Skraut
Registered User
I've been skating now for about 9 months, and am doing pretty well with the basic stuff, forwards, backwards, crossovers, back crossovers etc, but have been really struggling with pivots, (or mohawks) backwards to forwards transitions, T-Stops etc, anything that involves opening up your hips and putting your skates not parallel.
I'm a bigger guy, and skating has already helped me lose over 40 lbs, and while I still have a ways to go, it's frustrating feeling the strength aspects of skating coming to me, but not having the flexibility to go with it.
I just started out on an adult beginner hockey team, and as one of the few guys who can actually skate backwards, and the only guy that can do back crossovers, I assume I'm going to end up playing D (kind of where I want to be too) I just have the hardest time in transition from forwards to backwards and vice versa because it's a fight to get my feet at a 90 degree angle to each other let alone at the much bigger angles I see even upper level house guys doing.
I can go beyond 90 in shoes, and almost make 180, but I feel a lot of that twist is in the ankles. Is that where a lot of the rotation comes from and I just have my skates too tight? Or is it more from the hips? Any stretches, exercises or drills to do to try and work on getting my feet in the right position to pull off these maneuvers?
I'm a bigger guy, and skating has already helped me lose over 40 lbs, and while I still have a ways to go, it's frustrating feeling the strength aspects of skating coming to me, but not having the flexibility to go with it.
I just started out on an adult beginner hockey team, and as one of the few guys who can actually skate backwards, and the only guy that can do back crossovers, I assume I'm going to end up playing D (kind of where I want to be too) I just have the hardest time in transition from forwards to backwards and vice versa because it's a fight to get my feet at a 90 degree angle to each other let alone at the much bigger angles I see even upper level house guys doing.
I can go beyond 90 in shoes, and almost make 180, but I feel a lot of that twist is in the ankles. Is that where a lot of the rotation comes from and I just have my skates too tight? Or is it more from the hips? Any stretches, exercises or drills to do to try and work on getting my feet in the right position to pull off these maneuvers?