jo skates

Skating in the key of life

Category Archives: ouch! and how to fix it


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I rib you not!

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A number of years ago I posted this picture on this blog to remind myself of what was going on with my hip imbalance. I’m finding it useful to address a related issue that has to do with my spine and the ways that I can’t turn easily towards the right.

Back then, I realized something was wrong when I had a bone scan that revealed that my back was crooked (something like what you see in the picture above). I had this done even before I started having the foot issues that started me on this journey.

Even though I think I’ve addressed a lot of the hip imbalance issues over the past few years (she said proudly, patting herself on the hip), I still have to think really carefully about what’s going on when what I do on the ice doesn’t quite feel symmetrical.

These past few weeks I’ve been focusing on what it feels like to turn my torso and head towards towards the right, and I think I’ve figured out what the problem is. If your back is effectively scrunched up on one side (left, in my case), it’s almost impossible to twist towards the other side freely.

I also realized that I don’t fully commit to my right-side edges, meaning that my weight doesn’t easily shift in and over that edge. This makes the problem even worse.

I’ve been working on consciously elongating my left side as I shift my weight over or before I try to turn towards the right. This feels like the right side of my ribcage actually moves over. Not a lot, but enough to engage my entire right side more than it has been. This makes it easier to twist towards the right, plus I feel like my balance is way better overall.

I’m mindful that I could easily overdo this, but at the moment it feels really, really good. No lessons for the next week or two (too much work), but hopefully the coaches will agree.

Here’s a really impressive performance of Dvorak’s cello concerto by a young cellist, Pablo Ferrández.  Not a piece that one might skate to, but it’s inspiring and beautiful in and of itself.

 


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Pain in the …

They say your glutes can be the seat of power, but mine are the seat of pain.

Usually when my backside hurts, it’s because I fell down. But this time it’s because I finally have decided that it’s time to get my glutes in gear.

You would think that after all this time obsessing about my form on the ice, I’d have figured this out. But after the first few lessons of the season, it was apparent that certain edges still weren’t clicking into place, and I just wasn’t comfortable on others.

So I’ve spent the past couple of weeks in practice trying to figure out what’s wrong. It keeps coming back to (1) making sure my weight is on the correct part of my blade (it feels like I start my edges by “climbing” the rocker rather than balancing on top of the highest part of the blade or in the middle of the blade), and (2) making sure that my glutes are engaged (meaning that I can feel where my thighbone inserts into the hip joint).

Writing it out makes it seem complicated, but it’s actually much easier to skate this way. It’s not ingrained yet by any means, but I feel like it’s getting there. The only drawback is that man, is it tiring! It’s clear that my right side in particular really needs work.

Off the ice, I’ve been adding some weights to my lunges and other exercises, as well as consciously trying to activate my glutes while biking and walking. I would say that overall, it’s working.  I feel like the additional strength will really help with a lot of the balance and confidence issues I’ve been having.

It’s all just a work in progress, but I am excited to watch it take shape. Or–ouch!–feel it take shape!

Skaters need hydration…
and pizza!

 

No lessons till Wednesday.

No pain, no gain.


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My missing step (b)

So I had another lesson on outside-outside mohawks this past week, and Laurie pointed out that the turn is much easier if you:

(a) establish a good outside edge first,
(b) bend your ankle and use the foot to press into the edge without deepening the curve, and then
(c) just do the turn.

Where mine went awry was step (b). I would either slide my old foot out instead of pressing into the edge, or hook the edge inwards in a frantic attempt to maintain the outside edge. Either way, this was a tortured mess.

Once I figured out step (b), I realized how much easier this whole skating deal could be. Laurie  used the metaphor of the loaded gun, which will go off instantly with when you touch the trigger. Once you take the safety off and the edge is “loaded” properly, the turn just happens.

A violent metaphor, but here’s my realization of the week: either I skate like a human pretzel, or I do things the easy way.

