Progress during adulthood

How hard is it to actually make significant progress during adulthood? (I know it depends on a lot of factors, but like...generally?)
Having skated during my teenage (was up to double loop back then), I recently had the idea of picking up the sport again (competitively)
Now I am in my early twenties and working, so I wouldn't have that much time to skate
I can skate 2-3 sessions at most per week (each session lasts for 1-1.5 hour)
My ultimate goal is to get the double axel but my coach told me that it'd be really hard to make progress at this age, she even said keeping the double jumps would be a miracle
I don't know if I should invest that money and time into it again, or just do it recreationally and without a coach?
Any thoughts would be appreciated

I'm 32 and my coach is confident we'll do doubles eventually. Probably not the double axel, but the others. So her saying it would be a miracle is a little weird. We have two adults at my rink who started in their twenties doing most of their double jumps.

To help your progress, the days you can't skate make sure you're at the gym, pilates, yoga, ballet etc to help your overall fitness.

Just take it a step at a time and have fun.

I say go for it. I didn't start until my 40s and it took a while to build up any skill level. In my experience, the fitter you are through cardio, strength, etc. the easier skating is...
Adult skating is FUN! Everyone has jobs, lives, etc. but the time on the ice is the ultimate "me-time". I know plenty of adults doing doubles.... some in their 50s/60s...

Nimyue said:

I'm 32 and my coach is confident we'll do doubles eventually. Probably not the double axel, but the others. So her saying it would be a miracle is a little weird. We have two adults at my rink who started in their twenties doing most of their double jumps.

To help your progress, the days you can't skate make sure you're at the gym, pilates, yoga, ballet etc to help your overall fitness.

Just take it a step at a time and have fun.

Click to expand...

Totally agree with this. Also, sometimes at the end of the day, I just spend 10-15 minutes doing core strength and physio exercises on a yoga mat. It makes a difference!

It isn't your age as much as your time that's limited - it's extremely difficult for anyone of any age to get a double axel for the first time at 3 hours of skating a week, especially if you'll be working on programs and competitions as well. Most of the people I know working seriously on double axel skate 10-20 hours a week.

Is there something in between going full on vs just recreationally that could work for you, like working towards elements/tests?

heytherewhatsup said:

How hard is it to actually make significant progress during adulthood? (I know it depends on a lot of factors, but like...generally?)
Having skated during my teenage (was up to double loop back then), I recently had the idea of picking up the sport again (competitively)
Now I am in my early twenties and working, so I wouldn't have that much time to skate
I can skate 2-3 sessions at most per week (each session lasts for 1-1.5 hour)
My ultimate goal is to get the double axel but my coach told me that it'd be really hard to make progress at this age, she even said keeping the double jumps would be a miracle
I don't know if I should invest that money and time into it again, or just do it recreationally and without a coach?
Any thoughts would be appreciated

Click to expand...

Of course it's hard to say what you'll be able to attain without seeing your current skills, movement and comfort level with the various jumps, spins, etc. But I think that if you made it to double-loops in your teenage years and are now in your twenties, I am going to disagree with your coach.
I started consistent skating instruction in my late teens / early twenties and made it up to double loops and cheated double flips . My double loops were most consistent and comfortable in my late 30s.

I was never a skater that practiced every day and I saw many of my adult friends who did skate literally every day burn out quickly. I'd say I practiced 4 - 8 hours a week (depending on if I was ice dancing too). Although I had to try the test 4 -5 times, I finally got my Adult Gold freestyle test. I'm now backtracking and taking the Adult moves in the field tests.

A double axel might not be in your future but I think you can get some double jumps. And these days, in the Adult skating world there are SO MANY options - moves in the field, ice dancing, freestyle, showcase, etc. Have fun, make some new friends and see how far you get. You might consider a different coach though.

I think you have such a huge advantage from learning skating when you were younger that I think your coach is being overly pessimistic. Does she mean a consistent 2A? Because I imagine there's a world of a difference between landing a 2A and landing one consistently, in a program/competition. So depending on your fitness levels and how much you skate I think it's totally possible if you put your mind to it.

sandraskates said:

I started consistent skating instruction in my late teens / early twenties and made it up to double loops and cheated double flips . My double loops were most consistent and comfortable in my late 30s.

