The Complete Off-Ice Training Resource For Figure Skaters
Used in over 50 countries by coaches, trainers, and skaters worldwide, Sk8Strong programs provide skaters of all ages & levels with a comprehensive functional training program to maximize the strength & flexibility needed to reach their maximum potential.
Youth
Warmup
Competitive
Adult
Evaluation
Advanced
Assessments & Online Training
Lauren Downes, MSPT offers online training in both group class and individual format, and conducts individual assessments for skaters looking for a personalized program tailored specifically to their strength & flexibility needs. Exercise programs will contain core strengthening, functional lower and upper body strengthening, plyometrics, stretching, and dynamic warmup, with a focus towards skating specific exercises and injury prevention. Lauren will devise a plan that is specific to your needs and requests.
Sk8Strong Videos & Manuals
Sk8Strong's critically acclaimed training videos manuals were created by a sports physical therapist with a background as a skater and coach, and provide skaters from the beginner to elite level with skillfully designed exercise progressions. Each program will help a skater increase speed, flexibility, and power, decrease risk of injury, improve core stability, and increase the lower and upper body strength necessary to achieve success as a skater. With Sk8Strong, a skater will develop the tools to master the many skills involved in the sport.
"I worked with Lauren Downes for roughly 4.5 years now, and I have nothing but great things to say about her and her program. My physical strength and abilities both on and off the ice began to improve virtually immediately upon starting functional training. It's far more detail oriented than any other strength program I have ever done. By pinpointing subtle weaknesses within the body that can be improved on, both my balance and stability naturally began to progress. Variations in difficulty levels in the exercises following mastery have helped guide me from a mid-level skater to an upper-level skater. The most invaluable reward I’ve received from maintaining my personal strength under Lauren’s guidance has been injury prevention. Lauren’s evaluations have always been spot on, and I trust her more than anyone I’ve ever worked with previously. My athletic performance has peaked thanks to her and her skills." -Emily Catenzaro, former senior ladies competitor
"I like how you have laid out the progression information and the different circuits. I teach a lot of off-ice courses for the skaters at our club in the summer. However, during the school year it is difficult for me to meet with the majority of the skaters because of my college athletic training schedule. This is easily laid out and simply...well done!!" -Julie Deyak, ATC and MS in Exercise Physiology. Works with skaters at the St. Cloud FSC in Minnesota