What to Practice This Month
January 2025
All of these videos are available within the Roll With Me membership at ThatNicoleFiore.com or my YouTube channel.
I know we talk a lot about progress, but I want to really focus on fun for the new year. The progress will come if we are having fun. I want you to explore! I know a lot of times (most of the time) we overthink things. We can think we are not quite ready for maybe one foot turns when in reality we are. There are a lot of things that we can do off skates to get to where we want to be and it all comes in time. So, the biggest thing I want us to practice this month is…fun!
Drills, skills, choreography, and so much more!! This membership contains over 200 Tutorials with more added regularly. Drills are created to strengthen specific muscles for skating and skills are labeled by level to make learning accessible for all levels. Choreography is available in Beginner/ Intermediate as well as Advanced and can be done on or off skates!
Drill: 10 Minute Standing Chair Stretch
The first thing that I want you to focus on this month (and revisit throughout the month) is our 10 Minute Standing Chair Stretch. Sometimes I like to use a chair to help me stretch when I don’t want to get down onto the ground. You don't need skates. You don’t need any weights. You don't need any sort of equipment, other than a sturdy chair. It’s helpful to use things like chairs and tables to kind of brace ourselves if we need some assistance, especially when learning new things.
On that note, I really want to stress using protective gear (not for this drill lol, but in general). There is no harm in using protective gear even when you're at home. It can become a good habit to automatically put your protective gear on when you lace up your skates. I teach for fun and for exercise, but I also teach really sound technique in hopes that we can all avoid injuries. That is my ultimate goal. I want everyone to be able to skate for a very very long time ♥️
To help with this, do your drills. There are a lot of drills to choose from within the membership, a lot of drills that you don't even need skates for!
Video length: 10 minutes, 56 seconds
Go to the video: Drills Page (off-skate workouts) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Skill: Outer Forward Heel to Heel Transition
Our skill this month is leading us into a few other skills that we are going to work on throughout the year. It is the Outer Forward Heel to Heel Transition. This transition starts on an outer forward edge and ends on an outer back edge. You may recognize this turn because it’s the beginning of a barrel roll. You don’t have to make it crisp and clean like in artistic skating, but there's a lot to learn through that technique. Control is really the biggest thing to focus on: control of your core, your rotation, and how high you come up in the knee to get the heels to touch are just a few. I never ever skate on a straight leg…ever. My knees are always slightly bent. Gaining an understanding of what that means for your body, specifically, is super important. It takes time and practice. Like I said earlier, use a table, a chair, a wall, anything to help you kind of sturdy yourself so that you can actually practice the heel to heel transition without hesitation.
Video length: 20 minutes, 24 seconds
Go to the video: Skills Page (Transitions Section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Choreography: Rock Your Body
Talk about fun!!! We are doing Rock Your Body by Justin Timberlake this month. You can do this in a super small space, so you’re in luck if you are stuck inside with cold weather! The advanced does go into toe stop spins on both feet, but the Beginner/ Intermediate is…Beginner/ Intermediate. It doesn’t have any of that! I want you to start with the Beginner/ Intermediate and move onto the Advanced if/ when you feel ready.
Beginner/ Intermediate video length: 32 minutes, 13 seconds [Link: Website, YouTube]
Advanced video length: 40 minutes, 58 seconds [Link: Website, YouTube]
Progress:
Make sure you send your progress to me throughout the month and especially throughout the year. This is by far my favorite thing that has come out of this membership. I have students who have been with me for over 10 years and I have students who have been with me through this membership for almost five years now! The progress from the very beginning to now is beyond amazing to see! I know recording yourself and watching yourself can be a little scary. We are all so very critical of ourselves, but try not to be too hard on yourself. As an instructor I get to appreciate that progress a lot quicker than you do, but I promise you that when you look back at your videos six months, a year, five years later, you are going to be amazed at how far you've come. All of the small little things that you do every single day to progress add up.
If you would like to submit your progress for our Community Progress Video, submit your vertical video here. Submissions are due on the last day of each month.
If you are practicing on Instagram, please tag me and #quadsociety! I love to see and share your progress! Lastly, don’t forget about the wonderful community on Discord. Everything is better with friends!
Please don’t hesitate to reach out and let me know if you would like further guidance. You can book in-person private lessons or online private lessons here!
