6 Off-Ice Exercises To Improve Your Skating Stride #HockeyAtHome

Professional power skating coach Katy Jo demonstrates six off-ice drills that you can do at home to improve your skating stride.

Just because you don’t have access to ice doesn’t mean you can’t improve your skating stride at home!

When practicing any of these 6 off-ice skating exercises to do at home, focus on efficient, controlled movements. Done correctly, these off-ice skating exercises will help improve hip mobility, knee bend, stride length, balance, and explosiveness.

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Try these 6 off-ice skating exercises to improve your skating stride at home:

Chair pose [0:22]: With your feet at a hip-width distance apart and your hands out in front, bend your knees until your thighs are as close to parallel with the ground as you can and extend your hands up above. With control, do multiple reps and also mix in some static holds.
Lateral lunge hip shift [0:32]: With your feet wider than your hips, bend one knee and shift your weight to that side. With control, rotate your chest and hips towards your extended leg. Now shift your weight and bend your other knee to switch sides.
Skating strides [0:52]: With your feet at a hip-width distance apart and your hands out in front, bend your knees like you’re skating. Extend one foot at a time back and to the side at a 45-degree angle while at the same time, the same-side hand extends forward. Full recover by returning your foot and hand all the way back to the center before doing the other side.
Three-point strides [1:07]: Similar to skating strides above, start with your feet at a hip-width distance apart and your hands out in front and bend your knees like you’re skating. Pick up one foot and extend it as far as possible directly behind you then return back to the center. Extend the same foot now out and back 45-degrees and return back to the center. Last, extend the same foot directly out to your side before returning to the center and switching sides.
Bowler squats [1:24]: Begin standing on your right leg with your left foot raised off the floor. Slowly squat down on your standing leg while you extend your floating foot as far behind and across your body as possible without allowing your toe to touch the floor. With control, return to the starting position and do multiple reps on one side before switching to the other.
Skater box jumps [1:44]: Step one foot up on a box or bench. Engage the elevated foot and jump into the air, switching feet in mid-air so you land with your other foot on top of the box/bench.