Taking 5-20 min to warm up and stretch (dynamic) before lacing up your skates can help prevent injury as well as help you mentally prepare for your skating session.
“As your muscle temperature increases, oxygen becomes more available to your muscles, allowing them to contract and relax more easily – so you’ll be able to perform more strenuous tasks with ease. Your heart is also given a chance to prepare, meaning it won’t be too strained during your workout.”
As the body’s temperature increases, our muscles are adapting to performing while under stress and the oxygen requirements that come from skating.
Another reason to include a light warmup into your routine is to mentally prepare you for your practice session. How often have you arrived to the rink with 100 other things on your mind and then rushed straight to the ice? Taking the time to warm up can help get your head in the right space for an efficient practice session.
It is recommended that you utilize your entire body when warming up, targeting multiple large muscle groups. Warming up will slowly get your cardiovascular system motivated resulting in less pressure and stress on the heart to pump blood throughout your entire body suddenly. It is also important to be sure you do not jump from a resting state to a heavy warmup.
The benefits of warming up before a workout can provide many positive outcomes such as:
You can visit my website, www.coachstephaniesiclari.com to learn more about my online training programs.
I am a 2x national champion and former Team USA synchronized team member and have been coaching figure skating and power skating for 20 years. I am a life-long fitness enthusiast and marathon runner and have combined my competitive, coaching, and fitness experiences to create my SKATERFIT Training Method.
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