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Even though everyone who as skated for any amount of time knows what a teapot/shoot the duck is, most people are neglecting the excellent benefits that this exercise offers. In fact, lots of skaters just do them once or twice and then neglect them completely. Its time for that to change!

As body-weight leg exercises go, the teapot is without doubt king. Doing a clean one foot teapot off ice, holding the bottom position (to avoid bouncing) and pushing back up is an awesome feat of muscular tension and balance - two attributes that are vital for skating success. When done for repetitions you will quickly discover just how much this simple exercise has to offer us. The best thing being that repition one foot teapots can be done anywhere any time, as they require no equipment and little space.

But what if you can’t do a full teapot?

Start by using a box or chair for support

Stand on one leg with your free leg extended in front… now gradually lower yourself on to the box. Pause and then push back up. (Note: when pushing up the first thing that needs to move is your head going forwards). The box should be at the point where you can’t go any lower. Now gradually over time lower the height of your support until you are doing a full one leg teapot. Remember that as you go down you need to reach forwards so that your weight stays over your foot the whole time.

If you practise this as often as possible you will be pleased with how quickly you progress. Remember when developing your strength SKILL. Doing as much as possible while staying as fresh as possible gives the best results. You are better off doing 3 repetitions every hour throughout the day than doing 10 in one go. As the fatigue factor will inhibit your training volume and skill acquisition.

For that reason keep all exercise sets to a maximum of 5 repetitions and then come back and do more later on. This method also helps to minimise muscle growth, while maximising strength gains.

Let me know if this prgression helps,

skateGREAT!