Cardio
A skater does cardio besides skating for two reasons. First of all, it helps to build stamina, which is imperative to completing an intense skating program. Secondly, it can help with speed and agility. Jumping rope or doing standing jumps, or plyometrics, is great cardio for a figure skater. Other popular forms of exercise are swimming, biking and jogging.
Stretching
To do splits, spirals and extensions on the ice, you have to be pretty flexible. That makes it especially important for a figure skater to stretch before and after each cardio session to keep muscles loose. Common stretches are the butterfly stretch, where the skater sits on the ground with knees bent and feet together and gently pushes down on the inner thighs; and the quadriceps stretch, where the skater stands tall and uses the right hand to lift the right leg behind her body with the knee bent then repeats the stretch with the other leg. However, any stretches that work the leg, core or arm muscles are helpful. Some skaters participate in yoga, Pilates or ballet for further benefit.
Strength Training
A figure skater doesn't do a lot of heavy weight lifting since she wants her body to remain lean, but that doesn't mean that she cuts out strengthening exercises, such as leg lifts. In this exercise, the skater lies on her side with both legs straight, not tilted at the hips. Then she lifts the still-straight top leg towards the ceiling, performing four sets of eight before switching to the other side.
Skating
When skating season is in full swing, between the months of July and December, a figure skater does little to train except spend time on the ice. She repeats elements until she masters them and runs through her routines over and over as she works with her coaches and choreographers. During the beginning weeks of the heavy training period, a skater will do one or two days of cardio and balance that with three days on the ice, eventually building up to six or seven days on the ice with no outside cardio. At this point, the rigorous on-ice workouts alone will be plenty of exercise to keep the skater in shape.
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