High Level Training, but with a Life

[Bluediamonds09]

I know it takes many hours and commitment to be a top athlete. But I also believe that these top athletes should have a life outside of the sport. A free day to get away from it, heck, even some free time each day to read a book or eat dinner with family or play with the pet cat. Lately, im hearing of 12-hour training sessions and no free time besides 7 hours to sleep. I'd really love to know: what is a realistic training schedule for a top athlete that also affords them a life on the side? Is it 6 days at the rink? I remember hearing that skaters from small federations don't have much ice time while simultaneously going to school or spending family time at night, which sounds reasonable. Former US skater Samantha Cesario saying she could only train 5 days a week. I'm curious if top athletes like wakaba or rika or loena have time to go to the mall, watch an episode of TV, etc while still being dedicated to their craft.... and not burning out from having nothing else in their life.

 

[Mathman]

A few top skaters seem to be able to manage their time with great efficiency. Nathan Chen is doing well academically as a studenrt at Yale, as well as having a social life, while keeping up with the demands have high-stakes training.

I remember when Michelle Kwan was at the apex of her career she was concerned that she was missing out on a "normal life." She was determined to go to college, live with other students in the dormitories, etc. The experiment was only partly successful. She recounted that it had been such a long time since sher had been required to use her brain in that way that she found herself studying all alone in the library at midnight while her friends, only slightly younger, were out having a good time. She went back to full time skating after one semester (becoming a full-time student again after she retired from skating. She later quip[ped, "I went to college on the ten year pl;an.")

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I know it takes many hours and commitment to be a top athlete. But I also believe that these top athletes should have a life outside of the sport. A free day to get away from it, heck, even some free time each day to read a book or eat dinner with family or play with the pet cat. Lately, im hearing of 12-hour training sessions and no free time besides 7 hours to sleep. I'd really love to know: what is a realistic training schedule for a top athlete that also affords them a life on the side? Is it 6 days at the rink? I remember hearing that skaters from small federations don't have much ice time while simultaneously going to school or spending family time at night, which sounds reasonable. Former US skater Samantha Cesario saying she could only train 5 days a week. I'm curious if top athletes like wakaba or rika or loena have time to go to the mall, watch an episode of TV, etc while still being dedicated to their craft.... and not burning out from having nothing else in their life.

Many skaters do have a wonderful life outside the rink. Don't train every single day all day, have time with friends, etc can travel places, attend school/Uni, and more.
It's been that way for awhile for most skating schools.

 

[DancingCactus]

I think a certain Russian school might have left a very strong impression on how figure skating training is preceived. Although if everyone trained like that, we probably would have way more mental breakdowns and even less interesting programs. You need to have a life besides sports in order to make it work for more than a few years, I think.

 

[Charlotte 71]

In some ways it is probably similar to working a job, where you can put in many hours past the typical 8 hour day with extra projects to get ahead and be a star performer, or (lately), simply because our jobs are short-staffed and employers demand it - but there are diminishing returns after a certain number of hours anyway. You lose focus, efficiency and ambition when you're exhausted and have not been able to recharge. You make mistakes and fall into stagnation and bad habits (or, in sports training, get injured). In this way, overwork can negatively affect your work ethic and results. I imagine it's the same for athletic training. Even in work, an 8 hour day is probably too much - we read about countries or companies with modified work schedules, where condensed hours actually lead to more and better output or results. The ideal number of hours or schedule for each athlete or worker probably varies greatly by individual, but none of us is a machine - we cycle through different stages of energy - and to stay inspired to get your best results you have to switch things up with your workouts, diet and habits. We need to circulate new energy into our lives and recognize when we are stagnating or need to rest - even a top skater probably sometimes needs a weekend to just pull back and watch Netflix before recirculating - and the ability to learn to understand and work with your own energy cycles is probably just as important as the sheer number of hours.

 

[WednesdayMarch]

I can only really speak for how it was when I was training, but back in the late 80s, at what was arguably considered the top ice dance rink in the UK, it was stipulated that we had weekends off, unless there was a rehearsal for something fun. The belief was that skaters needed some down time, especially as we pretty much all had to finance ourselves and therefore have jobs, too. So we did about 4-6 hours a day, 5 days a week. Plus the usual off-ice dance, fitness, etc.

