How to Strengthen Your Upper Body in Figure Skating

Warm up before performing any strength training exercises. Complete at least 10 minutes of moderately paced cardiovascular activity, such as jogging, rowing or jumping rope. Follow the cardio with a 10- to 12-repetition set of pushups to activate the upper body muscles.

Perform functional core exercises that emphasize the connection between the upper and lower body, stability and body alignment. Figure skaters’ upper and lower bodies are often moving in different directions, which creates a greater need for balance and agility. Include several variations of plank pose, such as forearm plank, upward or reverse plank, side plank and star, in your upper body workouts. Keep your abdominal muscles, especially the deep-seated transversus abdominis, pulled in toward your spine. Slide your shoulder blades down your back to prevent the upper back from hunching. Tilt your tailbone down slightly to maintain a flat lower back. Hold each plank pose for 20 to 30 seconds.

Increase your back flexibility – needed for spin variations, spirals and acrobatics – as well as stability. Yoga poses, such as Bridge, Bow pose, Camel pose and Locust pose can strengthen your back while also helping to make it more flexible. Perform Locust pose on a yoga mat. Lie on your stomach and place your arms alongside your torso, palms facing up. Place your forehead on the floor. Raise your head, shoulders, arms and legs off of the floor, keeping your abs engaged and your legs together. Elongate your body by isometrically reaching the head and heels away from each other. Maintain a neutral neck by not looking up or down. Hold the pose for 30 seconds and release. Repeat for a total of three completions.

Strengthen the shoulders with the dumbbell lateral raise. Along with providing stability, the shoulders help you to hold your arms up in the air throughout your skating routine. Take hold of a pair of dumbbells of a weight that allows you to complete at least eight yet not more than 12 repetitions. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Rest the dumbbells on the outside of your upper thighs, palms turned in. Engage your abdominal muscles and push the shoulder blades down and away from your ears. Lift your arms up and out to the sides, raising them to shoulder height. Hold the contraction at the top for one count and then slowly lower your hands back to starting position. Complete three sets of eight to 12 repetitions.

Build strong, graceful arms with cable exercises, which allow for the full range of motion needed by figure skaters. The main muscle groups of the arms are the front biceps and rear triceps. Perform straight bar cable curls, preacher curls, rope curls and the standing high pulley cable curls for the biceps. Increase the strength of your triceps with the lying triceps extension, standing triceps extension, two-arm cable kickback and the reverse grip cable kickback. Include two to three exercises for each muscle group in each workout. Choose resistance levels that allow you to complete between eight and 12 repetitions with good form. Aim for three sets of each exercise.

Stretch your entire upper body after your training session to release tight muscles and help with recovery. Spend at least 10 to 15 minutes stretching. Perform static stretches; avoid bouncing, which can lead to injuries. Stretch with slow, gradual movements and aim to hold each stretch for 20 to 30 seconds.