I think I've peaked.?

Question

okay well i'm a figure skater and i absolutely adore the sport no matter how many bruises it gives me and how many ice burns i get. but recently i feel like i've reached a plateau i've stopped improving. i skate 3-4 times a week an hour each time. and i've been working on my double salchow for almost a year now and i still can't get it consistantly. i have my axel and it's pretty consistant i mean i can land it basically every time i do it it's just prettier sometimes than others lol. but my double salchow i've landed it before with ease but it's just that i can't get it consistantly i can't land on my toe and get my foot out if i get my foot out i end up cheating the jump and landing on my blade. also i feel like i haven't really been improving i've been getting worse. i fell really hard on my elbow and hip on a layback spin and now i think i'm scared to do them they're really slow now and i can't even get like 90 degrees with my back. i need some advice about what to do with my

Answer 1

well, the first time I learn double salchow, I always landed on 2 feet. Okay now,  if you keep landing ur blade, it will hurt ur feet. I did it last time and I ended up with sprain all over my feet. When you land, try to land on your toe. When u land, open your amrs wide open quickly! Bend your knees and don't bend your back or you'll just land on two feet.

And for layback... Ummm.. well just do lots of bridge warm up and hold it for 2-3 minutes everyday.

Answer 2

For the layback spin, try spinning straight up, then going lower and lower, but don't rush yourself! For the double salchow, I'm not so sure about that....I can only do a regular salchow. Just keep practicing, and never give up! Best of luck!

Answer 3

Although I don't know much about the jumps and spins in figure skating, I do know that you shouldn't quit the sport. You said you absolutely adore the sport, and if you do, I think you should keep going. Everyone faces tough times, no matter what they are doing, but you have to just keep pushing past the obstacles. In the end, you will be able to do everything you want to do, as long as you keep practicing and get help from your coach, and it will be a great feeling. If you quit now, think about all the hard work, time, money, and dedication you put into figure skating. You should continue and become even better! I'm 15 and I began figure skating two months ago, and I wish I started when I was smaller. I really think you should continue, you will probably regret quitting at a later time. GOOD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING! I know you'll do great if you continue :)

Answer 4

Well your 14. Your still growing. This can get you off balance, and make it feel like your doing worse.

Don't quit! Most skaters, when they drop out, drop out during their doubles. Dont be one of those in that statistic. Everyone reaches plateaus. Its never going to be a solid uphill peak. There will be long plateaus, even dips. Dont be afraid of them, its just something you have to work past. In the meantime, wear those hip/tailbone/knee pads. This will make you more confident, because you seem to be getting down.

As for laybacks, mine was horrendous for the longest time. Then i did some stuff. I practiced back flexibility ALL the time off ice! i would do tons of biellmans, spirals, and layback positions off ice. The biellman is one of my favorites, you can REALLY stretch it off ice. Pull up as hard as you can, see if you can get your leg past your head, and your head touching your but. Ok well that might not happen, but aim for it. Back flexibility is just the degeneration of the spine's disks that allows you to bend more. IF you REALLY wanna wear those down, thats what youll have to do for a great layback. And since you had a good layback before, it shouldnt be too hard to get back. Just make sure you are centered,and and your arms are above your belly button.

As for double sals, this is my favorite double!! It takes time. Since you axel is consistent, i dont understand why you cant land double sals. Its just a fancy axel with a different entrance.

Alrightie tips:

-Check like no other on the entrance. Im not even kidding, CHECK!! The setup determines the jump.

-On the threeturn, dont think "down, up , down". This is bad. You dont wanna come back up in the middle. It should be a deep knee bend all through the three turn. That way once you start jumping, youll get more height.

-Also if you have a harness, now would be the time to use it. It will help you get through your little slump.

- Dont break at the waist. Concentrate on keeping upright the whole jump. Also dont reach for the ice. Have the confidence to pull up and believe in yourself.

Also start working on other spins/jumps to take a break:

cannonball spin, i-spin (personal favorite), double toes, double loops, haircutter, biellman, flying camel/sit. etc.

Answer 5

You might want to cut down the number of times you skate a week. Sometimes a short break is good. You may be ovethinking things which causes you to get hurt. Expecially since you've fallen hard and are now scared, its ok to put this aside for a while then go back. Try getting your axles completely consistant first then going back to your double. If you can't land well all the time on a single then it'll be tough on your double. You have to get a knack of how you're going to land and to figure out ways you can pull out of a jump. As I said before, maybe its time for a break. I'd take a month off...or a couple weeks, go back with a clear mind, try again. heck, you might just land your double on the first try.

Answer 6

Welcome to puberty. You're currently experiencing the ill effects on your skating from a growth spurt. It's perfecty normal. Even I who got into skating in your present age had a few growth spurts and suffered it myself. I'd say it's amazing you could get a double after less than 3 years of skating. You learned pretty fast in my opinion.

The advice already given is really good, follow it. Especially on the off-ice Layback training. Just because your Layback is unstable on the ice, doesn't mean you should lose the strength to do it. I'd do it off-ice myself (my Layback has been shoddy lately), but my groin injury prevents me from doing it for the time being. Go with a coach and see if they can fix it. One problem many skaters have (myself included embarassingly) is that I rush the figure before stabilizing it. I do the Layback that way because for some weird reason I'm physically unable to do a slow Layback, either I do it uber meister fast or bust. That means when I do pull it off, my Layback is awesome and ends in 3 seconds, but if not, the figure travels and I lose it.

Secure your standing spin two revs and slowly get into position, it might help it. It's normal to feel fear from falling off a Layback, but don't let that fear intimidate you. Just think it's in your head. Try learning the Broken neck spin Stephane Lambiel does so d**n well. It gives you the same dizziness factor without the same instability as the Layback. If you make yourself less sensitive to dizziness spinning in that position, recovering your Layback will be easier.

Try more off-ice training on the jumps. Skip-rope or try to get a fitness coach who specializes in jumping to improve your jumping. I do it myself and it's working. I could never even imagine I'd do a Double Lutz so easily, but right now I do 1-1/2 Lutzes very well and the rotation just keeps on going closer and closer to the full double. I wished my Double Salchow had this much progress. >_<

You should skate less for the time being. You might also suffer from burn-out. Take a week off skating and perhaps go to the movies or to a night-club or whatever you do in your free time and just don't worry too much about your skating. When you come back your skating will magically improve. Many skaters commit the sin of skating 7/7 a week with no resting. If you don't rest your muscles, you don't make them stronger but injure them and you don't gain muscle memory which you need for the sport.

Because of school, I didn't go skating for 3 weeks and I went last Saturday and I does Double Lutzing like over 50 jumps. I got a foot injury haha, but it was well worth it. You can be amazed at how well you can skate after a good rest.

Focus on your moves in the field. Do you have counters and rockers? It's a good time to learn them if you don't. I see that warming up my skating with counters and rockers makes the spins and jumps easier and more stable.

I'd say don't quit it because you love skating, you just need some time off.

Answer 7

I don't think you've peaked, I think you need to spend more time on the ice. You probably need some off-ice training.