So I go skating once a week, mostly around 2-3 hrs, for about 7 years now, and i'm working on all my doubles (except 2A) right now. i know most people at my level probably skate more times a week, but since it's been going fine for this long, maybe it's fine? Or am i like holding myself back by not practicing more? Thanks
I've been wanting to start more off ice work, however most the tutorials online I find consist lots of jumping exercises. The only place I can do jumping exercises are at my apartment complex's playground. I was wondering if anyone had any off ice, or even just workouts tutorials online, that would be helpful for skating that I would be okay doing in an apartment? If anyone knows even just what muscle targets I can look for workouts online for that would also be extremely appreciated. Thank you!
I used to never really care about what I wore – just threw on the USFS gold medalist jacket with black leggings and alternated between like 3 short sleeves... no leg warmers/skirts/tanks/long sleeve tops...lmao. but people look so cute nowadays with their layering and whatnot, and since I'm back doing it for myself and just for fun, I would love to get some outfit inspo if u guys have any brand recs/ideas! :)
I want to buy my first pair of skates because I've just been using rentals (I think the rentals at my rink are a little higher quality than the ones everyone talks about, but ik actual skates will be infinitely better), but skates are EXPENSIVE and I nor my parents have that kind of money right now, especially because i dont't even know if i'm gonna stick with this.
But like can I buy used skates off of Facebook marketplace or something? And what size will I need if I wear a size 6-7 in regular shoes??
Thanks!
After crazy busy summer sessions, today I finally got experience the rare feeling of ice all to yourself!
And getting to use the sound system all I wanted with nobody in my way except myself 🤣
Happy skating All!!
My left skate (the skate on the right in the photo) feels weird when I'm on the ice and I think it has to do with the blade placement. I am right handed so i was training to be a right-y skater but i couldn't manage it after weeks, so I switched to being a left-y skater. But now on my walts jump when I land on my left, the landing feels weird.
Maybe it's because I' a beginner and only started late April this year but idk it does feel strange in a way that I feel if the blade was place the way it is placed on my right boot I would be having less trouble.
What should I do from here?
Pain in toe nails and outside of the foot and heel lock issue?
Ok so, context—
I had a pair of nearly brand new Jackson Elles 6.5 Wide from like 3 years ago or so, but I didn’t really use them much. Finally started actually skating consistently again this summer, but was having issues. Went to skate tech. He measured me and said i’m a 7. He was like I have a pair of used Jackson Debuts in (your size) 7 Wide, you can exchange with me and I’ll charge you $50 for the blade mounting. I was like ok sure sounds like a steal to me. He also heat molded them.
But thennn, I go back to skating and…issues. Having really bad pain in the big toes, specifically the right big toe nail. for some reason my toe nails (on the big toes) would be stinging/throbbing afterwards. Also was feeling pressure/pain on the outsides of both feet in the spots where I have calluses. I texted him after the first session or two in them but he was like “make sure the heel is back” “they’re figure skates not uggs” and “get 10-15 hours in them first”.
I got ~7-8. And then called it quits bc bitch i know they’re not Uggs and I’m not a wimp but i shouldn’t be nearly CRYING after, having to ice my feet.
So I reach out again and head back there he says we can either punch them out or stretch/square the toe box. I was gonna do the punch out but then I was like wait actually maybe let’s do the stretch first (also the pressure/pain on the sides wasn’t as bad, so i was like let’s take care of the toe thing first— this was my internal thought process btw didn’t say all that necessarily)
So he does it. I drive all the way back there, 45 fucking minutes and pick them up. Feeling cautiously optimistic that, finally, FINALLY, i’ll be able to skate without debilitating pain perhaps.
Today I went on the ice and had to get off after <10 minutes.
So my dumbass last night (after picking up the stretched skates) went to get a pedicure and got the callus removal thing… and clearly they went hard because when walking out I told my friend woah my feet feel raw and she was like girl yeah your feet are PINK in those areas. But I was fine an hour later.
