Adult skaters: Too late or not . . . for "good" turn-out moves like outside spread eagle?

Question

When I was skating, I stretched a lot - and I mean A LOT. I was pretty flexible considering "my age" - splits, back, straddle split, etc . . . and although I worked on my turn-out, it never got to the point of true open hipped-ness.

Kids can work on turn-out fairly easily, but I think muscles and bones are different the older you get (especially for adults). Turn-out is the one thing that hardly improved once I got to a certain point. So do you think there is a limit to turn-out, starting to work on it as an adult?

I can actually do an outside spread eagle, but it's not pretty. I do the butt-sticking-out thing - hee hee. Therefore, it's never been in my programs.

I know 1 coach and 1 skater who had other opinions about it. The coach said it's a "fear" thing and it has nothing to do with open/closed hips (I totally disagree with that). The skater said it had to do with strong butt muscles and not open hips. Hmmmm.

What do you think?

Answer 1

i think you can get a good turn out becasue this adult at my rink has a wonderful turn out and shes pretty old so its possible

Answer 2

That's a really good question.  I could kick myself for not trying to improve my turn out when I was younger, because I really don't think it's going to get any better now.  I've talked to my coach about this, and she said that if you're a closed-hip adult (me!) you can really do some damage to your knees if try to get moves like spread eagles.  As neat as spread eagles and ina bauers look, I'm not going to try to do them.  I'll stick to improving the things I can control (without doing injury), like making my spirals higher and my sit spins lower.

Answer 3

In order to get a good spread eagle as an adult, I think consistent yoga practice is the way to go.  There are a lot of great positions which work on opening the hips and stretch the hip flexors.

Answer 4

I think it's like anything to do with flexibility. If you have it naturally, you've got a leg up (lol) on the process, but you can get there eventually by stretching like mad.  I had very tight hamstrings until I worked on them and I have been very happy with the results of consistent stretching AND weight lifting to strengthen them.  (For hamstrings - deadlifts!)  So I wonder if your friend who said butt muscles were important was on to something.  

I wouldn't think it would be the glutes, more like the abductors or hip flexors that mattered.  

I wouldn't rule anything out for adults, but you're right that there are differences between us and the kidlumps!

TBH: there's a teenager at my rink who can't do the spread eagles but she can turn her feet IN completely like the opposite of a spread eagle.  It's really freaky to see - and not pretty at all!

Answer 5

I always had open hips, so to some extent, I am not speaking from experience. But I am old **grin**.

The key to improving flexibility is consistency. You have to stretch all the time not just when you're "stretching." If you really want to improve your turn out, you have to breathe it.

Do dishes by hand? Do it in second position as turned out as you can. Have to stand for a work function. Yep. Waiting to get the kids off the bus? Yes. It doesn't have to be perfect, but over time, it will improve and you will get stretchier in that direction. Just do what you can do each day, but do it every day, at least several times a day.

When you can turn your feet a couple or ten degrees to the back, practice leaning back ever so slightly. Make sure you have something to hold on at first. You can also do this leaning slight against a wall. Over time, move your feet farther out from the wall. Even if you can't lean far enough back to rest your shoulders on the wall, it's there to catch you. And that's a good thing because you need to be able to lean back against the edge without being afraid of falling. Practicing with a wall behind you will condition you mentally. You'll have a mental "wall" even when the physical one is gone.

It won't take nearly as long as you think.

It will hurt like heck the first few weeks.

Answer 6

It's a well-known (out of the few skating history buffs that have even heard of this former US national champion) Gretchen Merril learned her eagle at the tender young age of 29 after the great Maribel Vinson told her she would never be abe to learn the figure. Gretchen took 6 months of serious ballet classes and got it. Perhaps not the best eagle, but it was indeed an eagle allright.

Answer 7

Well I've heard different things.  When I was little I was very pigeon-toed and my doctor told me my feet would eventually turn out naturally when I reached puberty, so I think from that perspective your turn out is your turn out and that's just the way it is. (I was told if that if I really wanted my feet to turn out normally without waiting it would require them to break my legs and realign them, no thanks)   As a ballet student the ideal turn out is 180*, but no one really has the perfect turn out.  I've learnt from doing ballet that you can improve your turn out a little with lots of barre work, but since I didn't start this process when I was 3  and I struggled a lot with my turn out because of my pigeon-toedness my turn out will never be 180*.  My turn out is a lot better than it use to be but its no where near 180*.  Also I've found that my turn out gets smaller when I try it on ice, not sure why but it seems to take a lot more effort to get into 3rd position for a t-stop/push off on ice than in the dance studio.  So, unfortunately I think once you have worked your turn out to its full range then that might be it.  I think you might be able to make it go a little further, but you are likely to hurt your knees if you push your turn out further than its limits.