Get Coached S&C for Figure Skating - w/c 8/12/2014

Well that's the season over with for most of my skaters and that can only mean one thing; winter training or off season training depending on your terminology! This means different things to different skaters within the training group.
The senior skaters will be looking to increase strength and stamina with a shift to power development later in this cycle whilst the younger athletes will be consolidating existing exercise techniques and learning new exercises, improving coordination and increasing stamina.

For one of my seniors the first half of this cycle is about regeneration and hypertrophy followed by a strength phase then power and competition preparation. The key lifts for the first 3 cycles will revolve around squats: back, front, overhead and split whilst continuing to develop the clean from both the hang and floor positions.
Right now I'm not too popular due to the high reps and sets but the targets are in place and the goals to aim for!

Other seniors are looking to improve their overall conditioning levels and as such are currently following more of a HIIT style programme that varies between higher load and lower load workouts aimed at improving strength and stamina.

The younger skaters will be working on improving their strength and stamina too but with an emphasis on correct movement patterns, exercise technique and coordination. We will also be developing strength in key muscle to reduce injury risk in the coming season, in particular core, gluts and hamstrings.

Physical development is not possible all year round for most athletes due to competitions and training specific to their sport, in this instance Figure Skating which also requires the skater to pass skill based technical tests to move up the levels. Therefore all windows of opportunity must be used for maximum gains. This means it is vital to understand what key elements of physical development should be focused on for each athlete specific to their chronological age, training age, stage of physical development/maturation and where they are at with regards to their peak height velocity.
So lets get the hard work done now and look forward to the new season with confidence.

Thanks for reading this far, I hope you have found this blog informative and thought provoking. All relevant comments and suggestions welcome here on Blogger or on the Get Coached FB page.