Today I tried the stretched boots for the first time, and the toe box definitely felt more comfy and roomy… but the pressure/pain on the outside of my right foot was SO BAD. I couldn’t withstand it.
I’m just kicking myself bc why did I get the callus removed? Why did my Dad mention last week when I’d told him about it that “Oh you ultimately have to get the calluses removed for those areas to stop hurting” like WELL CLEARLY IT WAS PROTECTING ME AND NOW ITS WORSE 😭😭 Also kicking myself for not getting them punched but sigh how could I have known I guess. Now I’m going to go tomorrow to the skate tech.
Also kicking myself though because I noticed today that my heel IS lifting up and not fully seated back. But I don’t get it. I’ve TRIED lacing them with the heel back. I don’t know if Im super incompetent/don’t know how to do that but I don’t feel like the way i lace them ever improves it. The weird thing is that like it DOES feel like my heel is fully back… but it’ll lift up, like the heel/ankle isn’t glued down. Man I don’t know if i’m making sense 🤦♀️ Idk how to explain it. But basically I guess I mean it doesn’t feel like it’s sliding forward like it is touching the back but it’ll lift up and there’s some room like upwards around my ankle area? idk. So maybe that’s what’s contributing to the toe nail thing but seriously idk wtf is causing that toe nail issue it’s so weird esp bc youd think that WOULD at least be resolved by now with the squaring of the toe box. But I’m pretty sure they were fine up until right now and yet start getting sensitive/hurting again after being in the boots for a while. Like just now when i wiggled them up to gently touch/tap the roof of the boot they hurt. Sigh.
Anyways, if you have any advice or insight please let me know. 🙏💕 (And please don’t insult or attack me for being dumb idk okay 😭😭)
But even years ago when I skated I had issues with skates not fitting right because my feet are so wide and the incessant issues just made me feel so down because I love this and I want to do this but like why just why can’t they not feel like medieval torture devices why do i have these cursed feet?? 🥲🥲💔💔 pls help a girl out.
Pain in toe nails and outside of the foot and heel lock issue?
Ok so, context—
I had a pair of nearly brand new Jackson Elles 6.5 Wide from like 3 years ago or so, but I didn’t really use them much. Finally started actually skating consistently again this summer, but was having issues. Went to skate tech. He measured me and said i’m a 7. He was like I have a pair of used Jackson Debuts in (your size) 7 Wide, you can exchange with me and I’ll charge you $50 for the blade mounting. I was like ok sure sounds like a steal to me. He also heat molded them.
But thennn, I go back to skating and…issues. Having really bad pain in the big toes, specifically the right big toe nail. for some reason my toe nails (on the big toes) would be stinging/throbbing afterwards. Also was feeling pressure/pain on the outsides of both feet in the spots where I have calluses. I texted him after the first session or two in them but he was like “make sure the heel is back” “they’re figure skates not uggs” and “get 10-15 hours in them first”.
I got ~7-8. And then called it quits bc bitch i know they’re not Uggs and I’m not a wimp but i shouldn’t be nearly CRYING after, having to ice my feet.
So I reach out again and head back there he says we can either punch them out or stretch/square the toe box. I was gonna do the punch out but then I was like wait actually maybe let’s do the stretch first (also the pressure/pain on the sides wasn’t as bad, so i was like let’s take care of the toe thing first— this was my internal thought process btw didn’t say all that necessarily)
So he does it. I drive all the way back there, 45 fucking minutes and pick them up. Feeling cautiously optimistic that, finally, FINALLY, i’ll be able to skate without debilitating pain perhaps.
Today I went on the ice and had to get off after <10 minutes.
So my dumbass last night (after picking up the stretched skates) went to get a pedicure and got the callus removal thing… and clearly they went hard because when walking out I told my friend woah my feet feel raw and she was like girl yeah your feet are PINK in those areas. But I was fine an hour later.
Today I tried the stretched boots for the first time, and the toe box definitely felt more comfy and roomy… but the pressure/pain on the outside of my right foot was SO BAD. I couldn’t withstand it.
I’m just kicking myself bc why did I get the callus removed? Why did my Dad mention last week when I’d told him about it that “Oh you ultimately have to get the calluses removed for those areas to stop hurting” like WELL CLEARLY IT WAS PROTECTING ME AND NOW ITS WORSE 😭😭 Also kicking myself for not getting them punched but sigh how could I have known I guess. Now I’m going to go tomorrow to the skate tech.
Also kicking myself though because I noticed today that my heel IS lifting up and not fully seated back. But I don’t get it. I’ve TRIED lacing them with the heel back. I don’t know if Im super incompetent/don’t know how to do that but I don’t feel like the way i lace them ever improves it. The weird thing is that like it DOES feel like my heel is fully back… but it’ll lift up, like the heel/ankle isn’t glued down. Man I don’t know if i’m making sense 🤦♀️ Idk how to explain it. But basically I guess I mean it doesn’t feel like it’s sliding forward like it is touching the back but it’ll lift up and there’s some room like upwards around my ankle area? idk. So maybe that’s what’s contributing to the toe nail thing but seriously idk wtf is causing that toe nail issue it’s so weird esp bc youd think that WOULD at least be resolved by now with the squaring of the toe box. But I’m pretty sure they were fine up until right now and yet start getting sensitive/hurting again after being in the boots for a while. Like just now when i wiggled them up to gently touch/tap the roof of the boot they hurt. Sigh.
Anyways, if you have any advice or insight please let me know. 🙏💕 (And please don’t insult or attack me for being dumb idk okay 😭😭)
But even years ago when I skated I had issues with skates not fitting right because my feet are so wide and the incessant issues just made me feel so down because I love this and I want to do this but like why just why can’t they not feel like medieval torture devices why do i have these cursed feet?? 🥲🥲💔💔 pls help a girl out.
Hello i’ve been Skating for about seven years now, but I’m new to ice dance and I’ve started working on my Dutch waltz, canasta tango and rhythm blues. However, I can’t feel life of me understand the counts. I know Dutch waltz is a six count and canasta tango as a four count. However, when I’m counting in my head it makes me skate slow. I can go a lot quicker however I don’t understand how I can without messing up the counts? If it’s a six count and I’m saying my head 1-2-3-4-5-6 then I’m going to go slower? If I speed up then Im doing the counts wrong apparently? I don’t understand 🥲
Hello guys! So I just wanna vent out about figure skating bcs I feel like my progress is so much slower than anyone:< and I'm getting frustrated btw I'm an adult skater and I've been skating for almost 4 months now.
hi there! I’m around basic 2 - 3 and while I’m not necessarily bad for a beginner I feel incredibly ungraceful. Im thinking it’s likely because I skate on rentals, some days I feel amazing and can hold a one foot glide nicely/feel balanced and supported but other days I feel like I’m just learning how to skate again. Im guessing it’s because I’m not using a consistent pair of skates and the support and blades are different or used more each time I skate so I’m just wondering if anyone has ever gotten comfortable on rentals to the point where it just comes super natural and graceful. I’m unsure if this is just a me being bad at skating or the skates, I’m hopeful to get my own pair soon but am unsure when. thank you!
hi! i’m 22 years old and just started my figure skating journey about a week ago
i have new jackson mystique skates, gloves, knee pads, soakers, hard guards, a towel, and a designated bag for my skates
my schedule is (not including my full time job)…
Mon: flexibility and strengthening yoga
Tues: on ice practice
Wed: rest day
Thurs: light stretching and learn to skate class
Fri: work out
Sat: rest day
Sun: on ice practice
i’ve only been on the ice 3 times including my class and i’m still trying to get used to skating and find my balance
any advice or any items, videos, accessories, classes, etc. that have helped you on your journey
thank you!
First started lessons in January of last year. 6 thirty minute group lessons for 90 dollars. Recently been struggling with money, so it is no longer something I can do. The last time I attended a group lesson was 6/29/2026. I went to public sessions maybe every or every other Friday and just practiced the skills I left off at (basic 6: three turns, one foot spin, spiral, bunny hops, etc).
