Senior Men's LP (starts at 4pm EST) | Page 33 | Golden Skate

Senior Men's LP (starts at 4pm EST)

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
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United-States
And if you've had a year with significant injuries, as say Rachael, and Ryan Bradley, and Ross Miner did, it makes sense to hope to be really at your best at your last competition of the year. Or for that matter if you're Jeremy Abbott fighting to get a good pair of boots.

But sometimes you don't come back from that injury fast enough to compete, or to compete well:
Ross Miner didn't get to Jr Worlds or US Nationals last year because of injury
Joshua Farris didn't skate his best this nationals because of a broken ankle.
Ryan Bradley could only make 18th last Worlds skating on a broken foot.

Sometimes the boots are enough to do you in.

Sometimes your mental toughness is.

Planning to lose seems a flawed strategy to me. This year, arriving without your quad in your pocket, if you have landed a quad before seems a flawed strategy. You may not be ready to give your most passionate, bestest performance at Nationals, but you should at least have your tricks ready.

It's too bad that Dornbush scored over Miner. Then we could have sent Dornbush to Jr Worlds, Abbott to Worlds, and not given Aaron a spot there. It's too bad that Jeremy wasn't ready to skate his best, too.

But that's what it was.
 

mskater93

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 22, 2005
Urgh, no. Kanako Murakami won everything last year. Shen/Zhao won everything last year. Let's call it what it is: inconsistency.
If you're trained well, you should do well in your first competition as well as your last competition.
Yuna Kim peaked at TEB and then slumped and then peaked at the Olympics, was that her plan?

And how did Murakami skate? Was she consistent through the season or did she build up to her best performance of the season? Same for S/Z = I thought their Olympic LP was a bit of a letdown from what they had previously done. And you personally know that it is inconsistency of the skater versus training plan exactly how? Are you involved in developing the training plan for these skaters? If you are, would you like to explain their plan?

I actually AM a competitive skater and I DO plan my periodization training to peak for Adult Nationals. I competed the weekend before (real) Nationals and I put out a program that was probably in the 60-70% range of my best. It was enough to get the kinks out and see where I need to focus on improvement before Sectionals (February) and Nationals (April) (which is where I want to perform at my best). I knew I wasn't peaking at that competition (nor was I close) nor did I focus that hard on it so that I would be peaking. Trying to maintain that level for an entire season tends to lead to burn out and overuse injuries.
I suggest you go google search periodization training to understand before you just dismiss it as "inconsistent skater" out of hand.
 

FlattFan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
Murakami skated well enough to win everything. Her performance level was the same for both JGPF and JW.

S/Z did just as well between GPF and the Olympics except the freak drop in the lift. That could happen anyday.

There have been dominant skaters who won everything. Those are rare. The rest are just inconsistent and blame it on training to peak. Whatever. I understand injuries and boots problem, but the other part about peaking is just ridiculous.

Rachael Flatt had several great LPs in the fall. During the practice this week, she did a few clean 7 triples LP. It just happened that she didn't do as well on ice during her actual LP. She's consistent, she would be the same in the fall as well as in March (without injury)
 

seniorita

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
^I suppose with peak we mean having the skate of their lives, or of the season, not that in the rest competitions they cant do well.
Yuna and Lysacek, did well in Teb and Gpf each and won the event, but in the Olympics day, they did even better and won Olys.The opposite side is that Lysacek got one bad performance all season and that was at US Nationals, and he got it off his system. A bad skate doesnt happen often in well prepared athletes so it was probable it wouldnt happen again. Like Flatt had the bad skate at GOF this year.
The most spectacular is that you may peaaaaaak once in your life time and won Olys or Worlds without having won another medal before!
Anyway if I can judge from gymnastics, you cannot jump/perform the same in every competition even if you are not injured or well prepared..this is how i understand peak.
 
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Layfan

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
Rachael Flatt had several great LPs in the fall. During the practice this week, she did a few clean 7 triples LP. It just happened that she didn't do as well on ice during her actual LP. She's consistent, she would be the same in the fall as well as in March (without injury)

I know, I was just teasing.

