August 2003
Week of August 3, 2003
Why I Like/Dislike Aerobics
The weather has been so rainy and gloomy lately, I have not even been able to roller skate outdoors. I also did not ice skate this week. The rink sells most of its public ice to private groups and summer camps; therefore, canceling sessions I might otherwise attend. In the absence of skating activities, I have increased my aerobic classes to four or five per week, which has led me to reflect on my love-hate relationship with this form of exercise.
Why I Like Aerobics
My aerobics class is conveniently located near my home. I can literally get there in less than five minutes. I could walk if necessary. This eliminates the commute stress I experience when driving to the ice rink. Since I have paid for a membership to this program, I feel obligated to go and have no trouble motivating myself. Some people might not like the inflexible schedule of an organized class; but I look at the clock, realize it is time to go, and mindlessly drive to the gym. I have never tried fitness videos, but doubt I possess the self-discipline to pop the cassette into the VCR and complete the routine without a live instructor and classmates. I would procrastinate and ultimately abandon the videotape to collect dust.
Each aerobics class only lasts one hour. During that hour, I get an excellent workout. I probably burn as much fat and calories in that limited period of time as I consume in two or three hours of figure skating. However, the continuous stroking and movement required for ice dancing can be good cardiovascular exercise. Actually, I credit my recent weight loss to aerobics, though ice dance has probably also contributed.
Aerobics is fun. The routines are challenging, though I am definitely not a nifty dancer. However, I am not the stiffest klutz in the gym either. No matter how sloppily I move, I never get frustrated and leave early. Once committed, I stay committed and always feel revived afterward. I sleep particularly well after an evening aerobics session. It purges stress wonderfully. Aerobics is social. I have made new friends through this class.
Probably most importantly, from the perspective of an outdoor roller skater, aerobics is virtually weather independent. Except during blizzard conditions, class meets. From the viewpoint of an ice skater, my aerobic workout is independent of other people. Crowds are not an issue. Snotty behavior and dirty looks do not exist. Classes are not cancelled in favor of a private party or hockey game. Adult aerobic participants are not treated like the scourge of the universe. Aerobics is geared toward adults. We do not steal floor space from self-perceived champions. There are no “aerobic parents”.
Why I Dislike Aerobics
Quite simply, I am a lousy dancer. I never took dance lessons as a child or was overly fond of boogying. As a young adult, I did not hang out in nightclubs. Aerobics is basically a form of dance, and I started this sport later in life, ten years after taking my first private ice skating lesson. In ten years, I may be a decent aerobic dancer. However, I have no ear for music, which would ultimately hamper my progress through ice dance tests, if I chose to accept that challenge. In aerobics, I often miss the beat or kick to the left when the rest of the class kicks to the right. Consistent with my clockwise tendencies on the ice, I do everything backward, starting on my left foot or turning opposite everyone else. Fighting this inclination, I try desperately to match my movements to the undulating whole.
Whenever I think I am improving and putting a little personality into my steps, the instructor changes the lineup. Out with the dance I have mastered, and in with a new one I cannot do at all. By the time I learn the new one, she dumps it for an even more mind-boggling replacement. Of course the excruciatingly painful numbers never seem to go away. As soon as an overly familiar tune began to play, I exchanged reluctant glances with a fellow exerciser and vowed to burn the offending cassette. The regularity of turnover should actually improve my dance competence by making me more versatile and nimble. I am also encouraged to catch on quickly to avoid an awkward adjustment period. Fumbling through a new routine, I devote most of my energy to copying others rather than channeling effort into the exercise itself. This results in a poor workout and low output of sweat. I can accept the learning curve as a necessary part of any worthwhile endeavor. I just wish I did not have to scale it so frequently.
While I recognize the value of varying the routines, I cannot tolerate the obnoxious volume of the music. The gym has terrible acoustics, which exaggerates the problem. The instructor, an athletic woman in her early thirties, apparently loves loud blaring music. I am not hearing impaired from adolescent stereo abuse and do not appreciate leaving an aerobics class with my ears ringing as though I sat too close to the speakers at a rock concert. Whenever the music seems reasonable, the instructor announces that she has to turn it up. Once I shouted: “Please don’t!” She did not hear me.
I have shared my frustration with other students to determine if this situation bothers anyone else. It does, but the problem is less widespread than I expected. While I have not personally filed a complaint, someone obviously has because the instructor has been much more sensible about the volume recently.