After a month or two of public skate sessions and practicing by myself, I stop going as much as I did before. Maybe once every three weeks or every a month. (7-8/2025)
Then, when I transferred off online and to traditional school, I just stopped going(mainly because the best public skate sessions were on a school day). So I haven’t gone skating in roughly 2 months now and haven’t attended a group lesson in a year.
I’ve been looking into private coaches (mainly because it’s better worth the money and the coaches in my area aren’t expensive (20-27 dollars per 30 minute session)), but I’m not sure if my parents would be willing to pay.
I’ve lost a lot of motivation to skate mainly due to not progressing and still working on skills from a year ago. My crossovers are basically “mastered” by now and I’m running out of things to practice.
I’m scared to self teach because I may develop bad technique.
What do I do?
hi, im an adult beginner and have been skating for a few months about twice a month. i dont plan to do jumps and plan on doing more solo ice dance type of stuff. i am already a ballet dancer from childhood so i have strong ankles and i dont plan to skate more than twice a month but i have been in the middle of how strong my skates should be. i have looked at edea wave and risport rf3 pros but my concern is more so to make the skated last at least a year or two. im 5’4 and and around 145 pounds to add. do you think wave ot motivos could last that long ot should i go for something stronger like overture or chorus? (you can suggest every skate these are just some i tried so i gave them as examples)
This is an update to a post I made here 8 YEARS ago, so hard to think of it as a true update but I made a figure skating app for my Capstone project for my Masters degree in Web Development back in 2017. Then in 2023 I decided to take a deeper look into the app after getting more experience as a web developer and some experience as an LTS instructor....then for some reason I decided to get a second Master's degree in Cybersecurity. I also started coaching (just for beginner adults) and I decided having an app would make my life easier and help me to be skater-first.
So, all that to say, after a 2-year-long project, I have completely rebuilt my skating app into something that is modern, I am proud of, and I want to show off to you. It is a FREE web app (just go to the browser, no invasive downloads and you can add to the homescreen if you want). Here it is: SkateSync.com. In a way, it is my way of giving back to the skating community, since when I first started my career as a developer, it was small skating businesses that let me get experience doing dev work for them, which ultimately led to a portfolio that got me a full-time job.
The primary function for a skater is that it allows you to set goals, journal about your practices, and even plan them with a checklist. Coaches can join the app too, and they can manage their students, schedule lessons, and collaborate on lessons through joint note-taking with the skaters. I also have basic team functionality so that you can create a pairs, dance, or synchro team and schedule joint practices. This function is very basic now and one of the most recent features I've added, so if anyone has suggestions of features to add or things they'd like to see, let me know. Unfortunately, I don't have a synchro team here locally to try it out with.
I also have an option for a person to join as a parent, which allows you to have multiple skaters on you account and you can switch between them. The idea here being that the adult can manage the tracking and also supervise messaging between their child and coach. I'm not a parent, so I'm not 100% sure how useful that will be.
My plan is to keep adding features (and fixing bugs) and I have scheduled monthly releases with the next one scheduled for September 6 (unless I find critical bugs). I have a roadmap of my planned features here: https://www.skatesync.com/about/roadmap but if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them.
Full disclosure: I do have a paid supporter option for the app, which is just for people who want to help keep the app up and running since it does cost money. Supporters DO get perks, but they are just fun things (like ability to change colors/themes) and I tried to make it so that you can get the full experience and benefit of the application without paying.
Hi guys! So i’ve been skating for a few months and ive now felt the need to spice up my skating accessories now that i have all the basics.
Does anyone know where you can buy those cute thick soakers? Like the ones with the small flower pattern, swans,etc.