The easy way is if I make sure that I’m doing step (b), not just on mohawks, but on oh-so-many things. Before three-turns, brackets, rockers, choctaws, and heck, yeah, on cross rolls and stroking and pushes. . . oh my.

I’m sure that at some point I’ll overdo this latest find, but for now, it’s really made a difference in achieving my better body position.

That’s the exciting news. The less-happy news is that I seem to have injured my left foot again. Same area (mid foot, towards inner arch). Last week I was running across the street after a yummy dinner with friends at our regular Chinese restaurant (such is the bittersweet nature of these unfortunate events) and felt a sharp pain. After a few days of rest it was much better but then I had to walk my bike home after a flat tire, which seemed to re-aggravate it.

Am doing light stretching and trying to take it easy. Luckily skating doesn’t seem to bother it too much, so hopefully this too will pass.

In the meantime, I’ll press on (haha!) It’s trigger-happy Jo!

How about a little tap dancing by Paula Abdul?

Lesson notes:

  • perimeter stroking, forwards and backward: make sure your inside edges are “real” and cover a quarter circle; check posture; make sure you push (especially on the underpass).
  • Alternating double threes (starting with back outside), back crossover: think about where your axis is, push onto a good edge (don’t rotate three too early–step b will help here)
  • Alternating double threes (starting with back inside), back crossover: better back inside edge position is crucial here.
  • back inside edge basics: get on an edge with good lean immediately (not “over” your skate). Let it go!
  • forward inside edge basics: head and upper body position so that weight is in the circle
  • outside-outside mohawks and bracket: think of how to press the edge (without changing the circle) so that you “load” the turn.

 


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Foxtrot futility

It’s been a rather stressful week, beginning with a loose temporary crown last weekend,  an infected earlobe (dang earring!) a couple of days ago, and a skating fall/bruised knee yesterday (gosh, dangnabit!). But the kicker was on Wednesday, when I was out on the tandem bike with my husband and we hit a patch of ice and went down. I whacked my elbow, pulled a muscle in my neck, and hit my head on the pavement.

Luckily, my helmet held up just fine. I didn’t get a bump on my head, or feel like I was dazed in any way. We got back on the bike and headed home, grateful that nothing worse had happened.

A few hours later that day, I had a skating lesson. The first part went just fine; I didn’t feel any effects of the fall (the neck pain didn’t kick in until the following day). We worked on allowing for more hip displacement on some of my basics (this really helped both my warmups and progressives). And then we moved on to the first part of the Foxtrot.

The idea behind this is to get me to put different moves together in a more challenging way by soloing some of the compulsory dances. The Foxtrot should be a fairly painless way to do this, since I learned this dance many years ago and have done it a lot since. I passed it standard level (with a solo) and even spent three seasons competing it in different Adult competitions.

But as we went through the first sequence of steps, I started to go all over the place. I thought that it might be because I haven’t really worked on the solo for many years, and it’s never been one of my favorite dances anyhow (though it’s not as bad as the European Waltz. By the end of the lesson, I was frustrated and ready to throw in the proverbial ice dancing towel.

It wasn’t until I got home and was just sitting at my desk feeling a bit nauseous that I realized that I probably had a mild concussion. Not enough to register, but enough to throw me off the Foxtrot wagon.

Though I felt way better by the evening, I took it easy for the next couple of days, just in case.  And I’m happy to say that things seem to be back to normal: no more muscle pain and the dentist glued the crown back on so I can eat crunchy things again. Even my earlobe is better. Hooray!

And one thing that I did figure out  when trying to do the tuck behind on the Foxtrot is that I have been thinking about the inside edge–and especially my free hip position–all wrong!!!

More on that later once I’ve gotten this all sorted out. But for now, time for a nice cup of tea and a sigh of relief that the week is over.

Nothing but mellow, feel good music, please.

 

 

 

 


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Gosh, dagnabit!

