More adults give ice-skating a whirl for fitness

Alice Culp
South Bend Tribune

Nearly five days a week, Sidney Blanchet-Ruth walks into Howard Park Ice Rink Center in South Bend. The staff no longer asks for her skate size; they just pull out a pair of 7's when they see her coming.

She has never had lessons and, until two years ago, only skated once or twice a year as a child growing up in Colorado.

She isn't alone. According to the United States Figure Skating Association, most new skaters learning how to swizzle and spin aren't 6-year-old Michelle Kwan wannabes but adults who want to use the ice as their path to fitness.

Blanchet-Ruth, a retired South Bend resident, began skating when a friend, Diane Kil of South Bend, who cross-country skis competitively, invited her to come along to Howard Park.

"Diane is a runner, and she told me that it is a great form of aerobic exercise when it is too snowy or icy to run."

Blanchet-Ruth discovered that ice skating is not only aerobic but not as hard on her joints as running. And it improves her balance.

"I used to run on the treadmill a lot, but I hurt my foot, and I can't do anything now that is high-impact," she says. "Skating is perfect because you are gliding back and forth, and it is a low-impact form of exercise."

According to Lynn Millar, professor of physical therapy at Andrews University and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine: "Skating is not considered a high-impact activity unless the individual is doing jumps. In that case, the impact on the joints increases tremendously."

The impact of skating on joints might be low, but the number of calories the exercise burns is high. The American College of Sports Medicine says that on average, for every hour of continuous skating, a 150-pound person burns about 600 calories. That's about the same as running five miles in an hour.

So merely skating around the rink in circles is healthful. And by adding the basic skills of skating, which include forward and backward crossovers, turning, stopping and changing feet, the health benefits increase to about 800 to 900 calories per hour.

"Obviously, it's working the legs," Millar says. "The two big areas are the inner thigh, the adductors; also the hamstrings and gluteal muscles, and then the lower back."

Adults who want to burn the maximum calories, or who just want to gain more confidence on the ice, can join a learn-to-skate program. Many rinks have added adult programs for those who want instruction in the basic skills without the pressure to compete with fast- learning children.

Local figure-skating coaches Penni Williams and Renee Carlson agree that skating is a total-body workout.

According to Carlson, "You're using everything. Your arms are out the whole time, so even though it won't bulk you up on top, like lifting weights would, it still uses all your muscles. And you're twisting all the time, so you're twisting your waist. You use your abdomen as sort of a center of all the skating moves. So it's not just your legs."

Since skaters continually are faced with new challenges, adults incorporating skating into their fitness regime are less likely to get bored and quit.

According to Williams, "There are small goals that you can set for yourself. Once you've accomplished those, you can actually see and feel that you've improved."

The biggest problem adults face is the fear of falling. The first move that coaches teach skaters, Williams says, is "how to fall and how to get back up."

Carlson agrees. "As you get older, I think you get more concerned." When skaters are trying more difficult moves, and challenging themselves to learn new things, she says, "they always have that risk of falling."

Once adults start skating, however, they tend to stick with the sport. This might have something to do with the social aspect of skating. The coaches both notice that adults like to chat while on the ice.

About the University of Notre Dame's Joyce Center Ice Rink, Carlson says, "At noon, if you come and watch, most people are just circling, talking to someone next to them, and it's more of a get- your-exercise/social hour."

Just as in any other form of exercise, skaters need a support system, Millar says. "It's more fun. Most people look for fun in a fitness program."

Another benefit of skating, the coaches say, is that the whole family can do it together. However, skating is not limited to adults with young children.

"Some of the people (she's seen at the rink) have to be in their mid-70s," Carlson says.

Dr. Mark Lavallee of the Sports Medicine Institute in South Bend thinks skating is as beneficial for older people as it is for younger. However, he cautions that anyone with a history of osteoporosis, strokes, neurological problems affecting balance, heart attacks or artery disease should consult with a doctor before skating.

"I would be a little more skeptical to take a 75-year-old that has never skated out on the ice, rather than someone that has skated when they were younger," he says. "If there are no risk factors, and it is cleared with their physician, it would be nice."

No matter what their age, level, or style of skating, many adult skaters agree skating holds a fascination for them.

"I just feel comfortable out there. It's an edge thing; you feel it, and it grows on you. Some people get addicted and some don't," Carlson says.

One novice skater who, once she mastered the basics, continued on to become a competitive figure skater, is Laurie Lahti of St. Joseph. She regularly travels to the Kalamazoo Figure Skating Club, where she is a member of its adult synchronized skating team.

Lahti says that skating was never an exercise she had to force herself to do. She was excited to try things she saw other adult skaters doing.

"I saw a 60-year-old woman doing a sit spin and thought, 'I want to learn that.'"