Tips on getting your sit spin off ice?

[Unifarious]

I literally cannot get into a sit spin position for the life of me which im pretty sure is called a pistol squat and ive tried improving my ankle dorsiflexion for months but my progress remains the same. Can someone gives me some exercise tips on how to improve it? A friend of me told me to use foam blocks but I have no idea what to do with foam blocks.

 

[tstop4me]

A friend of me told me to use foam blocks but I have no idea what to do with foam blocks.

At the risk of sounding obvious, why didn't you ask your friend for details on how to use the foam blocks?

 

[fliptzies]

Not sure what your friend meant with the foam blocks, however at my club we do use larger boxes - ones also used for off-ice box jumps - and do "pistol squats" on those. The boxes are tall-ish, about 2 feet , so you wouldn't go all the way down, but it should get you at least to a good 90 degrees and definitely helps with strength needed for sit spins. What we do is 1 ) stand on the floor with box behind you - not on the box - and ( 2 ) do a pistol squat, letting your butt gently touch the box but not putting your full weight on it then rise back up. 10 reps on each side is usually good to get a burn, but of course, in the end it's up to you. You can also do it with weights for an extra challenge. If you don't have a box, a stable bench or chair should work too. Sorry if I'm not explaining this super clearly, feel free to ask for clarifications.

 

[Diana Delafield]

I literally cannot get into a sit spin position for the life of me which im pretty sure is called a pistol squat and ive tried improving my ankle dorsiflexion for months but my progress remains the same. Can someone gives me some exercise tips on how to improve it? A friend of me told me to use foam blocks but I have no idea what to do with foam blocks.

I assume you're using therabands to stretch your calf muscles and Achilles tendons? When you're sitting on the floor with the band looped around your foot, aim to be able to pull the foot back past 90 degrees.

And if your problem is falling before you get into a full squat, remember to concentrate the burn on the lower half of your skating leg's thigh, just above the knee and no more than halfway along the thigh towards the hip. If your weight tips even slightly over your extended free leg, or back to the hip, then splat. Sitspin becomes sitting on the ice instead.

When trying to get down in a squat position, compensate for a lesser knee bend by leaning further forward, so your chest is virtually touching your skating thigh and your head is past your bent knee (depending on your body proportions) with arms reaching with effort even further ahead of that knee. Feel the strength across your shoulders as you reach out ahead of your skating foot.

But I'm sure your coach has told you all this.

 

[fliptzies]

Something else it helps to think about is instead of completely relying on your ankle and knee bend, also try and push your hips further back. This helps both with the deepness of the sit, makes it easier to get deeper, and helps you straighten your free leg in a sit which some coaches really push for.


Edit - ( sorry just noticed that Diana Delafield already talked about this )

 

[Diana Delafield]

Something else it helps to think about is instead of completely relying on your ankle and knee bend, also try and push your hips further back. This helps both with the deepness of the sit, makes it easier to get deeper, and helps you straighten your free leg in a sit which some coaches encourage.


Edit - ( sorry just noticed that Diana Delafield already talked about this )

It helps to get advice corroborated from more than one source .