After a figure skating lesson, stay on the ice for a while if your session allows, and practice what your coach just showed you while it's fresh. Then write down the main points, plan a practice or two before your next lesson, and add a little off-ice work if you can. Skating alongside other adults makes all of it easier, and a lot more fun.
Key takeaways
- If the session carries on after your lesson, try the new skill a few times while your coach's words are fresh, then finish on something you're comfortable with.
- Write down two or three things your coach said and what you'll practice next. It takes a minute and saves a lot of guessing later.
- A short practice with a plan is worth more than a long session of laps.
- Off the ice, a little strength, balance and stretching work makes the skating feel easier.
Your coach skates off to their next student, and there you are in the middle of the ice, warm, a bit tired and full of new instructions. It's tempting to head straight for the bench. If you can stay on a little longer, though, those minutes are some of the most useful ice time you'll get all week.
This guide covers what to do right after a lesson, how to remember what you learned, how to practice between lessons, and when it might be time for more. None of it needs to be complicated, and you can pick the parts that fit your week.
Right after your lesson
First, check whether the ice is still yours. If your lesson was on a freestyle or public session you paid for, you can usually stay until it ends. Some group classes include a practice session afterward, and some don't, so ask at the front desk if you're not sure.
If you can stay, go back to what your coach just worked on and try it a few times, slowly, while their words are still fresh. Pick one thing rather than everything. If you need to, practice near the boards, at a lower speed, or a piece at a time, the way your coach broke it down. If your coach asked you not to try something on your own yet, wait for your next lesson.
Then finish with something you know well, like stroking or a few easy crossovers, so you leave feeling steady. If your legs are tired, stop. Tired legs make for sloppy practice and more falls, and the new skill will still be there next time. Afterward, a few easy stretches while you're warm feel good, as our stretching guide explains.
Write down what you learned
By the next lesson, it's easy to forget exactly what your coach said. Before you leave the rink, or as soon as you get home, write down two or three things. Note what you worked on, the cue that helped, like "knee over toe" or "look where you're going", and what to practice next time.
A notes app, a paper log or a message to yourself all work. If you like short videos, ask your coach to film a run of the new skill on your phone, and check the rink's rules about filming other skaters. Watching an old clip next to a new one a few weeks later is a lovely way to see how far you've come.
Keeping these notes also helps when you set goals. Our guide to setting skating goals shows how a simple log turns into a plan, and why small goals you can control work better than big deadlines.
Your water bottle is looking a bit bare
Holographic skating stickers, kiss-cut and water-resistant. Pick three and the price drops on its own.
Build a bundlePracticing between lessons
If you have a lesson once a week, the practice in between makes a real difference. Any practice helps, and many adults settle into one or two sessions a week between lessons. Pick the session that suits what you're working on: public ice for stroking and edges, and freestyle once you're working on jumps and spins.
Go in with a plan. Choose one or two skills from your notes, warm up off the ice before you step on, and give each skill some focused time before you move to the next. Short, focused practice is worth more than a long session of aimless laps. If you're working on something like crossovers, ask your coach whether to practice it in both directions.
If something keeps going wrong, don't drill the mistake for half an hour. Make a note of it and ask your coach at the next lesson, because a small fix from them is often quicker than figuring it out alone. Our guide to ice time sessions explains which sessions suit you, and our page on your first 30 days has ideas for what to practice early on.
Off-ice work that helps
You can't always get to the rink, and that's fine. A little off-ice work in between makes skating feel easier when you're back on the ice. Strong legs help you push and land, balancing on one foot helps with every glide, and a steady core keeps you upright through turns.
You don't need a gym. Squats, lunges, standing on one foot while you brush your teeth and a few core exercises go a long way when you do them regularly. Our guide to off-ice training for skaters has a simple routine, and our stretching guide explains why held stretches belong after skating rather than before. If you have an injury or a joint problem, check with your doctor or a physical therapist before you start.
When to add lessons or ice time
There's no right number of lessons. It's worth adding more if you're stuck on something your practice isn't fixing, if you're getting ready for a test or a competition, or if you'd simply like to move along a bit faster. Adding a practice session, rather than a lesson, is another way to speed things up.
You have a few options. Learn to Skate USA has a six-level adult track, Adult 1 to Adult 6, for new and returning skaters, and many rinks run it as group classes. A private lesson gives you one-on-one feedback on a specific problem, and a semi-private lesson with a friend at your level splits the cost. Our guide to choosing a coach explains how private lessons work.
Lessons and ice time both cost money, so it helps to know what you're spending. Our article on the real cost of adult figure skating looks at what each one costs and how to spend less.
Finding other adult skaters
Learning to skate as an adult is more fun with company. Other adults understand why you're at the rink before work, why a clean crossover is a big deal and why you keep coming back after a fall. Adult classes are the easiest place to meet them, and adult sessions, where your rink has them, are a close second.
Ask your coach or the front desk whether there's an adult group or a skating club at your rink, and look for adult skating groups online. Skating friends are great for practicing together, swapping coach and sharpener recommendations and cheering each other on at tests.
If you'd like to see adult skating at its biggest, U.S. Figure Skating holds the U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships every spring, in 2026 in Duluth, Georgia. You don't need to compete to enjoy it, and local nonqualifying competitions and showcases are a gentler first step if you'd like to try. Our guide to your first adult competition explains how they work, and our guide to starting figure skating as an adult covers the community in more detail.
This is general advice from adult skaters. Your coach knows your skating best, so if their advice differs from this page, go with theirs.
Sources
Most of this page is general practice advice that matches our own guide pages. The program and event details come from the organizations that run them.
- Learn to Skate USA, Adult curriculum: the six adult levels, Adult 1 to Adult 6, for new and returning skaters.
- U.S. Figure Skating, qualifying competitions listing: the 2026 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships, April 8 to 11, 2026, in Duluth, Georgia.
- Adults Skate Too, ice time sessions, off-ice training, stretching and skating goals: practice planning, off-ice work, when to stretch and keeping a log.