 

[theblade]

That schedule is similar to what my (lower on the food chain) kid has at a current high-level rink (competitors at Jr/Sn Worlds, and the Olympics). Four-to-six hours on-ice a day, 5 days a week. No ice scheduled on weekends with coaches, although some students may seek it out for extra personal work. Some off-ice at the rink, but competitors also get other off-ice lessons independently.

Most of the skaters are also enrolled in some type of online high school, or are attending college (some with a minimum full-time student course load - ie. the minimum number of class credits to still be considered a full-time student).

Our family hasn't travelled for competitions for some time now; when we did, we would tack on one day for seeing some type of museum, and eating at a tremendously delicious restaurant. Building a library of experiences. Thankful that we did when we could. The biggest challenge is building friendships; with no regular school and an environment of mostly older skaters it can be isolating.

 

[Weathergal]

I think a good example - and I'm sure there are many, but he just popped into my head - is Max Aaron. He skated at a high level for many years, even winning Nationals and placing well at Worlds while going to college and studying finance (not the easiest subject - at least not to math-phobic me LOL), and he's now very successful in the financial world. And I just saw today he's skating in the Ice Dreams tour!

 

[ladyjane]

There are quite a few skaters around who have a life next to the skating, or the other way round, skate besides having a life of their own!

 

[Bluediamonds09]

I made this thread because I was so very curious how skaters can have a life when they must, in order to be Olympians, train 6 days a week [in most, not all, cases] 8 to 12 hours a day. Where is family dinner night? Time with the dog, at the nail salon, at a part-time job? Enough time for homework or 2 college credits? [I doubt Nathan or Karen or others have a full load despite the many MANY interviews bringing up Ivy League schools. Let's not forget that the young teens in every country must have homework to do, even with homeschooling].

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I made this thread because I was so very curious how skaters can have a life when they must, in order to be Olympians, train 6 days a week [in most, not all, cases] 8 to 12 hours a day. Where is family dinner night? Time with the dog, at the nail salon, at a part-time job? Enough time for homework or 2 college credits? [I doubt Nathan or Karen or others have a full load despite the many MANY interviews bringing up Ivy League schools. Let's not forget that the young teens in every country must have homework to do, even with homeschooling].

Try again. We/They don't train that much.

 

[el henry]

I made this thread because I was so very curious how skaters can have a life when they must, in order to be Olympians, train 6 days a week [in most, not all, cases] 8 to 12 hours a day. Where is family dinner night? Time with the dog, at the nail salon, at a part-time job? Enough time for homework or 2 college credits? [I doubt Nathan or Karen or others have a full load despite the many MANY interviews bringing up Ivy League schools. Let's not forget that the young teens in every country must have homework to do, even with homeschooling].

No skater (that I know of) in the United States trains eight to 12 hours a day, six days a week. Where are you getting that information?

Nathan Chen had a "full load" of college credits because Ivy League schools do not allow part time undergraduates. Or at least last I checked. COVID protocols may have altered that.

In fact, some skaters actually attend and graduate from public high school (Jason Brown).

So I think the estimate of hours in training may need to be altered.


ETA: https://news.yale.edu/2021/10/25/keeping-balance-yales-nathan-chen-and-pursuit-olympic-gold

During his first two academic years at Yale, where he is a resident of Jonathan Edwards College, Chen proved the naysayers wrong. Even while carrying a full-time course load, he didn’t lose a single competition: he won a world title, two Grand Prix Finals, two U.S. titles, and four individual Grand Prix events.

During his first two years at Yale, Chen’s schedule allowed him three hours of ice time daily. After morning classes, he would spend an hour and a half at the Whale; he’d make a quick commute to the Champions Skating Center in Cromwell, Connecticut, for another 90-minute skate; and then he would return to New Haven for evenings of discussion sessions and homework.

[NB: "the Whale" is the nickname for Yale's ice rink, Ingalls Rink]

 

[moonvine]

I made this thread because I was so very curious how skaters can have a life when they must, in order to be Olympians, train 6 days a week [in most, not all, cases] 8 to 12 hours a day. Where is family dinner night? Time with the dog, at the nail salon, at a part-time job? Enough time for homework or 2 college credits? [I doubt Nathan or Karen or others have a full load despite the many MANY interviews bringing up Ivy League schools. Let's not forget that the young teens in every country must have homework to do, even with homeschooling].

A part time job???? I'm sure if they have one it's coaching.