Click to expand...

Oh wow, that's cool. I started recently-ish and slightly later than that but I would love to do double loops and flips. I can't do any doubles or even axel now and am working on the flip. My jumps are really small so I need to work on jumping bigger...

In fact my goal is to do all doubles except the 2A. A lofty goal but why not, setting goals is easy I skate about 5-10 hours a week but want to increase that to consistently do more on the 10 hours+ end.

WOW, you need a more encouraging coach.

As others have said, it depends on your natural talent, but also largely if not mostly on your time.

You should invest time and money in it if you really want to. You should not invest time and money in that coach!

I'm older than you are and was away from skating much longer. It took me less than two months to exceed my former level (on rental skates and skating one hour per week, nonetheless). I'm at a lower level than you were, but still, only God knows what any individual skater is capable of.

I think how quickly you progress might have a lot more to do with what you're doing than your age. It took me a cumulative three hours to get a pretty consistent single toe loop after never having tried one before. No, you won't get a consistent double axel in three hours, but probably no one would of any age! You might get the 2A, you might not. You might get triples! You won't know unless you try.

If you did doubles when you were younger and are only in your early 20s now, you can definitely do doubles (prob not 2a though). Your coach seems oddly pessimistic, I'm mid 20s and only did beginners skating as a kid and from the start my coach has always talked like doubles are an inevitability. I'm working on 2s and 2lo atm and they are a much easier learning curve than axels so far, rotation is harder for me as a big heavy adult but not physically impossible.

Thanks guys for all your encouragement! I am actually surprised to see that almost everyone disagrees with my coach
I guess it's because adult skating is not that popular in my home rink. Instead, it is full of little kids training hard, hoping to go to nationals or even further

Yes 2 hours of ice time is really limited. I only get to practise some jumps and spins, leaving no time for footwork/program.
Having quitted skating for so long (almost 8 years), I am still trying to pick up my jumps. My double loop, for example, is 1/4-1/2 under now
BUT I am going to switch job soon, which means I will be having a 6-week break! Planning to use it for skating, probably 4-5 sessions a week
Hope that progress will come along as I increase my ice time :shocked: I would be happy if I can land the 2A for once, just once!

- - - Updated - - -

MiraiFan said:

Totally agree with this. Also, sometimes at the end of the day, I just spend 10-15 minutes doing core strength and physio exercises on a yoga mat. It makes a difference!

Click to expand...

I do yoga twice a week after work, hope it helps with skating!
What you do mean by physio exercises though?

I would agree your coach is being overly pessimistic. You had doubles as a kid which is a huge advantage. The axel took me an eternity to land (I skated as a kid but mostly synchro, I never got to axel/doubles- I finally landed my axel this year at 30). I had no muscle memory to base how to rotate more than 1 revolution. Now I get to re-experience the same frustration with the double sal. My friend had a similar situation as you, she was up to double flip/lutz as a teenager. After skating consistently for about a year she can land her double loop consistently again and has worked on double flip.

While it might be a stretch to expect a double axel (there are hundreds of very good skaters who land double lutz and get stuck there) I don’t see why you can’t land your other doubles. It really comes down to three things- how much time and money are you willing to spend and having a good coach.

Good luck! Welcome to adult skating!

Seren said:

I would agree your coach is being overly pessimistic. You had doubles as a kid which is a huge advantage. The axel took me an eternity to land (I skated as a kid but mostly synchro, I never got to axel/doubles- I finally landed my axel this year at 30). I had no muscle memory to base how to rotate more than 1 revolution. Now I get to re-experience the same frustration with the double sal. My friend had a similar situation as you, she was up to double flip/lutz as a teenager. After skating consistently for about a year she can land her double loop consistently again and has worked on double flip.

While it might be a stretch to expect a double axel (there are hundreds of very good skaters who land double lutz and get stuck there) I don’t see why you can’t land your other doubles. It really comes down to three things- how much time and money are you willing to spend and having a good coach.

Good luck! Welcome to adult skating!

Click to expand...

