Strength Program for Figure Skating
To optimize strength and power, figure To this end, you should aim to perform the
skaters need to supplement on ice training strength exercises with a smooth and constant
with land training in the gym. For best effect, force and select weights, which allow the
skaters need to follow a program of exercises movement to be performed at a skating - re-
that replicate their actions in the water as lated speed.
closely as possible.
For example, the leg motion during forward
Strength and conditioning experts around crossovers at full speed is quite fast, so it
the world all agree that, for time spent in the would be best to choose hip flexion and exten-
gym to have a positive impact on your sports sion exercises that can be performed at a good
performance, you must ensure the exercises speed.
you perform, and the way you perform them,
are related to your sporting movements in The following exercises are related to the
competition. mechanics of stroking. For each component,
the relevant exercises are described and their
For example, Barbell Squats involve ankle, mechanical relationship to the stroke ex-
knee and hip extensions in a vertical plane, plained.
which are directly related to the mechanics of
a vertical jump; thus the squat is a useful ex- Stroking Exercises
ercise for developing jump performance. 1. Cable rotational back pulls and pushes
Back Pulls
If we perform a basic analysis of the me- This is the mechanical equivalent to the
chanics of forward stroking, the main actions pulling the front skate across the back curve
that produce forward propulsion over the ice when performing back crossovers. as the hand
are: comes diagonally across the body as it pulls
backwards. For this exercise you need a high
The core body balance that resists the pulley machine with a simple handle grip.
backward leg thrust and propels the skater
forward Kneel down on one knee to the side of the
machine. Take the hand nearest the pulley
The extension, which alternates hip and grasp the handle with the hand high and
flexion and extension of the legs. slightly out to your side.
In addition, skating involves: the controlled Before you start the exercise make sure
acceleration from a stationary position, which your back is straight, your shoulders are wide
involves dynamic ankle, knee and hip exten- and your chin is tucked in. Pull the handle
sion. down and lower your arm across your body in
When designing your strength program, a rotational movement until your hand is next
you should focus mainly on exercises related to the opposite hip.
to these movements. Other exercises may use Smoothly return the bar to the start posi-
the same muscles as those involved in skating, tion and continue performing sets of 5 to 8
but only exercises, which use the correct mus- repetitions for maximum strength or 12 to 15
cles in a related mechanical movement, will repetitions for strength endurance.
provide optimum training benefit.
Try to keep your posture solid throughout
A limitation of land training can provide the movement. Maintain a slight bend in the
that the type of resistance you encounter when elbow as you pull, but focus your effort on the
moving over the ice. Skating is not a sport of shoulder muscles only.
straight lines; the need to restrict movement to
a confined area requires the skater to control Rear Pushes
the centrifugal force occurring from accelera- This exercise involves the opposite move-
tion. ment to the back pull and is useful for pro-
moting a balanced strength about the shoulder
Hydraulic-type resistance equipment that joint. Specifically, the back pull trains the in-
mimics the resistance of ice-skating is expen- ternal rotator cuff muscles and the rear pull
sive and not widely available. A compromise is trains the external muscles.
to use regular equipment is to try to mimic the
speed and nature of the skating stroke.
To avoid shoulder injuries balanced rotator Grasp the ball in one hand with your arm
cuff strength is important. This exercise re- up and behind your head, slightly bent at the
quires a low pulley machine with the simple elbow.
handle grip.
Vigorously pull the arm up and down
Stand to the side of the machine and grasp across your body, throwing the ball over the
the handle with the opposite hand. Make sure opposite knee. Get your partner to return the
your back is straight, your shoulders wide and ball, and perform sets of 8 to 12 repetitions
your chin tucked in. Start with your hand by with each arm in turn.
the inside hip and fix a slight bend in the el-
bow. Do not lift your head or pull up from the
stomach as you throw. Focus on producing
Pull the handle up and away from your the power from the shoulder and pulling
body, rotating the arm up and out. Finish with across the body as you do in front crawl.
the handle high and out to the side, with the
palm of the hand facing forwards. 3. Swiss ball body pulls
This is a ‘closed kinetic chain’ movement,
Smoothly return the handle back and
where the moving limbs remain in contact with
across to the opposite hip and continue. Again
a fixed object – in this case the hands with the
go for sets of 5 to 8 repetitions for maximum
floor. Such movements are thought to be par-
strength or 12 to 15 repetitions for strength
ticularly functional for sports performance, so
endurance.
offering greater training benefits.
Keeping your posture solid during this ex-
ercise is quite difficult, as it is tempting to use This exercise is performed in a horizontal
your trunk muscles to help the rotation prone position, with the arms stretched out
movement. However, you can train your core from the body, matching the position and ac-
stability skills by keeping your navel pulled tion of a skater performing the layout position
into your spine and relaxing your upper body of a flying camel spin.
so there are no additional movements apart
from the arm raise and rotation. Position yourself face down, with your
lower legs on the Swiss ball and your hands on
In combination, the front and rear diagonal the floor supporting your weight, body parallel
pulls train almost every muscle in the shoul- to the floor. This is the equivalent of a press-
der joint and shoulder girdle. This makes them up position with your feet up.
very useful exercises for any sport.
Slowly roll the ball up your legs while your
2. Medicine ball single arm overhead throw arms extend out to your side until you achieve
This exercise develops the power of the a stretched position, with a straight line
latissimus and pectoral muscles in a func- through your arms, shoulders, back, hips and
tional manner for skaters, involving move- legs.
ments similar used by skaters to define per-
At this point your body will make a shallow
sonal/private space.
angle with the floor and the ball will be posi-
The aim of the throw is to improve the rate tioned on your thighs. Then, keeping this per-
of force development in the shoulder by accel- fect alignment of your body, push down
erating the arm hard to throw the ball. For this through your hands into the floor and pull
exercise you need a partner and 2 to 4kg ball. yourself back to the up position.
The small rubber ones is best as they can be
The ball should roll back down your legs as
held in one hand.
you do this. Perform sets of 8 to 12 repetitions.
Because the ball is quite heavy for one
The difficult part of the exercise is the pull
hand you will not be able to throw it far or
back up. At this point you must use your
move the arm very fast.
stomach muscles to support your spine and
The training effect comes from your at- focus on using a strong pull of the shoulder
tempts to accelerate the arm movement as fast muscles to raise your body back to the parallel
as you can, thereby improving the power of the position.
pull.
This exercise is not easy, but it is very
Lie on your back on the floor, with knees beneficial for many sports, helping to develop
bent slightly so your lower back is comfortable. core and shoulder strength.
Leg Extension exercises calf, quadriceps and gluteal muscles to im-
Hip Extension and Flexion Kick prove vertical jump performance.
These exercises mimic the upward and
downwards phases of a skaters stroking ac- The vertical jump off ice is essentially the
tion, where the glutes and hamstrings extend same mechanical movement of on ice jump
and the hip flexors flex the leg at the hip. takeoffs - the ankle, knee, hip, and leg exten-
sion propels you upwards with the core body
For these exercises you need a low pulley in a vertical plane allow the rotation to occur
machine with an ankle strap attachment. Each around the central axis of the landing foot.
leg is worked independently and the weights
used should be relatively light so you can kick The point of using a barbell to add weight
with good speed. to the squat is to help you to generate peak
power. If you perform the jump squat with
Hip Extension body weight only, the jump will be very fast
Stand facing the low pulley machine, with and high.
the ankle strap attached to one leg. Lift this leg
off the floor, taking up the slack of the cable, With the addition of a moderate weight
and place your balance solidly on the other (about 30 to 40% of the 1 repetition max
leg. weight for the squat exercise), the jump will
not be as high or fast, but the muscular power
Hold onto the machine’s frame with your required to leave the ground will be maximal.
hands to stabilize your upper body and check
that your back is straight, with shoulders re- This is based on the knowledge that peak
laxed. power is achieved when the force used is about
one third of the maximum force for that
Pull the cable back dynamically by ex- movement.
tending the leg backwards until you feel you
need to lean forwards, then bring it back in a Your goal is to attempt to achieve the fast-
controlled manner to the start position, re- est extension of the legs to maximize power
taining good posture. production and training benefit. If you use 30
to 40% of 1RM weight, 3 to 5 sets of 5 repeti-
Continue pulling the leg back, focusing on tions is recommend.
the gluteals and hamstrings to kick back pow-
erfully. Stand with the barbell across the back of
your shoulders. Squat down, bending at the
Hip Flexion hips and knee, making sure the weight goes
Stand with your back to the low pulley ma- down through the back half of your foot.
chine, with the ankle strap attached to one leg.
Lift this leg off the floor, taking up the slack of When you reach the half squat position,
the cable, and place your balance solidly on drive up dynamically rapidly extending your
the other leg. legs so that you leave the floor briefly. Absorb
the landing with soft knees and then go
Use a stick to support yourself, and check smoothly into the squat again.
that your back is straight with your shoulders
relaxed. Continue for 5 repetitions.
Pull the cable dynamically by kicking the Summary
leg forwards. Pull the weight, using your hip
flexor muscles at the top and front of the Strength and power training is essential for
thigh, until your leg reaches an angle of about an accomplished figure skating performance.
30° or you start to lean back. To optimize the benefit of land-based training,
you must select exercises with mechanical
Smoothly return your leg to the start posi- relevance to the skating action, particularly
tion, retaining good posture, and continue. those movements which propel the skater over
the ice while stroking and performing deep,
Perform sets of 10 repetitions at a fast
controlled edges and turns.
speed and build up to sets of 20 or 30 repeti-
tions for power endurance of this movement. As the resistance provided by the ice is
‘Jump push-off’ exercise different from the resistance provided by
Barbell squat jumps weight equipment on land, you must also fo-
cus on mimicking the speed and smooth
This exercise involves dynamic extension of
movement of the skating stroke when per-
the ankle, knee and hip joints and trains the
forming land-based exercises
Various exercises for the arms, leg exten-
sion, and turn movements are suggested, all
with a good functional relationship to the
skating action.
This is not a definitive or exhaustive selec-
tion of exercises designed to focus on highly
specific skating movements in terms of me-
chanics, positions and speed.
When you design strength programs for a
skating performance, be sure to think about
each exercise in terms of its relevance to per-
formance.
Reference
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