THREE MAIN GOALS OF THE WORKSHOP

1. We want you to experience a movement-based approach for growing better at skating. You will learn how a movement approach: A.) can be applied to any sport or discipline to maximize power, stability, and longevity, B.) can help prevent injuries, C.) can increase enjoyment of life outside of skating.

2. We want you to learn why core control & strength needs to be the STARTING FOCUS of your off-skate strength development (this includes breathing!) You know the core needs to be strong, but how do you train it to be smart? You will learn how to train the core broadly, and learn some of the most effective core movement-skills that you can practice for skating.

3. We want to help you define mobility and learn why we would want to practice it. (Mobility is not just flexibility, but flexibility PLUS strength and end-range control). We will experience why mobility is an essential training tool in order to maximize athletic potential and decrease the likelihood of injury. Mobility wins when it comes to upgrading our wellbeing and overall awesomeness.

BONUS! You will learn a 10-20 minute pre-skate warm up you can use before practice or competition. This includes how to modify your own movements and create your own exercises specific to your sport.

PROGRAM & TOPICS INCLUDE

Deep stabilization vs. superficial strength, developmental quadruped movements, breath control, timing & coordination, efficiency of movement, ground-based locomotion, play-based training, core strength vs. core motor control, mechanical alignment, and body mechanics

WHAT IS THE COST? AND WHAT IS “SLIDING SCALE” OR “PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN”?

The standard rate for this 2-hour workshop is $45. Please consider paying that amount if you can.

However if that price would prohibit you from attending, please consider taking the $25 pay-what-you can rate. (If $25 is still prohibitive for you, write a note on your registration and let's talk to see if we can work something out).

Similarly, if the $45 standard rate seems easy for you to pay, please consider taking the $65 pay-what-you-can rate. Assuming you have a valuable experience at the workshop (you will), then your generosity helps support the wider skating community and helps cover the cost of putting on workshops like these. Hence, more workshops will follow :)

By offering students a rate that matches their financial situation, we hope to make our workshops accessible to a wide range of people.

SUMMARY

As any world-level athlete will know, training the body has to happen not just by practicing your sport, but by practicing other movements away from your sport. If we want to get better at skating, then yes we must practice more skating; AND ALSO we must practice our fluency at using our bodies OFF SKATES. Hence the invention of off-skate training! (aka dryland training). And it turns out, an off-skate movement practice actually improves our lives in all other areas outside of skating as well, making us happier and healthier all around. And a happy/healthy skater will skate their best!

Smart and adaptive motor patterns will revolutionize the way you skate, and in fact the way you live! By focusing on neuro-muscular control, getting all the muscles firing in a unified and cohesive effort, we can activate resilient tensegrity structures in the body. Unified activation helps us maximize output, minimize effort, and prevent injury. Above all, we become better movers, we feel better, and we have a blast!

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Andrew Brenlan is a business owner, personal trainer, and skate instructor. Nearly life-long skater, Andrew starting artistic ice skating dressed in sequins at the tender age of 3. His interest in all forms of skating over the years has lead him to gain proficiency in many disciplines, including skatepark/aggressive, freestyle slalom, ice freestyle, inline speed, artistic roller dance (quads), jam skating, and urban navigation/shredding.

Four years ago, Andrew left a job of computer-sitting to create a job where he could move more and help others do the same. Shortly after becoming an ACE Certified personal trainer in 2015, he also became a Certified Skate Instructor through Skate IA. Since then, he's added many skating specialist certifications and trainer certifications. Learn more about Andrew and his certifications here.