SPIRALS?? anyone got any good tips on higher spiral exercises?

Question

please dont answer with ballet or yoga. i do both already. i want some specific exercises to raise the height of my spiral. Its not bad at the moment but i saw a girl at the rink the other day with such a lovely spiral and my target is to do one like hers. i already use the weight technique (practising off ice with ankle weights) but does any one have any really good ones?

thankyou!!
xox

hey ok a few extra details. ive tried the thing where your coach holds your leg up, and when he does i can get it very very high, my legs are about 170 degrees, but when he lets go, i cant hold it there :S how can i achieve this position by myself?

Answer 1

This will require a friend:

- When you're at the boards, on ice, hold your leg up in a spiral position. Have your coach or a friend push your leg a bit higher, very gently. Over time, this stretch will help your spirals.

- You can do the same thing, off ice, but with one addition. Again, holding a ballet bar or a chair or the wall, put your leg up in spiral position. Have a coach or friend push it a bit higher. Then lean back into your friend's hands slightly, extending the stretch.

Lastly, by yourself, you can use a ballet bar to stretch:

- Facing out from the bar, put your leg up on it, behind you, in a spiral position. Make your body go more upright, so you get that stretch. Then reach for the floor, touch it with your hands, and slide back into the bar, again extending that stretch (sort of a charlotte position).

Your ballet teacher is probably familiar with the off-ice stretches, since they are common in dance as well, so she can help you with the positions.

Answer 2

Practicing holding your leg in the air like you are doing a spiral on ice with a ballet bar in front of you to hold onto. Start doing the same thing except with your skates on, on the ice holding onto the wall. Practicing your spirals on a balance ball (one of the balls used for balance that is a half sphere that has a base instead of the other half of the sphere).

Answer 3

Well before going on ice I stretch so I am warmed up in the flexibility area. That helps a lot. And in off ice training I practice my splits on both legs, and let me tell you before I could do a split my spirals stunk but one I got my splits done my spirals went right up! And what you need to work on is tightening your leg so you are deffinatly using your muscles to lift your leg as high as it possibly can. My mom is a ballet teacher and she says "Tighten up" which means to tighten up my leg, she says that it will make your leg go up higher...I don't exactly know, but ask your ballet teacher if she could help you, before or after one of your classes, don't worry your spiral will be in a full split in no time, remember practice makes perfect and never give up! I hope I helped! Good Luck!

Answer 4

I do spirals all the time. A good way to practice is to hold on to the wall or side of the rink and try to get your leg higher. Make sure your toe points out towards the ceiling. Make sure you don not kick any one!
Good luck!

Answer 5

if yo can get it that slpit when you have the coach holding it, you don't need flexibilty, you need strength. same problem here. Do the "nancy kerrigan spiral" off-ice and on ice a lot. once you have pulled your leg as split as they will go slowly release your hand and try not to lower the leg. Do this a lot and it works. ballet will also help you... keep it up!

pic of a nancy kerrigan spiral

http://stuff.mit.edu/afs/athena/activity/s/skatingclub/images/nancy_kerrigan.jpg

Answer 6

practice splits and if you already have the splits bend your back leg and go up against the wall and that will really stretch maybe do the spiral up against the wall make sure you have something in front of you to hang on to

Answer 7

kick your leg up and down, like you are trying to kick something behind you, 5 times, and the 5th time hold it in the air for 50 seconds. you do this off ice.

Answer 8

well, what you could do is really practicing getting it higher.you can do this by doing your spiral on the ground for about three weeks, and by then you should be able to get it higher then.(=

Answer 9

try this with your skates on but not on the ice.
go to a wall and place ur hands on the wall. make ur elbows straight and apply as much pressure as u can on the wall. put ur leg up as far as u can and have someone push it up as high as it needs to be, but make sure they're gentle so u dont get hurt.