Ps…. must have international shipping because im in South Africa☹️
if you want me to be straight to the point, skip to 4th paragraph.
hii, for context i am a 13yr 153 cm 101 lbs/45.4 kg girl with no sport background trying to get into figure skating. i have been on rentals for quite a few times and im thinking of enrolling to my rink’s lts program in a few months. i saw some reddit posts saying that wearing your own skates(if you’re planning on buying), to your lts program is much better than wearing rentals so you wont have a hard time transitioning/relearning the skills you learned/did on rentals to your own skates.
i did some research and i saw that jackson artiste/mystiques, and graf 500 were made and best for beginners because they have good ankle support.
i already measured my feet with jackson’s and graf’s measuring charts and i am a women’s 5 width c on jacksons(without socks), and a size 3 width L on grafs.
i saw these listings on ebay and i was wondering if they were worth it and would they last through all my basic lts levels 1-6. i also saw some reddit posts saying that when buying second-hand boots, minimal creases are the best choice so it has more support and these are what i found.
or is it better to buy brand-new??
i dont have a skate fitter near me, only a skate shop next to my rink but they only sell elite level boots like edeas, riedells, risport, and jacksons which i know are definitely not suitable for my weak ankles and beginner skills(and my budget aswell🥲) help me out pls🙏🙏
TIA🫶
So I love to watch skating, and this winter I plan to learn some of the basics to skating, maybe do some Learn To Skate classes.
I don’t live somewhere that has ice rinks near me all year, but I wanted to get a head start so I don’t embarrass myself at these classes (LOL). I’m not trying to do anything difficult, but I want to get the best head start.
Right now, I own just regular basic rollerblades that I know how to move around in. (nothing hard, but i can just like go forward, backwards, i can kind of do crossovers?, nothing real just basic things.) How different are ice skates from roller blades?
Follow up—I’ve seen people use like what looks like ice skates but with wheels? Is this different than a regular roller-skate?
I guess my question is: If I want to learn to skate and cannot access ice yet, what roller-skates/inline skates/whatever would you guys recommend? I don’t really have a specific budget or anything, so if anyone has any recommendations that could be great!!
Hey everyone! I’m a newer adult skater that started in March (but skated for a few years when I was very young) and my goal is to re-teach myself through Adult Basic 6. I’m currently working on LTS Adult Basic 5!
I did ballet for a decade so I notice that I tend to linger on a specific skill longer than a lot of people that I skate with in open freestyle/public skate. Ballet taught me that perfecting the fundamentals is more rewarding in the long run because you have a better foundation and are building strength for more difficult and demanding movements you’ll learn later on. I’ve carried a lot of that practice into my skating. For example: I spent 2.5 months really working on my forward crossovers and depending my knee bend/confidence in my edges. I’m such a perfectionist, I put all my pads on and I fall over and over to try to push myself until I find I’m happy with my control and how a movement looks/feels. I break it down very slow and gain comfortability going fast, and won’t move onto another new skill until I feel like I have great control and a solid base to continue on.
Now to my question: Do other skaters do this? Do you prefer to follow a ballet mindset of practicing what you know and refining 1-2 new skills at a time and strengthening, or do you try to refine a bunch of different skills over a set period of time (I.e. comp program skills)? Of course, as skaters, we’re always refining, but at what point do you allow yourself the win to move onto the next new skill?
Edit: I appreciate a lot of the comments mentioning productive vs unproductive repetition. I’m definitely only continuing to refine skills in a single session if it feels productive and I am able to try/make meaningful adjustments. I’ll also do different drills if I realize my posture or edges are off to switch it up (i.e. forward undercut spirals really helped me get better control/deeper edges on forward crossovers. I see a lot of videos of adult skaters that have been skating for a few years and it seems like still struggle with clean execution but they know a high level of skills, and I guess I’d rather have clean execution and progress slowly. Also because my current boots aren’t rated for jumping and I’d like to get another few months out of them.
Edit 2: I skate for 2-3 hrs in a session and I definitely don’t spend more than 30 minutes on a single skill unless it’s spinning (because I just started spinning). I have a lot of endurance and strength from dance, climbing, and beach volleyball so it takes a lot to tire me out.
But from the comments, it sounds like the overwhelming advice is that figure skaters don’t spend as much time in a session on single skills as beginners unless it’s spin-related. That’s super helpful to know and I’ll try to find a better middle ground!