25 laps in 5 minutes?

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I did 23 laps in 5 minutes today and was wondering what exercises or things I can do to push myself to 25 laps. Thanks.

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  • thegreengoth
    thegreengoth Posts: 22 Member
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    Start climbing stairs sideways to help with your cross-overs :)
    If you wanna push yourself further, five lb. ankle weights on both legs will help as well
  • throttler228
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    Practicing your crossover form can help, make sure that inside leg is actually pushing and not just going through the motions. There is so much you can do to improve, but what's important is to just find your pace, stick to it, and keep pushing it bit by bit. Don't burn yourself up in the first 10 laps, just keep going. And have a friend keep count. I always find it impossible to count after so many laps. It blurs together.

    It mostly takes time and continuous attempts. :)
  • thegreengoth
    thegreengoth Posts: 22 Member
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    Form can be a good thing to keep in mind. For a while I was getting told that I was "getting too low"
    I've also looked at how professional and Olympic speed skaters train for ideas
  • phearless17
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    Make sure you are crossing over in the corners at least. If you can "skate the track" crossing over the entire time it really helps. Your crossovers should have a lot of power to them if you are pushing off with your right foot before picking it up and then pushing with your left foot afterwards. I find a lot of newer skaters tend to just pick up their right foot and set it down instead. Focus on getting power from the crossovers and form, the more your knees are bent the further out to the side you can push.
    I also found it helpful for a friend to time my laps. 12 seconds was all I needed to do to make it.
  • SkateboardFi
    SkateboardFi Posts: 1,322 Member
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    Make sure you are crossing over in the corners at least. If you can "skate the track" crossing over the entire time it really helps. Your crossovers should have a lot of power to them if you are pushing off with your right foot before picking it up and then pushing with your left foot afterwards. I find a lot of newer skaters tend to just pick up their right foot and set it down instead. Focus on getting power from the crossovers and form, the more your knees are bent the further out to the side you can push.
    I also found it helpful for a friend to time my laps. 12 seconds was all I needed to do to make it.

    yes! skating the track has worked wonders for me
  • N3rdygrrrl
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    I really struggled with getting 25 laps in 5 minutes for the first year I skated. I recently got 26, yay! My goal for this season is 28. =) The thing that made the biggest difference for me was to stop thinking about having to do the laps in 5 minutes. I just focused on skating 25 laps. And then my goal was to shave off 10 seconds each time I did it. Well, the first time I thought of it that way, I got my 5 laps in 4'55"! I skated with a more consistent pace when I was just thinking about getting 25 laps, and it shaved off a bunch of time!

    I also suffered from 'lapophobia'. Anytime someone said '25 laps' I would freakout. It was a big point of failure for me personally, and it's hard to skate well when you're crying and freaking out. *laughs* Taking that pressure off made all the difference.
  • IrateBeth
    IrateBeth Posts: 42 Member
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    I also suffered from 'lapophobia'. Anytime someone said '25 laps' I would freakout. It was a big point of failure for me personally, and it's hard to skate well when you're crying and freaking out. *laughs* Taking that pressure off made all the difference.

    This is why I wear my headphones when we do this, or the person who is counting for me (because I always lose count) only tells me when time is up.

    Skate the Diamond (inner/apex edge, outer edge, inner/apex edge, outer edge).

    Also, if you find you are right behind someone, I find if we are going the same speed I will "mock" them if their stance is still good. Helps me forget about the pains or if I am winded. This is also a great way to stay caught up in line drills!
  • thejeweller
    thejeweller Posts: 6 Member
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    I can do 27 in 5, but for my testing, i think it only did 25.5 laps in 5 - I was totally freakin' out I wasn't going to make it!
  • kgirlknits
    kgirlknits Posts: 9
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    :: interval sets could assist your legs - eg, 10mins on elliptical X-trainer, 60secs fastfastfast as you can, 60secs easy pace to bring your heart rate down

    :: skating the track, always!

    :: crossovers from the apex each turn, to maintain speed coming round corners, and making sure both strides are "pushing"

    :: derby stance - sit into it, and find your focus. It's a mental game sometimes. I count strides in groups of 8 (cos I usually do 8 strides per lap..it's just a mental thing I do to try)

    My last testing I did 29 laps in 5 by picking one of our tall, fast skaters - long strides and good endurance - and making sure I kept up with her strides. Nearly killed me but it kept me on my toes the whole 5mins, if she started to pull away from me, I knew I needed to dig in deep!
  • IrateBeth
    IrateBeth Posts: 42 Member
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    My last testing I did 29 laps in 5 by picking one of our tall, fast skaters - long strides and good endurance - and making sure I kept up with her strides. Nearly killed me but it kept me on my toes the whole 5mins, if she started to pull away from me, I knew I needed to dig in deep!

    This is something similar one of my coaches taught me recently when we were doing what I have dubbed "Pace Line Hell".
    I just copied the skater doing the best crossovers the whole way in front of me. If I was the front skater, I did not change my pace. Worked out well.

    I also maintain my headphones give me super powers during endurance tests.
  • that42bunneh
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    Maybe train with some local speed skaters? I was able to attain my 25 prior to doing this, but I found that my skating improved after going to some speed sessions. So did my acceptance of spandex.
  • MrsABomb
    MrsABomb Posts: 9 Member
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    It is great reading all of your posts! I'm still Fresh Meat and am learning my crossovers. Even though my crossovers are super lousy and I'm still learning to skate, my coach timed me for the 25 in 5. I finished in 7:20. Can't wait to get better!
  • iivye
    iivye Posts: 10 Member
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    I'm up to 31 in 5 minutes and all because I cross over the entire time. Once you get in a good rhythm you'll be surprised at how many you can do. If you cross over the entire time there is no way you will get under 25.