Have you ever been shaky on the ice because your legs wouldn’t move or follow your lead? In this guide, we’ll show you how to keep ankles straight when ice skating, which will help you balance on the rink and learn moves easier.
Get ready for a better, more confident skating experience as we talk about useful ways to prevent weak ankles and avoid hurting them.
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Tips to Keep Ankles Straight When Ice Skating
Maintaining straight ankles when ice skating can be difficult, especially for beginners. Here are a few pointers to keep your ankles from leaning outwards and avoid injury:
1. Use the right shoe size.
Skating mistakes like bent ankles may stem from an incorrect shoe size. Take your skate shoes and insert your fingers into the back or heel area. If you can fit three fingers or more there, the shoes are too big, and you’ll need to downsize.
Having sufficient space for one or two fingers would be ideal.
2. Boost your ankle strength for ice skating.
One of the best ankle strengthening exercises is walking on your heels. Every week, do this to keep your ankles healthy and strong.
To do this, you must first find a flat area and walk on your heels for 30 seconds. Then, walk for 30 seconds on your toes. Lift your heels off the ground and take a few steps. Slowly add more time to the exercise as you get used to it.
3. Keep those laces in check!
Your skates should never be too tight. Make the laces snug, but not so snug that your feet go numb. Your toes should be able to move, and your ankles should have room to flex forwards and backwards.
Then, to work on your balance, hold on to a wall or fence and stand on one foot.
If you remember these tips, your legs should stay straight while you skate on the ice, which helps fix pronation in skates.
4. Get those ankles in shape with ankle rolls.
Lay back on a workout mat with your legs spread out, and then start rolling your ankles. Turn your feet at the ankle joints for a minute or two, whether you’re team clockwise or anticlockwise.
If you have the time, do some calf raises as well. They enhance ankle support and will keep you steady on the ice!
5. Do some ankle squats.
You can think of ankle squats as a cool change from regular squats. These two tips make it easy to build up the muscles in your ankles.
Squats with your feet flat on the ground are a standard way to start. You can aim for one to ten minutes of steady ankle squats. Just find a comfortable pace and keep at it. Your feet will be grateful!
6. Be mindful of your body position.
It is important to ensure that your body is aligned and that your weight is distributed appropriately.
When standing on ice, bend your knees while keeping your legs hip or shoulders-width apart.
You can also practice at home by balancing on one leg with the knee bent at 90 degrees. Use a towel as padding before you try this.
See how it’s done in this quick tutorial.
Conclusion
Now that we have gone over the different ways of how to keep ankles straight when ice skating, you should now be ready to skate with confidence.
Even if you’ve been practicing for a long time, remember these tips for a better, more stable experience. On the rink, say goodbye to wobbles and hello to effortless control. Hope you have fun skating and that your knees always follow your lead!
Born in 1990, Rice is a skating expert who fell in love with it as a sport and recreational activity at the age of 9. He does inline skating as well as roller skating. Throughout the years, Rice has built up an impressive collection of skating gear and honed the essential know-how. During the pandemic, when he was kept from hitting the skate park, Rice founded Cora with his roommate Gibson to share his skating knowledge and experience. The goal is to make skating more accessible to everyone, regardless of gender, age, and ethnicity.