At the risk of sounding like an old fart, I would like to gripe about one more aspect of the music. I do not like a lot of it. Most of the women in the class are my age or older. We are not teenagers. We do not generally favor the same music that appeals to people who could be our children. The instructor seems to think we know the songs and the names of the artists. Very often, I have never heard of either before. Furthermore, I would not choose this music for my own pleasure. However, she plays a variety of songs, and I like many of them. I move more assertively and get a better workout to music I enjoy.
Nothing is ever perfect, and pleasing everyone ranks as one of life’s greatest impossibilities. However, in spite of its flaws, I have participated in this class for a year and have no plans to quit. In fact, I have encouraged friends to join. If you want to have fun while losing weight and getting in shape, sign up for aerobics. It works.
Week of August 10, 2003
Snowflakes in August
If all summer public sessions were as decent as the one I attended this week, I would skate regularly during the summer. While the ice was busier than what I usually enjoy, it was definitely useable. I could actually skate rather than just dabbling in the middle or circling with the crowd. For the first time since June, I had enough space to practice dance patterns. Unfortunately, more difficult dances evaporate quickly. I had forgotten the steps of the Hickory Hoedown, Ten Fox, and Willow Waltz. After a few moments of studying the diagrams, I walked through the movements. Of course, I could not expect to simply pick up these dances where I left off in the learning process, but I was able to do them with some minimal level of competence. Since I have been practicing dance elements on heavy quad roller skates (wheels and chassis weigh considerably more than a blade), my extensions were higher, straighter, and more effortless. Quad skates are the equivalent of working out with a set of ankle weights. Everything that I have done on them translates nicely to the ice. It seems this may be an effective cross-training method for me to explore more thoroughly. Of course, that means investing in an indoor set of wheels to mount on an old pair of custom ice boots, but I never mind investing in new skating equipment. There are two roller rinks within driving distance of my home. I may inquire about dance instruction and appropriate sessions.
In addition to dancing, I had the opportunity to practice some of my favorite freestyle skills including the following: layback, flying camel, inverted backward camel, butterfly, stag half-lutz, and forward illusion. If I have been off the ice for an extended period, my body actually longs for these movements. I love the sensation of each one. A flying camel-inverted back camel that lasted a ridiculous number of rotations highlighted the session.
I also worked on the lutz jump, which has never been my best trick. In fact, I fell on one attempt, something I rarely do with basic single jumps. With limited ice time over the summer, I wondered why I even bother with lutzes. Then I landed a good one and had the answer to my silly question. Skating motivates me to improve what I do poorly as well as maintain my preferred skills.
A good session in August is a rarity indeed.
Week of August 24, 2003
No Skating
Last week I was away for vacation at our lake house. Though I brought my skates with the best intentions, the sessions were inconvenient and only an hour long. Since driving to the rink would have required about forty-five minutes, it was not a good investment of time I ultimately decided to spend elsewhere. However, I took walks almost every day, swam in the lake, and did a little canoeing. We plan to return to the lake for a long Labor Day weekend, and I may squeeze in a session, inconvenient or not.
This week I have been too busy to get to the rink. I also only had the opportunity to attend one aerobics class. I am involved in my new job and still trying to get acclimated. I do not anticipate settling into a comfortable routine for at least a month. During that time, I expect to attend aerobics three times per week to stay in shape and vent stress. I would also like to roller skate in the park on the weekends.
The new ice arena nearer to my home will be opening sometime this fall. I sincerely hope it will offer a decent session or two each week, maybe even an adult night. However, I am not holding my breath. Rinks are slaves to hockey simply because hockey pays the bills. If a hockey team wants the ice, everyone else can forget it. Maybe I should take up women’s hockey. Of course, I have never skated without toe picks and would probably fall ass-over-head. Since the other places I usually skate are far away and in the opposite direction of my job, driving there does not make sense, though I may be desperate and energetic enough once in a while to take my chances.
Week of August 24, 2003; Part Two
Friendships
I recently received a very kind email message from an adult skating friend. I have known her for a few years and enjoy her company on the ice and during lunch or coffee breaks after skating. She said she will miss me very much this coming season since I will be working fulltime and unable to attend our usual daytime sessions. I was so touched by her words, tears stung my eyes.