So I have been making what I thought was great progress on improving edge control and alignment on my right side. But after a lesson in which it was revealed that I am still not really pushing off my right foot (especially when going backwards), I am indeed humbled.

Well, not really. Gosh, dagnabit!

One might say that there are so very many other things in the world to worry about, and that is 100% correct. But this particular small thing in the world is something I–and only I –care about and have the capacity to improve.  It’s nice to be in a place in life where so much irritation, effort, and time can be spent on something so trivial.

Anyhow, back to the real matter at hand: getting to the heart of why I don’t really push. Some of it has to do with my right ankle, which while is much more mobile than it used to be, is still pretty stiff on the ice. I also don’t use my right foot fully; while the foot itself is fairly strong, I have compensated a lot for the ankle by pronating and have to think a lot about using my arch and not just dropping my ankle in to create an inside edge.

This is totally connected to the larger issue is how I am not really over my inside edges. I am sort of there, but not really always in the “sweet spot” of edge pressure, control, and alignment.

Last week was getting a better “back dimple to kidney” ratio (basically lengthening my lower back). This week I am still working on the BDKR, but have added this other part to the mix. I am back to doing lots of back chassés just to work on that problem push, but trying to incorporate this into, well, everything.

So if you hear the occasional “gosh, dagnabit!”–don’t worry. It’s just me, having fun.

Speaking of fun, I was on a public session with only a couple of other adult regulars, and a gianormous kids birthday party. Kids everywhere, screaming, crying, and flinging themselves on the ice. But we survived! And by the end it was just us!

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Victory for Jo and Asal!

So for the musical selection of the week, here’s a lively set of Gershwin pieces arranged for cello and piano: Nick Canellakis and Michael Brown.

Don’t you wish you always had that kind of energy? Gosh, dagnabit!

Lesson notes:

  • Inside Mohawks: think about what your free leg is doing. Activate motion of bringing free foot into instep without changing weight or balance on skating foot. The rotation happens naturally.
  • Backward chasses: push from back inside edge, don’t put new foot down too early, and send energy of push horizontally rather than upwards
  • Power pulls: try to gain speed/ Don’t allow free foot to sneak down or just hang, and use the free leg and side to define the edges rather than just hanging over your skate.
  • Inside mohawk, back outside three turn, inside edge pull. Work on push and placement on axis.
  • Inside mohawk, back inside three, power pull. Work on control after three turn, and keeping hips forward (aligned).
  • Three back power pulls, back outside three, repeat on other side.
  • Outside/outside mohawk (like Rocker), cross in front, step forward inside, short inside to repeat on other side. Think about the axis and placement of edges.
  • Double three: rotate shoulders before moving free foot forward.


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More ankle action

I usually keep notes on my lessons, but forgot to this week. So I’m sitting here trying to remember what the fuss was all about. I do know that it was #$%@&!!! amazing!

Laurie corrected something very basic: my tendency to keep my left hip and leg forward. Just slightly, but enough to really screw up my alignment, especially when I push into my left outside edge. I do it on other moves as well.

Once we identified that issue, I knew immediately that this is related to two things: my left hip imbalance and my right ankle problem. The former is way better; I can get my hips lined up nicely on command now (after three years of working on it, thank you very much!) The latter is harder. I still have limited mobility in that ankle, though it has been improving. I spend time stretching, flexing, and massaging it everyday (handy list of exercises and videos here). My toe pointing is way better than it was, though my ballet days are long over.

But I still have limited right ankle range of motion while skating. This affects my ability to do clockwise slide chassés. When I try to slide from the right outside edge to the left inside edge, my right foot simply does not slide forward. It’s like I’m stuck in bent-ankle mode.

I spent the latter part of the week working on this motion (sliding the right foot and pointing the toe). Oooh, my ankle feels so stiff! I think the motion is getting better, though, which is good because I noticed that it comes in quite handy. There are quite a few cross-behind maneuvers that I’ve complained about on this blog (Silver Tango, Kilian). Now I know why they felt so wonky for so long.

Okay, that’ s enough about the diagnosis of the week. I’ll share a picture of the inimitable skating team of Doug and Sonia, in blue for their Blues.

Sonia and Doug.
Cello and violin case. They don’t skate but they sure are cute.

And here’s an absolutely beautiful rendition of “Duo des Fleurs” (Flower Duet) in Delibes’ Lakmé.  Ah, so smooth . . . .

Lesson notes:

  • Exercise for back push to outside edge: from both feet together and parallel on the ice, concentrate on only turn out heel of pushing foot to push (can do this with back chassés).
  • Counter-clockwise forward progressive or chases (make sure left hip doesn’t sneak forward).
  • Slide chassés: concentrate on smooth and quick transfer of weight and right ankle action.
  • Kilian: work on the cross behind-slide out motion. Make sure you give equal time to all the steps.
  • Starlight inside mohawk sequence: turn happens immediately as you bring your feet together–no pause!

 


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Playing it safe

Since getting back on the ice from weeks of summer vacation and houseguests, I’ve been focusing on getting my skating sea legs back. I’ve noticed that while some aspects of skating come back quickly, certain trouble spots–like the back inside edge on the right side and the forward inside edge on the left–continue to plague me. I realized  that I have some more basic work on alignment and strength to do, especially on those edges.

When I hit the skating sweet spot, the edge feels really solid. I can turn, deepen the edge, do a power pull, or change positions without much effort. But when I’m not in a good place over the edge, all kinds of crazy things begin to happen. Most of the time I can sort of keep it under control, but sometimes it’s like a horror movie.

I’m pretty sure that these particular edge problems are tied to old injuries (left hip, right ankle) that have made me more tentative on those sides. But playing it safe by backing away from the edge (and I do mean literally backing away, since my backside goes out) makes it even more terrifying. If “safety” is a feeling, I need to redefine it as proper alignment and pressure into the ice.

Luckily I am not having to struggle through this alone; I finally had some lessons as well as a Pilates class this week. One of the first things Laurie told me was to keep my tailbone pointed down.  This is something that I wrote about some years ago. But you know, like most good advice, it bears repeating. When I actually moved my tailbone down, I could immediately feel some stretching and pulling through the muscles of the left hip.

At my Pilates class, PT Sarah noticed that the lowest part of my stomach would bulge forward when I would do certain exercises. Once she corrected this, I realized that I haven’t been fully engaging my abdominal muscles (or, I should say, the correct abdominal muscles). This also makes sense, given the skating issues I’ve been having. Now that I’m aware of this, I need to translate this into something I can do on the ice.

Another thing that Laurie pointed out was the weakness of my right back inside push. Again, I realized that I have been backing away from anything that involves a strong back right inside edge, probably because my right ankle feels somewhat unstable these days. I’ve been steadily working on that ankle (which I think is getting stronger and more mobile, so good!) but have to keep thinking about translating that to the ice.

So now I have my work cut out for me.  Gotta spend some serious time on the ice! Luckily it’s summer, and skating is a good way to escape the heat. Just to remind me that soon enough the cold winds will blow, here’s a little animation set to an amazing violinist.

Lesson notes:

  • Forward and backward swizzles: tailbone down, articulate ankles more, don’t rush, really focus on right side.
  • Progressives: push down through the ice and don’t release early (no popping up).
  • Back crossovers: clockwise, watch push from right inside edge goes out of circle, articulate foot/ankle rather than swiveling hips.
  • Back cross stroke: practice “v”position and articulating ankle on outside edge.
  • Three forward cross strokes, keeping shoulders square (hold thumbs if necessary), hold next outside edge for full circle (skating arm in front). Bend those knees!
  • Outside mohawk (foxtrot, tango)—all kinds of problems!
  • Back crossover, push to back outside three, forward inside three, repeat on other side.
  • Back outside, cross in front, three power pulls, repeat on other side (use pressure of edge pulls, not swinging upper body).
  • Three step inside mohawk pattern: keep feet together after turn, get hips in proper place.
  • Inside mohawk, back inside three, cross stroke, repeat.
  • Inside mohawk, back inside three, swing roll, change edge into mohawk, repeat.
  • Mohawk, push back, outside three with power pull on inside edge. Continuous pressure on inside edge for edge pull, not a short “punch.”


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Hips are A-okay!

I had a session with PT Sarah the other day, just to check in. My hips are doing pretty well! I still have some stiffness on the left side, but it’s way better. And so we spent more time on trying to get more mobility in both my right ankle as well as my mid-back (which continues to be stiff).

It’s been an interesting process trying to determine which parts of my body could work better in my favor. I started going to physical therapy mainly because of pain in my left hip and foot, but now I find that the right side could really use some work. The right ankle issue is because I have a lot of scar tissue there from an injury many years ago. I have trouble pointing my right foot and doing heel raises on that side. Sarah gave me some ways of stretching the ankle to try to loosen up the motion of the calcaneus.

Basically, we are working on getting some side-to-side motion for that joint, as if the heel bone was fish-tailing side to side. I sit back on my heels with my toes stretched out, try to pull the foot bones away from the ankle, and then work on that fish-tail motion. These were definitely uncomfortable, but they seemed to help.

As I am wont to do, I promptly tried this idea out on the ice too by trying to imagine that my heel bone was moving in the same path as the end of my blade (but away from the rest of the foot). This is a hard sensation to describe, but it makes a big difference in my stability. Basically, it felt like my skating foot is longer on the ice, that my weight is slightly farther back, and that I have more control over my blade.

This has been a much better week, thank goodness. I have been doing my off-ice exercises regularly, and this has helped too. I wouldn’t say I’m completely 100% confident, but at least I’m not feeling stalled out.

Here’s a picture of my forward outside loops, which are improving, I think.

Jo-loops

And a recording of Rostropovich playing Schubert’s Arpeggione with Britten (yes, that Britten), which probably can’t be improved on:

Lesson notes:

  • Two foot rockers: think about axis and where you are facing
  • Perimeter stroking: lobe direction (start progressive later); eliminate kick of right free leg
  • Inside mohawk step forward on inside, inside rocker (two foot okay), step forward, repeat
  • Open outside Mohawks: work on aligned hip position, circles (think about where you are facing)
  • Swing roll, flat, inside, inside mohawk, push back step forward, repeat: hip position over standing foot, rotate into free arm

 


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Really?

So it snowed again last weekend, and I had to shovel twice before it all melted on Monday.  Then yesterday I walked outside and there were flurries in the air. It’s supposed to warm up in the next few days, but then they’re predicting another couple of inches of snow this coming weekend.

Really?

Even those of us who say they don’t mind Minnesota winters have had it. We are shaking our fists skyward, bemoaning the futility of it all. Or we are eating chocolate.

Or we are skating, thinking that even if the weather were nicer, we’d be inside anyway.

Okay, so it’s still winter in mid-April here. But at least several good things are going on with my skating. One began with the head weight idea, which I’ve been trying to work into all aspects of my waking life, including as I sit here now at the computer. I have now seen way too many pictures of bad head posture that results in inevitable doom (just google “bad head posture” and you’ll see what I mean). Anyway, I have been working on moving the weight of my head slightly back using my entire upper back and neck (rather than just trying to roll my head back, which did not work). And this seems to be working well not only to align my upper body, but also to place me in a better position overall.

I have better control over my edges. I’m bending my ankles more. And I am even able to relax my often too-tight hip flexors on command, meaning that I can finally sorta get that “flat front of hip” position that both Ari and Laurie have been telling me about. I was beginning to think that was some kind of strange genetic predisposition only granted to those with true talent and ability. But no, I can do it too!

It is not quite the dawn of a new skating day, since yesterday I was working on back cross rolls and had one of those falls that made everyone sympathetic in that way that they only behave when you are over 50. My coach Laurie even texted me later to make sure I didn’t have a concussion.

So okay, ouch. But at least my hip flexors were relaxed! And I was back on today, a little bruised but not too bad.

So here’s a little inspiration: not quite skating, but also balanced on the perfect blend of movement and stillness, gravity/force/momentum

Lesson notes:

  • inside three, cross in front, step forward and repeat on other side. Left side is better, but the right needs more foot/ankle action and more actual curve/turn.
  • forward three, change edge, back three, forward three. Place free foot forward before the back three so you can use it to create more rotational energy.
  • back choctaw, forward choctaw. Work on not pushing forward into the new edge. Make sure you are really using your ankles on those edges–no pretend edges!
  • rockers. Work on getting stronger edges coming out of the rocker.
  • counters. These are confusing, since they are sort of like brackets.
  • progressives in a circle. These are better! But make sure there is not an abrupt jerk when you push from the inside edge.
  • back chassés in a circle. This is to get the rise on the back outside edge.
  • forward three, back outside edge. Think about your ear staying inside the circle to correct that slight lean out.
  • back cross rolls. We worked on getting that real push. Then I fell. Ouch.

 

 

 


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New foot exercises, with a twist!

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New year, new socks!

Most winters in the past I have tended not to think a lot about my feet, since most of the time they are encased in boots, thick fuzzy socks, or warm slippers. And when I’m skating, it’s been lace ’em up and forget about them.

That all changed a few years when I started developing a constant pain in my left foot and realized that I needed to do something about it. This was nearly four years ago and it  has initiated an ongoing process involving a lot of PT and research about better ways to move and skate. Some of what I’ve discovered involving the feet is very sobering: for instance, a 2008 article in N.Y. Magazine about how walking in poorly-designed shoes (meaning most of them) affects foot alignment. Ack!

I don’t even want to think about how this applies to skates.  Fingers in ears! Lalalalalala–I hear nothing!

Okay, I’ll just go to my happy skating place. As you know, I’ve been doing lots of off-ice exercises targeting different muscles; these include foot and ankle exercises and stretches that have increased both my strength and mobility.  In addition to calf raises, short feet, and “the wave”, I have just added several more exercises for my feet (plus a fourth video that explains some of the alignment issues that I think have affected my left foot in particular).

I just started doing these this week, but I feel like they are already making a difference.

 

 

 

Okay, time for the twist (literally). Early January also finds me spending a few minutes a day on a fairly inexpensive twist board. This seems to be helping me rotate my core much more readily, which really helps with skating.

twistboard

Plus, it’s super fun, especially with Chubby Checker playing in my head.

It’s supposed to warm up this weekend, thank goodness. Not warm enough to go barefoot in the park, but maybe by the time it is my feet will be super strong! And we can twist again, like we did last summer.

Lesson notes:

  • back crossovers. Use a comfortable rather than exaggerated core position (rotated into the circle, head over sternum). Knee bend will allow for the outside edge push.
  • inside loops. Practice arm positions and getting a real loop shape going (even if you have to use two feet).
  • outside loops. Use enough core twist (dog chasing its tail).
  • “creeper”: forward outside three, inside-outside change edge (draw foot in, then free foot forward), back outside three, toe push to repeat on other side.
  • same thing, only add a mohawk step forward after the back outside three.
  • inside mohawk, push back to back outside three, forward inside three, back cross stroke, back inside three, repeat. I’m not actually sure if this sequence is correct or if I conveniently forgot it, since I got stuck on just trying to do the cross stroke correctly without pitching forward.
  • forward chassé, forward swing. Accelerate on the swing, head up, and hips forward (rather than breaking forward at the waist).
  • forward swing, change edge, mohawk, step forward and repeat on other side. Don’t lift free hip too high!