Key takeaways
- Beginner classes usually start with balance, gliding, a first stop and how to fall safely. Crossovers and jumps come later, and that's normal.
- Rental skates are fine to start in. Once you know you're sticking with it, get fitted for your own.
- Tired, achy ankles and sore legs are normal at first. Sharp pain, numbness, swelling or a knock to the head means stop and get checked.
- A little practice between lessons helps new skills stick, and so does writing down what you worked on.
The first month on the ice is a funny, sometimes humbling time. You'll grip the boards and fall over, and then one day you'll push off and glide without thinking about it. Every adult skater remembers that feeling. This page walks through what the first few weeks are usually like, so nothing catches you off guard.
There's no fixed timeline here, because adults learn at very different speeds. How often you skate, how much coaching you get, your natural balance and plain luck all play a part. Some people find their feet quickly and others take longer, and both are completely normal. Neither one tells you how far you'll go.
Your first time on the ice
Your first time on figure skates feels nothing like walking. The blades have a curved bottom and a toe pick at the front, so they rock and catch in ways sneakers don't. Bend your knees, keep your weight over the middle of your feet rather than back on your heels, and look up instead of at your skates. Holding the boards for a while is completely fine, and so is going slowly.
Beginner classes usually start with standing, marching on the spot and learning to fall and get back up, often before you've moved very far at all. It can feel slow, but it's the part that makes everything else safer. Our guide to falling safely walks you through it, and the first lesson checklist covers what to sort out beforehand. Learning to stop usually comes soon after, and our guide to how to stop on ice skates starts with the snowplow that most classes teach first.
What a first month usually covers
Classes teach skills in slightly different orders, but the first few weeks usually cover the basics in the table below. You won't have all of them down in a month, and you don't need to. Each one builds on the one before, and you'll keep using them for as long as you skate.
| Skill | What it is |
|---|---|
| Marching | Small steps on the spot and then forward, to get used to standing on blades |
| Falling and getting up | Going down safely to one side, then getting up from your hands and knees |
| Two-foot glide | Pushing off and gliding forward on both feet with your knees soft |
| Dip | Bending your knees deeply while you glide on two feet, arms out in front |
| Forward swizzles | Pushing your feet apart and drawing them back together, so your blades trace lemon shapes on the ice |
| Snowplow stop | Pushing one or both feet out to the side and scraping the ice to slow down |
| Forward stroking | Pushing from one foot to the other to move forward, the start of real skating |
| One-foot glide | Balancing on one foot for a moment while you glide |
| Backward wiggles | First steps moving backward, usually on two feet |
Don't worry if your class hasn't reached some of these by the end of the month, or has gone further. Group classes move at the pace of the group, and private lessons move at yours. Crossovers, backward crossovers and your first jump usually come once these basics feel steady, which for most adults is after the first month.
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Build a bundleHow it feels, and what's normal
Expect your ankles and feet to ache in your first few sessions. That's usually tired muscles working hard to keep you balanced, not an injury, and it eases as you get stronger. Your thighs, hips and even your back may be sore the next day too. Short breaks at the boards help, and so does stopping before you're exhausted.
If your ankles keep collapsing inward or your feet go numb, look at your skates before you blame yourself. Rental skates vary a lot, and a worn, loose or wrong-sized pair makes balance much harder. Ask for a different pair, lace them snugly around the ankle, and see our skate fitting guide for what a good fit feels like.
Falling a lot is normal, and so is feeling silly. You'll also have days when something that worked last week suddenly won't, which is how learning a physical skill goes for everyone. Try not to compare yourself with the person next to you. They might have skated as a child, or be on their fifth lesson to your second.
Practicing between lessons
Lessons teach you a skill, and practice is where it sticks. Plenty of adults start with one class a week, and if you can add a public session to practice what you learned, you'll usually feel the difference. Even a short practice helps. Pick one or two things from your last lesson and work on those, rather than trying everything at once.
Write down what you worked on and how it went, in a notes app or a paper log. It makes the next practice easier to plan, and on a frustrating day it's a nice reminder of how far you've come. If you like having goals to tick off, the free goals tracker in the signup below this guide is made for that. Our guide to public, freestyle and adult sessions explains which ice to practice on.
Ask a friend to film a few seconds of your skating now and then. Watching yourself shows things you can't feel, like looking down or standing up too straight, and in a few months it's lovely to look back on. At home, balancing on one foot and simple leg exercises help too, and our page on off-ice training has ideas.
Skates, clothes and padding
Rental skates are fine for your first few weeks, and most rinks have them. Once you know you're sticking with skating, your own properly fitted skates make a big difference to how stable you feel. Get fitted in person if you can, and read our fitting guide before you go so you know what to check.
Wear warm, stretchy layers you can move in, like leggings or athletic pants and a fitted top with a jacket over it, and leave the jeans at home. Always wear gloves, because your hands will touch the ice. Our guide to what to wear ice skating has more detail.
A helmet is a good idea while you're learning, and padded shorts or knee pads under your leggings take the sting out of falls. Nobody at the rink will think twice about padding. If you'd like a pair made for skating, we carry CRS Cross padded skating shorts.
When to stop and get checked
Soreness is fine, pain is not
Stop skating and get checked by a doctor if you hit your head, feel dizzy or confused after a fall, have sharp pain, can't put weight on a leg or a wrist, or notice swelling or numbness that doesn't go away. It's always fine to call it a day early.
Blisters every session, or pain in the same spot of your foot every time, usually point to a skate problem rather than a you problem, so get your skates checked. If you have an existing health condition, check with your doctor about skating, especially before you add extra sessions. Your form slips when you're tired, so stopping a little early is never wasted time.
After your first month
Once the basics feel steadier, the next skills usually include forward crossovers, backward stroking and gliding on edges. Our guides to crossovers, skating backward and edges are there when you're ready. A coach can help you decide what to work on next, and our page on choosing a coach explains what to look for.
Most of all, keep showing up. The first month can be the hardest part, because everything is new and nothing feels natural yet. It gets easier, and somewhere along the way it starts to feel like skating. Our longer guide to starting figure skating as an adult covers the months after this one.
This is general advice from adult skaters, not coaching or medical advice. Your coach can see how you're doing, so if they suggest something different, go with them.
