3-5 hours on the ice a day, 5 or 6 days a week. Just depends on the skater and their training facility.
There is, of course, a lot of off-ice training to do as well (varies as well, but is often just as much time as the amount spent ON the ice).
And, yes, there is a point of diminishing returns, although that will vary from skater to skater. At some point, the risk of injury can outweigh the potential benefits of more training. Training smart can be more beneficial than training more. I think there should always be one day off a week, too, to let the body recover.
Wow! 6 - 10 hours of exercise per day sounds like a lot. How is it that skaters can maintain their weight with that amount of daily exercise? Anyone would easily drop ten pounds training like that.
Assuming school is 8 hours of time, that leaves 6 hours left in a 24 hour day to eat, sleep, and spend time at home. With less than 6 hours of sleep and up to 10 hours of intense exercise, don't skaters get tired? It seems rather unbalanced.
From what I've heard and observed (though never done), the really competitive skater does an hour or two freestyle in the morning, followed by an hour workout, then school for a few hours and lunch, then another hour or two freestyle in the afternoon. Then you've just got time for dinner and homework before going to bed.
Oh and some skaters might throw in a ballet class somewhere in there.
Rinse, lather and repeat six days a week. Then on the seventh day you can sleep (in my opinion). It's not my idea of fun, though this is what makes the Mao Asada's of the world so great.
I think 10 hrs/day equates to a 70 hour week, not 240! Yikes!!
I'm also wondering whether skating too much can lead to an unaesthetically pleasing body to the eye. For instance, a certain skater has skated nearly 8 hours per day almost everyday of her life (predominantly jumping) and I wonder whether that has affected the bulkiness and shortening of the muscles. If it is indeed true, skating too much can backfire from an aesthetic sense.
Ah, thank you for breaking it down. Five hours per day sounds a little more reasonable (although still intense). My physio said that four hours of training per day (in total) is the most a competitive athlete should train. Beyond that you just increase the risk of injury including overuse injuries and also burnout.
I'm also wondering whether skating too much can lead to an unaesthetically pleasing body to the eye. For instance, a certain skater has skated nearly 8 hours per day almost everyday of her life (predominantly jumping) and I wonder whether that has affected the bulkiness and shortening of the muscles. If it is indeed true, skating too much can backfire from an aesthetic sense.
During the school year I skate two hours a day 5 days a week. I have ballet class once a week, off-ice jumping twice a week.
Better yet, how about a triple axel on roller skates?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9-6uX16rrxM&mode=related&search=