How can an adult skater progress over a Beginner level and Warm up for beginners

There are many different categories of adult skaters. Each journey is somehow unique. Still, I would put in a special category the adults that skated as kids. They have a big advantage over skaters that started as adults in their comfort on ice and their ability lo learn skills...They do have their own specific challenges, like not being able to do everything they did as kids, and I'm sure many more that I'm not aware of. Then, there are the very young adults skaters. International competitions for adult skaters accept skaters over 28 years old. In USA the age is 21. These skaters that start in their 20s have a quick progress.

I want to talk more about skaters that start when they are older then 30 because that's me and that's what I know about. I started casually at 35 and approached it more seriously after 40. I heard when I started skating that adults stop progressing at the forward one foot spin or Freestyle 2 level. I almost did...

Beginner adults usually start with adult group lessons. And almost each time on ice we learn something new and we are amazed. We pass the basic skills in one, two years. And then is Freestyle, where everything slows down. We get bored, frustrated, unmotivated and we look at ourselves and we think that we don't look like much of a skater. Plus we see kids at our level that look better and we lose hope that we, as adults, can get there. I occasionally made up a missed group lesson in a kids group lesson, and they were different. In the adult class we were doing everything from standing still. In the kids class they were moving around. I also saw the same difference in private lessons. At least at my rink adults are treated like they could break and they are not asked to move. Adults are not allowed in the group MITF group class, but i was allowed in once as it wasn't full. It was an eye opener... there it was were kids learned to move around. Kids also run after each other, playing, adults don't really play... This difference in speed was also visible in competitions. Same level kids were way faster, even if they had worse posture, lesser extension and toe pointing. So adults were actually looking better, though the kids were making up for it by owning an enjoying the performance.

The point I'm trying to make is that, to transition from a beginner level one needs to start moving. In time, the speed you are comfortable skating with will increase, and that speed will help in making the edges more stable so it will give more control to everything. This increasing in speed will give a skater more power. The second thing that would help this transition is the awareness on how to keep your weight over your hips and feet, when your are skating edges on one foot. If you look at older posts, there are lots about edges. That's because I think skating it's all about edges. So you need to put some speed and depth into those basic edges.  I would say that you are not a beginner-beginner anymore if you are able to do the forward circle eight well. Use what I described as edge presses to transition from a beginner to an intermediate skater. And I would say you are not an advanced-beginner anymore (as I think I am) if you can do the backward circle eight well. That's something I'm thinking and I use as milestones to motivate myself :) And just for the record I can do the backward circle eight reasonable well! The edge that's holding me back is the LBI (left backward inside). I can do it well enough at low speed, but I hesitate when I go faster because I need a little longer to find the balance on that edge. And that affects all the skating skills that include that edge as for example the LBI 3turn...

 So really is not the forward one foot spin... Working on the spin for 5- 15 minutes each time you are on ice it's gonna make it happen, but it takes a long time. I was working at it for an hour each time I was on ice, and I don't think it made it come sooner. I just wanted to pass the level and that was the only element that wasn't passing... But I could have used that time better.

I have some suggestions on how to start moving. Firstly, each time when you step on ice do few lines of warm up. I see that all the advanced skaters do this. The meaning is to both warm up the muscles but also ease into feeling the ice and using the edges. Advanced skaters do for example forward and backward power crossovers, edge rolls, edge crosses, and all kinds of fast turns on the length of the ice. Read about my warm up here. For a beginner warm up I would suggest to do:
- forward/backward swizzles where you should concentrate to find where the weight should fall on your blade (back of your foot arch for forward skating, and front of your arch for backward skating). Also you can work on looking up, posture and balance, maybe hand movements.
- forward stroking, read about it here
- edges, trying to make them both more stable and faster. Do them forward and only if comfortable backward. But do work on the backward edges later maybe at the end of the rink... you need them stable and fast for the 3 turns and Mohawks.
- forward slalom where you should try to get into the ice.

The second thing I would suggest is to consider working consistently on MITF maybe with the goal of testing them. That will give your training structure and motivation. The first test asks for stroking, edges, spirals, crossovers and outside 3 turn, all at basic, beginner level. If you plan to compete in USFSA competitions you need these MITF tests and Freestyle tests anyway. MITF covers moves in both directions, covers lots of turns (3-turns, mohowks) and asks for power and speed.

The third suggestion is to put together a program and run it often. I don't have one yet but I think it would make me move with a different rhythm and maybe in a more personal way.

Having a program goes hand in hand with hiring a private coach lessons if you didn't already, because they do the choreography. A private coach I think would suggest what I just did before and would also push you to get it done. On the other hand a private coach will ask about your goals and customize the instructions towards reaching that goal. I feel that as a beginner I didn't really understand the possibilities.

The only other thing I would add is that skating twice a week is enough for when you are a  beginner-beginner. Over that level, I heard many skaters saying that skating twice a week maintains what skills you have. But if you want to learn new skills and to progress, you need more time on ice. To push from a beginner to an intermediate level I think you should skate 3 to 6 sessions per week. The more you skate, the more you'll progress!