Actually I don't really have an answer the peaking question because I'm not an athlete. In Rachael's case I think she planned to be on form all year long but had that set back with her injury. So she wasn't well trained at the GPF but she was well trained for nationals and now she hopes she'll be even more well trained at worlds.
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
I don't know when we started using the term PEAK. It doesn't mean anything to me. If a skater can be in so many comps including the SPs then each one should be a brand new start. Every comp is important for the skater's ego. They are not dress rehearsals for the Worlds.
 

museksk8r

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
^ Uh, I've heard skaters talk about peaking ever since I closely started following the sport back in 1992. I specifically remember Michelle Kwan often talking about an athlete having to know the right times to peak, and how an athlete can't be at 100% all of the time. There have to be peaks and valleys . . . makes complete sense to me.
 

FlattFan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
It only makes sense if you're talking about other sport where that extra push can make or break you, like swimming, downhill skiing, track and field, etc... You can't be 99%, you have to be 100%.

In figure skating, peak and normal level shouldn't be day and night. If you're falling apart, and then blame it on peaking, I find it disingenuous.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I have heard skaters say that it is OK to have several events in a row, as far as their training regimen is concerned.

What is a killer is to have, like one event a month for four months. You don't quite have time to get down off your competitive high, relax a little, then build psychologically and physically for the next competition.

I think the extreme case is boxing. A heavyweight champion might have only one fight a year, and he trains for it for six months. If, in the middle of his training, you ask him if he is in shape yet he will, say, I'm in shape, but I'm not in ring shape.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Scott Hamilton talked about his peaking strategy in the 80s in his book that was first published in 1999... so I'm thinking "peak" is a term that's been a lot longer than I've been alive.
 

FlattFan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
I think the extreme case is boxing. A heavyweight champion might have only one fight a year, and he trains for it for six months. If, in the middle of his training, you ask him if he is in shape yet he will, say, I'm in shape, but I'm not in ring shape.

Next time I see Mike Tyson, I'll make sure to slap him around. :biggrin:
 

gmyers

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 6, 2010
Some people put themselves at a level where they can win everything they enter but still not be in top shape until worlds. There have been several skaters who have had seasons where they won everything. But I guess they still had to try to get themsleves to peak at worlds. Be in top shape there. Sometimes I think peak means you don't win everything and you like just kind of go from 3rd to second to first but it can be just winning everything and not really giving 100 pecent until worlds or olympics. If you look at Mao and 2009/2010 and her GP was terrible. Her Japanese nationals solid. 4CC mediocre short/good long. Olympics three axels and worlds was her absolute best! But Yu - Na was just win win win then Olympics blowout and total worlds comedown! She peaked at worlds but didn't lose anything before-you can say SA LP but the SP lead was so huge didn't matter.
 

museksk8r

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Country
United-States
What happened? Why was Rippon scored so lowly? I can't believe he only got 5th place.

Primarily because he blew the SP with big flaws on 2 of his jumping elements. His 3Axel basically deserted him at this competition, missing it 2 out of 3 attempts. He sat down on his Rippon Lutz in the SP. Plus, he was just too tense throughout. It's a shame! :cry:
 

prettykeys

Medalist
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
I have heard skaters say that it is OK to have several events in a row, as far as their training regimen is concerned.

What is a killer is to have, like one event a month for four months. You don't quite have time to get down off your competitive high, relax a little, then build psychologically and physically for the next competition.
From what I can gather, the notion of "peaking" has to do with pacing one's training... and it makes total sense. However, I think how the pacing is done depends on the individual athlete.

YuNa is actually an athlete who likes to do the "killer thing" above. She seems to like having her events spaced out relatively evenly by at least a month (and slightly more for bigger events)...I think it serves her because she has the discipline to train throughout, and perhaps some extra pressure not to disappoint.

Trying to maintain that level for an entire season tends to lead to burn out and overuse injuries.
I'll bet.
 

Layfan

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
Primarily because he blew the SP with big flaws on 2 of his jumping elements. His 3Axel basically deserted him at this competition, missing it 2 out of 3 attempts. He sat down on his Rippon Lutz in the SP. Plus, he was just too tense throughout. It's a shame! :cry:

Still, I wish Adam's PCS had been higher. His SS mark was only a smidge below Ryan'.
:disagree:
 

Jammers

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Country
United-States
Just watched Jason Brown's LP on YouTube. Man that kid is going places. Great speed and flow on the ice and he never telegraphed his jumps and he was so smooth. I think he's the future of american men's skating if he continues to improve. The sky is the limit for him.
 
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KwanIsALegend

Fly On
Medalist
Joined
Feb 2, 2011
Newbie to this site, long time skating fan.

I am on a desperate search for Adams short from Nationals. If anyone has it can they PM me or email me. Thank you so much!
 
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