectly, they will be uncomfortable no matter how good they are. Make sure they are not too tight or too loose. You want your feet to have room to breathe, while also having enough support.

4. Warm Up – Before you start skating, be sure to warm up. Ice skating rinks are cold, and using cold muscles can lead to injury. Be sure to stretch yourself out and do some warm up exercises before you go onto the rink, so that your muscles can be nice and warm.

5. Take Lessons – If you are having trouble getting the hang of skating yourself, consider taking some lessons. Local rinks will usually be able to help you out and get you an instructor, and they can make the whole process go a lot faster.

6. Don’t Lean Back – Try not to lean backwards while you are skating. Doing so will likely have you falling backwards onto your rear end. Keep your knees bent and your weight forward. If you need help balancing, keep your arms out wide in front of you.

7. Stopping – Once you get going, you need to know how to stop, otherwise you’ll be using the nearby walls to slow you down. To stop, turn your toes inward and push out on your heels. This will slow you down enough until you stop.

8. Follow The Rink – When you get to a public rink, you will notice everyone skating in the same direction. Be sure to go in the same direction to avoid hurting yourself or others.

9. Have Fun! – Our last tip is simply to enjoy ice skating. It can be a very fun activity once you get the hang of it. Just keep at it, and before long you’ll be flying around the rink with ease. Enjoy!