Certainly, one of the greatest aspects of adult skating is the camaraderie. I have made many friends in my years as an adult ice skater, some closer than others, a few quite precious. It is a pleasure to meet other people in a forum of shared interest, people who come from various backgrounds brought together by a common love of a sport. We converge from different places and share our experiences, enriching each other’s lives far beyond the rink. Although I expect to make new friends wherever I skate in the future as well as at my new job, I will always treasure those friendships from my more flexible years of daytime skating. I had a wonderful time and feel blessed to have enjoyed this experience.
On the other hand, I contacted another friend hoping to get together with her this summer before I became overwhelmed with professional responsibilities. I received a short response saying she was too busy to meet me. Okay, well maybe she was busy. I cannot discount that possibility, but the curtness of her reply hurt my feelings. We have been friendly for at least three years. I always looked forward to our coffee klatches after a skating session. Maybe I over-estimated the depth of our friendship. I cannot preoccupy myself by reading too much into this, because I believe she would cheerfully shoot the breeze with me at the rink if we happened to appear for the same session. Maybe I am just being overly sensitive. After all, I am the one leaving. She will show up as usual for a session or two per week, as she has for as long as we have been acquainted.
At the rink, as in the outside world, people have unique personalities and interpret their relationships according to their own emotions. I consider these two women among my best adult skating friends. Apparently, one is a closer, more involved friend than the other.
Saturday August 30, 2003
A Stranger on the Ice
Although I was away at the lake house over Labor Day weekend, I made a point of attending a one-hour public session. The rink is located in a small city and can be reached in about forty minutes. However, we combined the trip with lunch and shopping. I arrived at the rink in the afternoon and was told by the assistant manager that a “puck and stick” session was scheduled. He showed me a copy of the timetable. I picked up one of these during my last visit a week before, but had read the schedule for Friday by mistake. He invited me to stay for the session because he expected a low turn-out. A couple of young children had arrived who would only use one end of the rink. Initially, I agreed to this. Then other people began to file into the building toting large duffle bags brimming with hockey gear. I thanked the man for his willingness to accommodate me, but allowing me half of the ice would be unfair to the hockey players. The public session began an hour later, and I might return.
My husband and I killed time in a bookstore, and I came back to the rink eager to skate. No one cleaned the ice between sessions and it was unpleasantly snowy and slow when I and a few other skaters stepped onto the surface. A young adult practiced moves in the field. She had been a child skater and was quite proficient. She also seemed completely oblivious to the group of kids haphazardly playing tag. One of the boys skated the entire length of the arena looking back over his shoulder yelling at his friend. Not once did the child survey his path, and I had to dodge out of his way. To make this even more annoying, the kid’s mother (who had obviously figure skated as a girl) participated in the fun and led the youngsters in a conga line and a crack the whip game. These people treated a public session as though it were a backyard rink; and, frankly, the ice quality was probably not much better. But what did I expect? Without a rink guard to enforce rules, no one was motivated to modify their behavior just because a stranger had appeared for the session.
I wanted that session to be magical, but instead it typified all that frustrates me about the sport. Inadequate supervision allows public ice to deteriorate into a free-for-all of children shouting “You’re it!” and bolting around the rink unpredictably with no regard for others. Meanwhile, parents condone and reinforce their inappropriate actions. Good ice time conducive to adult practice is very hard to find.
I actually found myself thinking: “I am glad I don’t have to put up with this anymore”. Yes, I will continue to skate, but I will not be able to skate as many hours per week as I have in the past. Last season, I became so disgusted with problems at my usual rink that I often did not even want to make the long drive just to tolerate more aggravation. I treasured good sessions, but many were simply not worth my time. My decision to return to work fulltime is complex and multi-faceted, but during those episodes of disgust when I did not even want to bother skating, I thought: “If I don’t want to be here, I might as well be working.” Of course, the story is not that simple, but prioritizing did enter the equation.
As I left the ice, the young adult skater approached me and complimented my favorite skills, the layback and backward camel. She stressed her interest in my layover and inverted positions. I must have blushed a little, because I confessed that I had only skated a few times over the summer (maybe three or four?). My performance on that bad ice was not exactly impressive; although I managed to enjoy myself in spite of distractions. We had a pleasant conversation, and I outlined the steps to success for camel variants. She asked if I would be skating at this rink regularly, and I replied that I do not live in the area but will probably attend a session once in a while when visiting.
Again, I am left with the conclusion that the relationships formed at rinks and the friendly exchanges between enthusiasts are among the benefits of adult ice skating.
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