Six years ago, in the middle of the winter, my husband and I moved into a house on a lake in the Catskills. Before we bought it, we’d toured the 1970s structure, and walked around the property, but we took a gamble on the lake, which was covered in five feet of snow on our first night as homeowners. When it eventually thawed in the spring, we were relieved to find that the water was more than 14 feet at its deepest, and we spent our first summer there leisurely boating, swimming, and taking pictures on swan floats. But it wasn’t until the lake froze again that winter that we discovered the house’s biggest selling point: We were now the owners of our very own ice skating rink. It had been nearly two decades since my last childhood figure skating lessons, and my skills—and my skates—were a bit rusty. But besides conjuring a wave of nostalgia for Tonya and Nancy in the 1994 Winter Olympics (and Margot in 2017's I, Tonya), gliding across the glassy surface rimmed by a ring of tall pines while deer rustle in the distance has become a weekend workout with more motivational potential than, say, putting on a mask and driving 55 minutes to the closest elliptical machine.
A little investigating confirmed that skating also has serious body-sculpting potential. "It has cardiovascular benefits as it trains both your aerobic and anaerobic systems, and it’s a fantastic overall body challenge to your core, your balance, your coordination, and your posterior chain,” says Peter Zapalo, the director of sports science and medicine for U.S. Figure Skating. “Also: Skaters have great butts,” he deadpans. “But the really cool thing is that [the sport] trains total body proprioception—the ability to sense your own body’s position, motion, and equilibrium,” which means better balance and grace off the ice, too.
Logging laps was definitely not my primary concern when I got onto the lake for the first time this season. After acclimating to the freezing outdoor temperatures, it became very clear that my own proprioception was a little off; ditto my endurance. “Start by warming up with movements off the ice,” Zapalo suggests when I plug him for training tips. His recommendations include leg lunges, high-stepping, “dynamic kicks,” and improving your balance by standing on one foot while brushing your teeth, alternating for 30 seconds on each side. When you finally make it onto the ice, it’s best to stay at a sustained pace for maximum cardio benefits, says Zapalo; then throw in a few sprints if your body is up for it. “It’s like running or cycling: you need to maintain a consistent ‘work load,’ and as you improve your technical skills, you’ll be able to go longer and skate better.”
For those who are serious about perfecting their skills or don’t live near a skate-safe lake, most local ice rinks—many of which are open, and are adhering to strict CDC guidelines—offer classes and open skate hours. There are also endless how-to videos on YouTube, and U.S. Figure Skating’s Learn To Skate website. Rebranded and revamped a few years ago to include information and practical tips for figure skating, hockey, and speed skating, the site will let you know where to find a rink near you, has downloadable PDFs outlining various moves, and its accompanying app is loaded with step-by-step training guides and handy videos to illustrate exactly how to do that forward slalom correctly.
