“The most effective thing was to skate with arms and legs weights during trainings.” Ilia Malinin about working on jumps
Translation of Ilia Malinin’s comments about working on jumps.
original source: number.bunshun.jp posted 3d April 2024 by Yoshie Noguchi
Ilia Malinin in an interview with Japanese press talks working on quads. Here’s a translation of his comments posted on Sports Graphic Number Web.
“Q: How did you train to improve the quality of your jumps and your skating?
Ilia Malinin: The most effective thing was to skate with arms and legs weights during trainings. It was a good time to strengthen basic skating. When you put on weights, the way you shift your weight from left to right and transfer weight becomes very difficult. If you try to skate around with sloppy turns, you get swept off your feet and fall. You have to perform knee bends, in-out edges, twisting of the waist, weight shifting, etc., accurately otherwise your feet get twisted. With this training, I was really able to acquire accurate edge work and powerful skating.
Q: I’ve never heard of skating with weights on. There’s a similar scene in an old anime from Japan.
Ilia Malinin: Haha. It’s true, it seems like the Spartan training in that anime. But it’s not something I’m forced to do every day. Even though it is useful, it puts strain on the legs, and if you do it for too long, the training effect drops. In ice skating, it’s unnecessary to develop too much muscle. So I timed it right, to stop the weighted training and switch to regular program practice. Also, I do not practice jumps with weights on. With weights, the centrifugal force changes and you can get thrown around, so it’s very dangerous.
Q: What kind of approach did you take to improve your jumps? Specifically, your jump rotations are very fast. How did you manage to achieve this?
Ilia Malinin: There are some stages to increasing the rotation speed, but in conclusion, it comes down to repetition in practice. First of all, I repeatedly practiced to master the technique. I trained to be able to execute the same quality jump again and again. Once the technique is perfected, all the elements necessary for the jump, such as height, rotation speed, timing, speed, and landing posture, line up in the body. Once you reach that state, you can take the next chance to try increasing your height or rotation speed, etc.
Q: Did you learn your approach to jumps mostly from your parents, who are former skaters?
Ilia Malinin: Without a doubt, my parents taught me these techniques. However, to become good at jumps, not only is jumping practice necessary, but other fundamental skating techniques are also important. So, first and foremost, I’m grateful that they built my foundation as a skater from when I was a child. My parents showed me the path that leads to the gold medal in every aspect of daily life and practice.
Q: Your mother, Tatiana Malinina, was also a popular skater in Japan.
Ilia Malinin: I truly respect my mother. The night I won the gold medal, I called her right away – she was shocked and told me how proud she was of what I had accomplished. Having her say that meant a lot to me.”
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