Haha as soon as you said "free leg" I put my right leg up 😂

As a vegan, I sooooo badly want another term for shoot the ducks 😂 my roller skating friend calls them "little man" which is probably also not the best... I just tried looking around online and found "teapot" which is a bit mundane but seems to fit the shape!

Yay you!! 😀

Same as Samantha, I go on the wifi at the rink. I do also save the PDFs to my phone, so if offline I have the list of exercises and then do my best to remember each exercise - which gets easier the more I do them 🙂

This has been SO good! I skated every weekday for 2 weeks while visiting my brother, and while my body was not quite ready for that, I feel so revived and fulfilled! A big part of it for me was having a session plan laid out for me that I could focus on and enjoy being on the ice. So many times in past, I've tried to go on to sessions, and wind up just hanging by the boards most of the time because a) not sure what to work on and b) don't want to get in other skaters' way. I've tried taking lessons, and it's great while I'm with the coach, but then they let me loose and I drift back to the boards. This is a perfect mix of practicing skills with a solid workout, and I'm just so grateful ❤️ now going to catch up on the off ice workouts!! the last two weeks have reminded me that I need to work on lower back core strength...

Amazing Deirdre!! Congrats!!! you can totally do this 😃

Hi Amanda!! Welcome to the ice!! I think this is so beautiful, and I'm so excited for you to keep tapping into the joy 😃

I was just talking to someone yesterday who had done a test last week, and it sounded so fun! I have no clue how this works, so would also love to hear more!

so ready for this!!! thanks for the push!

Wow Deirdre, I have to say - you are so brave for getting on the ice even feeling terrified! I've been lucky in my life to so far (knock on wood!) have stayed healthy and mobile, and hearing what you've been through I am so impressed with your dedication to getting back on the ice. Although I can't truly relate, I think it's the same for everyone, just in different degrees. Something that I'm working on, since I don't have access to ice where I live, I've been doing some of the exercises on the floor - sometimes even with my skates+guards on - to build back that specific balance of skating moves. It's not quite the same without momentum, but I'm hoping it will help next time I'm able to get to some ice! Things like the leg extensions can be done just standing, off the ice, holding on to something for balance at first. Agree with Samantha & Meghan - just keep going, focus on the small pieces, and they'll eventually add up. Cheering for you!! ❤️