 

[dorispulaski]

Not always. Especially when the skaters are not making money for endorsements or shows yet. I remember several, and I am sure there are many more.

Lots and lots of students

The bartender, Michael Parsons (of Green & Parsons) (at Japanese restaurant Sushi Damo)

http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00107799.htm

The inventor of Skate Tape
Ice dancer Charles Sinek, (partner Beata Handra)

Charles Sinek - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

The Waitress and the Truck Driver
Calla Urbanski & Rocky Marvel

Calla Urbanski - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Bobby and the Insurance Clerk
Torvill & Dean

Jayne Torvill - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Real estate salesman
Paul Fentz, Germany

http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00011033.htm

Misha Ge & Rohene Ward began as professional choreographers while they were still skating. Rohene was a member of two different dance troupes, according to a recent article about developing Jason's Sinnerman.

Some European skaters are nominally in their countrys' armies

 

[tulosai]

Ashley Wagner worked in a clothing store in Irvine for a time after she moved there. In America at least many skaters must work to afford their training.

 

[Bluediamonds09]

I think a certain Russian school might have left a very strong impression on how figure skating training is preceived. Although if everyone trained like that, we probably would have way more mental breakdowns and even less interesting programs. You need to have a life besides sports in order to make it work for more than a few years, I think.

Yes, that definitely impacted why I started this thread. Listening to a davydov student discuss the 12hour training and how she doesn't have time for much else really struck me. And the long training days were discussed too by alina I think. I wondered if the girls did their school studies in the break room at the rink.

 

[Bluediamonds09]

No skater (that I know of) in the United States trains eight to 12 hours a day, six days a week. Where are you getting that information?

Nathan Chen had a "full load" of college credits because Ivy League schools do not allow part time undergraduates. Or at least last I checked. COVID protocols may have altered that.

In fact, some skaters actually attend and graduate from public high school (Jason Brown).

So I think the estimate of hours in training may need to be altered.


ETA: https://news.yale.edu/2021/10/25/keeping-balance-yales-nathan-chen-and-pursuit-olympic-gold

During his first two academic years at Yale, where he is a resident of Jonathan Edwards College, Chen proved the naysayers wrong. Even while carrying a full-time course load, he didn’t lose a single competition: he won a world title, two Grand Prix Finals, two U.S. titles, and four individual Grand Prix events.

During his first two years at Yale, Chen’s schedule allowed him three hours of ice time daily. After morning classes, he would spend an hour and a half at the Whale; he’d make a quick commute to the Champions Skating Center in Cromwell, Connecticut, for another 90-minute skate; and then he would return to New Haven for evenings of discussion sessions and homework.

[NB: "the Whale" is the nickname for Yale's ice rink, Ingalls Rink]

Thanks for this information. I don't mind being proven wrong. So, if not 10hour days 6x a week, how long is training, typically, for a high-level skater?

 

[el henry]

Thanks for this information. I don't mind being proven wrong. So, if not 10hour days 6x a week, how long is training, typically, for a high-level skater?

it is a good question, and I think it varies for each skater. Here is a schedule that Vincent Zhou listed:

Meet the Athletes: Vincent Zhou

Get to know figure skate Vincent Zhou as he pursues his second Olympic berth in 2022.

www.nbcolympics.com

I also remember, but I believe it was in a video and I would not be able to find the link right away, that Jason has two “on ice” sessions, roughly an hour to an hour and a half, and an hour to two hours (not all at once) of off ice sessions. But Jason spends a great deal of time stretching for flexibility, for example, which other skaters may not.

Skaters in other countries may indeed train differently, which is where you may have gotten the other impression.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

There are designated days for High intensity training, low intensity training, simply having a lesson with coach, jumps on and off ice, spins, days where there is just off ice training (pilates, strength training, peleton bike type cycling etc). And every single skater intensively stretches before going on the ice, especially at elite level.

 

[noskates]

I think this also depends on the skater's family. Jason Brown is a good example. His parents sent him to a public high school. He stayed with Kori Ade probably 3-4 years longer than he should have because it was a "family" situation. His parents always wanted him to have a good family life, not move away from them during his formative years. I know there are "stage parents" that will do anything to help their child get ahead - even sending the across the country to live with relative strangers in order to skate for a particular coach. Or, like in the case of Tara Lipinski, she and her mother moved away from their family home (and her father) to further her skating.