FEATURE ARTICLE

STRETCHING FOR SPEED SKATING
by Alexander Bont

The information in this article is copyright © 2001, Bont Skates Pty Ltd. No unauthorised reproduction in whole or part is allowed without the written authorisation of Bont Skates. First Published 28/05/01.

Stretching. Your coach tells you to do it. You tell yourself to do it. But how many people turn up to training and just skip stretching? Most people actually... 

We all know that warming up and down is important but that ‘ahh I cant be stuffed today’ attitude is heard all too often in skating rinks all over the world. If you are stretching, which I recommend, then here are some skating specific exercises for you.

Today's stretching model is none other than triple Junior World Sprint Champion, Sophie Muir.

Warm up

I prefer to do the warm up without skates on. A 5 minute slow jog is perfect. Some people like to do sprints and jumps but I don’t find it necessary and just a waste of energy.  If you don’t do a warm up your muscles (especially in the morning) will not be ready for the exercise and you will lactic (lactic acid) up sooner than if you had warmed up. You will also be less prone to injury especially when practicing starts and high explosive training exercises.

Stretching

Hold each stretch for 12-15 seconds.

Seated Twist

  • Sit up straight, legs stretched out in front of you,
  • Tuck your left leg around your body and place your right leg over the top of the left leg.
  • Bend forward and put your right elbow on the inside of your right knee. Now twist around so you can see behind you.
  • You should feel a stretch in your butt.
  • After holding that stretch, twist back to the front and try to put your head on your toes.
  • Change legs and repeat.

Step 1
 
Step 2

Seated Groin Stretch

  • Sit up straight.
  • Ease your legs up towards your body and place the soles of your feet together, allowing your knees to ease out down towards the floor
  • Place your elbows on the insides of your knees and gently push your knees towards the ground. If you don’t feel anything, bring your feet close to your body.

Standing Groin Stretch / Hip Flexor

  • Standing up, bend one leg in the skating position, and the other one stretched out as if you are doing a skating push. (no picture)
  • Gently ease your body down until you fell the stretch and hold it.
  • Change legs and repeat.
  • Stand up and lunge forward with one foot, with your other knee on the ground as in the picture opposite.
  • Push your pelvis forward to stretch your hip flexors.
  • These two stretches as well as the seated groin stretch are very important if you will be doing starts or sprints.

Hamstring Stretch

  • Standing up, place one leg on an object waist height. If you don't have an object you can do it on the ground.
  • Slowly bend forward until you feel the stretch and hold it.
  • If you cant feel anything, find a taller object to place your foot on.
  • Change legs and repeat. (From now on I will not mention, change legs and repeat as you should know that by now).

Quadriceps Stretch

  • Standing up on one leg, grab one foot behind your butt.
  • Being a skater you should have no trouble doing this without holding on to something or someone. If you can’t, then practice more.
  • To make stretching more entertaining, you can find a willing partner, hold the stretch position and bounce around on one leg trying to push each other over… People will get mad if they are not a willing partner and you start pushing them over.

Calf Stretch

  • Standing up straight, place your foot upright against a tree or wall. 
  • Keeping your leg straight, move your hips towards the wall until you fell the stretch.

Shins

  • Standing up, knees slightly bent.
  • Lock one knee behind the other.
  • Make the toes on your front foot point towards the ground.
  • Push on the front knee using the knee behind until you feel a stretch across your shin.

Ankle rotations

  • Rotate your ankles one foot at a time, clockwise 10 times, counter clockwise 10 times, and repeat

Upper body is also important especially if you will be doing sprints.

Arm swings

  • Rotate your arms as if you are swimming freestyle, back stroke, then butterfly.
  • 10-20 times each is enough.

Shoulder Stretch

  • Place one arm across your body and pull it towards you using the other arm.
  • Then lock your hands together behind your body and pull them up towards the sky.
  • This exercise is especially important if you plan on whacking people in the face as they try to overtake you or for elbowing people off the start line.

Behind the Head Stretch

  • Place one arm behind your head as if you are washing your back. Use your other arm to push your elbow back.
  • Hold it there.

Chest Stretch

  • Outstretch one arm and place it against a tree or a pole.
  • Twist your body away from the pole so you feel a stretch across your chest.

Neck Rotations

  • Swivel your neck around in circles clockwise 5 time and counter clockwise 5 times as well.

Neck Stretch

  • Tilt your head to the left.
  • Use your left arm to gently pull on your head in the same direction.
  • Hold it there, then go over to the right side.
  • No need to do forward and backwards.

Side Stretch

  • Stand up straight.
  • Slide one arm down the side of your leg until you feel a stretch in your side.
  • Be careful not to bend forward.

Back stretches seem to do more harm than good, so you can skip them. Now go and do 5 – 10 minute warm up on your skates.

Warm Down

Before you take your skates off, always do a 5 minute very slow skate warm down. Take your skates off then stretch any muscles that feel sore or tired, probably your hamstrings, quads, and calf muscles. No need to stretch every muscle again. Don't stretch any muscles that feel like you have torn. Now go for a slow 5 minute very slow jog.

Recovery

Recovery is one of the most understated parts of a training regime. In order to back up after a session for the next day your muscles need to recover. Recovery is not sitting in front of the TV playing Pokemon games… it’s active recovery. This is what you can do:

  1. Running or cycling. A slow 10-20 minute run or 30-60 min bike spin on a stationary bike are what you need to rejuvenate your legs.
  2. Swimming, do some laps with the kick board.
  3. Massage. I’m not a big fan of deep massages as they can wipe your legs out for the next 2 – 3 days so just get a light massage if you are having one. Self massage is a good way of loosening up the muscles as you know your body and how hard to press.
  4. Hot/cold showers. Get in the shower and turn the water on your legs as cold as you can take it for 30 seconds, then switch to hot (not burning hot) water for 30 seconds. Repeat 4 times each leg. This helps to get rid of lactic acid build up from your muscles as the hot water expands the muscles and the cold contracts them.
  5. Dencorub and Deep Heat are good for sore muscles. Even if they don’t work the pain from the heat will take your mind off your sore legs.
  6. Any inflamed areas use some anti-inflammatory gel as soon as possible.
  7. If you have any injuries REST THEM! It’s better to take 2-3 days off now then 2-3 weeks off after you do more damage to your injury.