I agree learning the axel and double salchow is a frustrating process! Even when I learned them in my teenage, they took me more than a year. But then learning the other doubles were a lot easier, I kind of got them all (except 2A, of course) within a year when I picked up the sport again (consistent 2toe, 2loop, but 2flip and 2lutz always 1/4-1/2 under-rotated so i wouldnt say I have them...) Off-ice practice really worked for me as I only get to skate 1-1.5hr a week

I understand 2A is like a 'breaking point' - some people get it and move up, some never get it and just stop there. Yet I really want to reach junior (in intermediate now) :/ Guess I can't really expect much...

Good luck to you too! Hope you'll get your 2S in no time!

hanyuufan5 said:

Double Axels aren't even allowed in Junior! They're not even required in Senior, either. No one knows what they can or can't expect until they try long enough.

Click to expand...

I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about unless you’re not in the US. Double and triple axels are allowed in junior free skate tests, and at least a double axel is required in competition:

http://www.usfsa.org/content/Junior-fs.pdf

http://www.usfsa.org/content/2018-19 Singles SP Chart.pdf

heytherewhatsup said:

How hard is it to actually make significant progress during adulthood? (I know it depends on a lot of factors, but like...generally?)
Having skated during my teenage (was up to double loop back then), I recently had the idea of picking up the sport again (competitively)
Now I am in my early twenties and working, so I wouldn't have that much time to skate
I can skate 2-3 sessions at most per week (each session lasts for 1-1.5 hour)
My ultimate goal is to get the double axel but my coach told me that it'd be really hard to make progress at this age, she even said keeping the double jumps would be a miracle
I don't know if I should invest that money and time into it again, or just do it recreationally and without a coach?
Any thoughts would be appreciated

Click to expand...

You're only in your early 20s and you did double loops as a teenager? Unless you've gained 50 pounds since then or have some other physical limitations, you should be able to get the double axel with enough on- and off-ice training and conditioning. How is your single axel - is it a good jump for you, big and easy? A 2x won't be an easy victory, but I don't see why you couldn't do it. If you were in your 50s or something, I could see your coach's point to moderate your expectations, but early 20s you still have many good peak athletic years ahead of you. Good luck, I hope you do it - visualize yourself victorious.

Tavi... said:

I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about unless you’re not in the US. Double and triple axels are allowed in junior free skate tests, and at least a double axel is required in competition:

http://www.usfsa.org/content/Junior-fs.pdf

http://www.usfsa.org/content/2018-19 Singles SP Chart.pdf

Click to expand...

What in the world...? OMG, thank you. Deleted that post. I guess I was looking at the wrong information. Sorry about that!

Never say never. I believe that everyone has their own path in this sport!

I'm also in my 20s now. Started skating when I was 9. I was always very on/off with it as a kid. I never stopped entirely, but I would often take months off at a time. Plus, I was very unfit, ate terribly (often fainted during training - once due to eating only a slice of cake for breakfast ), and disliked practising jumps. I was a decent spinner, but I never progressed beyond mediocre single jumps. Coaches always told me I was capable and had great edges, etc...but I never made the most of it.

Fast forward to now. When I was 19, I realized how much I still loved skating. I decided I didn't want to kick the bucket without getting my Axel and doubles So I upped my game. I worked hard to become strong and fit. I embraced healthy eating. I train much harder on the ice and I persist much better when faced with setbacks. Although I only have time to practise 2x a week, I'm a better skater today than I ever was as a kid, by a long mile. I have a strong Axel (which I only even acquired when I was 20), am comfortably working on doubles, and I'm much faster and more powerful. I'm really excited to continue improving myself.

But beyond all that, I'm grateful for the memories I've made through skating. I travel a lot and always bring my skates along. I've practised in some spectacular places, had locals strike up conversations with me (..what happens when you're the only figure skater at the rink, in countries where most people are hockey-mad lol), and made new friends around the world.

TLDR; rededicating myself to skating as an adult has been one of my best life decisions. For OP or any other would-be adult skaters reading this: go and follow your skating path and see where it takes you...you may surprise yourself. Your best skating years are still ahead of you! :thumbsup: