Smart Shopping Saturdays #2

Apparel
As you probably know by now, I am what you might call a Lululemon addict. I first discovered the company back in 2010. I was so excited for my first products to come in the mail: a scoop neck tank and another tank, both of which have been discontinued. Next I ordered a define jacket and a pair of Wunder Under pants, both in black and I fell in love. Wunder Under's are Lululemon's signature long spandex pants. They have a band around the top which sometimes has a color or pattern on it and keeps everything nice and smooth. The price is a bit steep but hese pants are so comfortable and last forever. I'm still wearing the pair I purchased back in 2010 and they're still in good condition. The only catch is that you cannot wash Lululemon products with cotton because it will cause the material to pill.

You can find the Wunder Unders under pants on the Lululemon website here

Hair
This product is an absolute MUST have for any girl, like myself, with long thick hair. Before I discovered the Scunci No-Slip Evolution Hair Ties I used to use two or three regular hair ties and I would still be adjusting my ponytail mid practice. By the end of my program my ponytail would be almost completely out and my hair would be in my eyes and in my mouth. It was disastrous. I was sick of my ponytails falling out and just when I thought I'd tried everything I discovered these magical hair ties. They are completely made of a rubbery material and are just a stretchy as any other product. I was in disbelief after a two and a half hour practice that I didn't have to touch my pony-tail once. You do have to be careful when taking these out at the end of the day however. If you simply pull them out like you would any other hair tie you will probably pull out half of your hair with it. I suggest that you unwind it out of your hair the opposite of how you put it in. These hair ties have made training so much more productive and I never leave the house without one.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Scunci-No-Slip-Grip-Evolution-Hair-Ties-14-count/21693253

Accessories
Skate laces are usually a personal choice and every person uses whatever they most feel comfortable with. There isn't one make or material of skate lace that I would list as a must have for all skaters because all skaters are different when it comes to their feet. I use 100% nylon laces in my skates. I find that they have more stretch and stay tighter longer than cotton laces. Because they are so thin, the nylon laces have a tendency to shred pinkie fingers and leave nasty callouses in their wake. Cotton on the other hand is thick but also very rough on dry hands. Cotton doesn't usually stay as tight for as long nor can it get as tight as the nylon. The thickness of the lace, however will probably save your hands. A cotton nylon blend is a good way to get the benefits of each.

Blades
When it was time for me to get new boots and blades I decided to go with something new and try out the paramount blades that were all the craze at the time, and frankly, still are. These blades come in all kinds of funky colors and are supposed to be an extra light material that will help you to jump higher. They are also supposed to be made of a metal that only requires sharpening once every two months or so versus once every two weeks. I purchased these blades and I was very excited for them to come. I had them mounted on my skates and the next day I was ready to go. Boy was I in for it. These blades look heavy-duty and bulky, nothing like my old delicate silver blades that were on my old skates. Worst of all they are loud. And when I say loud, I mean LOUD. Every movement, every edge, every jump take off and landing is amplified beyond belief. I used to be a soft, quiet skater. Now, especially on hard ice, I sound loud and heavy. The only benefit to these blades is that they don't need to be sharpened quite as much as other blades but it is far from being two months. I need them done about every 3-4 weeks as it does not take them very long to dull up. I will not be putting these blades back on when I get new boots.

http://www.paramountskates.com

2014 Rule Changes

Many of you may have heard about the big changes coming to figure skating after the 2014 Winter Olympics. US Figure Skating and ISU have announced that as of July 1, 2014 all singles and pairs skaters will be permitted to use music with words. Currently, ice dancing and synchronized skating permit music with words and pairs and singles only allow instrumental selections.

I have thought a lot about this change and the reasons behind it and I have narrowed my thoughts down to a few hypotheses. For one, it's evident that figure skating is losing popularity. With the economy circling the drain and the average family income decreasing, the participation rate in figure skating is falling. Skating is an expensive sport and families in a poor economy are much more likely to put their children in a school sport in order to dodge the mega-expensises that come with an individual sport. Not only is participation falling but so is viewership of televised events. It is my belief that ISU passed this change in an attempt to keep up with the times, and raise their viewership and participation rate by increasing their relevance.

This is going to make me sound like an old creaky coach, which I'm not...yet, but I must say that I am opposed to this change. Imagine every show, every synchronized skating competition you've ever seen. The skaters (some, not all) take the ice to pop songs, wiggling their hips to Justin Bieber and frolicking to One Direction. This is fun, lighthearted and very laid back. Skaters get the opportunity to express themselves to music they normally wouldn't be able to. But that is what separates a show from a competition. Competitions are supposed to be serious and intense, although you still have the opportunity to express yourself and have fun, the atmosphere in the rink is different from that of an exhibition. I think the change could be successful, after all it works in ice dancing. But my fear is that in singles skating mostly, it will be abused. You'll hear every top 40 hit skated to more times than you ever thought possible. This is so unprofessional, even at lower levels, that the thought makes me queasy.

The other change, which will be less profound, is that they are placing an age range on the Junior Level. Female singles skaters must be at least 13 but no older than 19. Male singles and all ice dancers must be 13 also but cannot be older than 21. In order to compete in Senior Events skaters must be at least 15 years of age. This rule will cut down on the amount of teeny weenies that are shoved quickly to the top by their parents in an attempt to make them the next olympic champion but it obviously won't change the mindsets of crazed parents.

Karen Chen 2013 Junior Ladies Pewter Medalist
and yes...she can do a triple lutz

Nathan Chen 2013 Junior Mens Bronze Medalist

Let me know what you think! Comment below or tweet me @Flutzing using #flutz
Best of Luck!!

Smart Shopping Saturdays

Happy Saturday, readers! As of today I'm starting the tradition of writing product reviews each week in a series I'll call Smart Shopping Saturdays. Each saturday I'll review 5 products in different categories. Get the low down on fads and find out which hidden products you really should be using!

Apparel
The first product I'm going to recommend is Fashion Forms Women's Ultralight Nude Adhesive Bra.  This bra is essential to any figure skater and has saved me (not to mention my mother) so much trouble. I purchased this at Target at the beginning of last season and it was the best $16 dollars and 99 cents I've ever spent. I am far from being busty or heavy chested, but I still needed some type of support and coverage inside my competition dress. No one wants to worry about revealing too much to the audience, not to mention the judges, when you are on the ice competing. I've had my mother sew countless bras into my skating dresses, I tried using pasties and clear backed bras, I tried using those paper stickers and I've even gone with nothing. I purchased this bra in a size B for the synchro season because it was listed under required team apparel. Our dresses had open backs, not even any mesh and the body was made of a thin lycra....not exactly the best design for a team of teenage girls, I must add. Anyways, I purchased this bra thinking it wouldn't stick on and spent my first competition sweating bullets about whether or not it would slide down to my stomach mid-program. To my relief, It didn't. The bra has a sticky gel on the inside that adheres to the skin fabulously but when it is time to take it off it is not painful in the least. I would recommend washing this bra in between uses not only for good hygeine but to restore the stickiness. I have been using the bra for both synchro and freestyle competitions and shows for almost a year now and it is just as adhesive as it was when I bought it. It gives a smooth, supported look under any dress and leaves you with a clean, finished look. This is an absolute MUST for any figure skater.

http://www.target.com/p/fashion-forms-womens-ultralight-nude/-/A-13793203#prodSlot=large_1_2

Hair
The hair product  I'm reviewing today is good old bobby pins...sort of. I first learned about Bunheads Hair Pins when I started taking classical ballet. I noticed that all of the girls in my class were pinning their hair up with these enormous bobby pins and so finally I excitedly asked "where are you getting those?!", exasperated with my teeny tiny pins that kept popping out of my hair like they were spring-loaded. It turns out, lots of dance stores carry these pins but I purchased mine first from a local dance shop and now from Discount Dance Supply. They come in a little plastic container of 12 and can be purchased in 2, 2 1/2, and 3 inches for varying hair thickness. They also come in blonde, brown and black so they blend in with just about anyones hair. They hold my long thick wavy hair in a bun and rarely ever come out, even through a solid pirouette class or half hour of layback spins. They're made of a thick metal and don't stretch out or bend out of shape so unlike regular bobby pins they can be used over and over and over again essentially forever...or until you lose them with your socks and hairbands. This product is also a must have for any bun-wearing figure skater!

http://www.discountdance.com/dancewear/style_BH434.htmlpid=5849&Shop=Style&SID=496408611
Accessories
Rockerz. The hottest skate guard craze and in my opinion they're just glorified skate guards. Like other brands of figure skate guards you can get these in any color of the rainbow, match them up or mismatch them, silver springs or gold springs, its your design. The only thing different about these guards is their unique wave like shape on the top and slight curve to the bottom. They claim to be ergonomic and easier to walk on which is great and all but really, compared to the amount of time you spend on the ice do you really spend enough time off the ice in your guards for it to make a difference? The other trick these guards claim, or are rumored to do is keep you on your feet if you accidentally step on the ice with them on. This is a fallacy however and you will fall flat on your face in a split just like Bambi, as you will in any other pair of guards. They do however allow you to walk on the ice in them if you are careful and very slow. This is not unique to Rockerz, and the whole idea seems irrelevant since if you step on the ice in your guards you're not likely to be moving slowly and gently. I must admit though, these guards have some pretty striking advertisements. Ultimately, I think these guards are a glorified, overpriced fad.

http://www.rockerzskateguards.com

Bags
Speaking of glorified, overpriced and fads lets talk about Zuca bags! These bulky, heavy, yet small bags are definitely very trendy right now but they're not as great as they're talked up to be. The benefit and big draw to these bags is that they have a metal bench to sit on so if you skate in a rink like mine where seating is limited, you have a place to put on your skates. If you are at a competition and just wish to put on your skates rink side instead of in the drama-soaked locker room you have a portable seat to do so on. This feature is actually quite handy, but with this bag, the drawbacks outweigh the benefits, at least for me. This $150 bag has a thick metal frame making it difficult to put in and take out of the car. When you want to put your skates in your room it's clunky and awkward to lug into the house. The mesh pockets on the outside are a good idea but if you carry a lot with you they bulge out and look tacky. I also had a tendency to lose a lot of gear when I owned my Zuca bag because things, like guards for example, would fall out of the mesh pockets while I was walking across the parking lot. In addition there wasn't really enough room inside the bag for anything but my, at the time, size 5 skates so I was forced to put a lot of my belongings in the outer mesh pockets. It's tempting to get sucked into this trend, it looks so flashy and "cool". The marketing on these products is unparalleled, hence all of the buzzing about it. Maybe this bag is for you, but it certainly wasn't for me. It's trendy and fashionable but other than the portable seat feature it's not really practical.

https://www.zuca.com

Books
Looking for a good read? Skating books are few and far between so when I heard about this one I immediately grabbed it off the shelf. All the Sundays Yet to Come is written by Kathryn Bertine and I would recommend it to anyone, figure skater or not. Even my dad, who usually likes Wartime stories and historical fiction enjoyed it. The book is an autobiography and memoir that catalogues the experiences of Bertine as she travels with a skating company. She discusses her battles, both inside and out, with a voice that will leave you grasping for more. Her experiences are not only worth reading about, this humorous and emotional autobiography is impossible to put down.
You can purchase All the Sundays Yet to Come here
And you can read about Kathryn Bertine on here website here


Comment below with any product reviews of your own or tweet me @Flutzing with #flutz
Best of Luck!!

10 Things That Should be in Your Bag

Here's a list of 10 things you should carry with you in your skate bag (other than your skates!). These items are essential to every skater, regardless of whether its your first week at the rink or your whether you've been doing it for years.

1. A "first aid kit". Now this doesn't have to be a hardcore plastic box with a hundred different first aid tools all crammed inside. Your rink should provide a standard first aid kit if anything serious happens, however every skater should have their own supply of bandaids, Advil/Tylenol/Ibuprofen, and maybe even blister relief pads with children's scissors. My "First aid kit"is just a plastic bag with a few of my most commonly needed items inside. I keep it in the front pocket of my skate bag where it is easily obtained but not in the way.

2. An extra pair of gloves. Every skater knows, falling is part of the sport. Sometimes your gloves just get too wet and rather than take them off it's nice to have the luxury of being able to put on dry ones in between sessions.

3. Hairbands. If you are a girl, keeping extra hairbands stored away is a must. I keep a bag of about four or five at all times. If one breaks, I always have a backup. If I'm coming from school and happen to forget, I always have a backup. This way you'll never be caught scrounging around the floor for something to keep those flowing locks out of of your eyes.

4. A phillips head screwdriver. Loose blades are incredibly common and it's much more convenient to be able to pull out your own screwdriver and give them a quick tighten.

5. Extra laces. If your rink doesn't have an open skate shop this one is definitely a must have. It isn't too common for laces to snap but if they do, you won't have to waste time sending your mom out to look for a new pair.

6. Tissues. Lots of Tissues. Toilet paper does the job but tissues are so much better. I keep the small plastic wrapped packages of tissues on hand at all times.

7. Nail clippers. I'm not suggesting that you make a point of clipping your fingernails or toenails at the rink but if you need them, you'll have them. Sometimes our feet just want to hurt and clipping down a toenail or cutting off a hangnail might relieve some pressure,

8. A small hairbrush. If you go from school to the rink frequently it's nice to have a hairbrush on hand for pulling back your ponytail.

9. An Extra Copy of Your Music. If you forget your CD at home for some reason its good to have a backup in another spot in your bag. This will prevent your coach from having a melt down during your lesson.

10. "Emergency" money. Whether you need something from the vending machine, forget to grab money for buy-on ice time, or need to buy a water bottle it is definitely important to have spare money on hand.

Best of Luck!!

Happy Summer!

Its finally summer. The birds are chirping, the sun is out, the sunburns begin to redden our skin and we bask in the sun just loving the outdoors. Ha! Who are we kidding? We're figure skaters after all, we live in the freezing cold rink all summer! Well on the bright side though, the benefit to it being summer is that school is out! Whether it's college, high school, or even maybe middle school for some of you, you get a nice big break from tedious school work and plenty of free time to spend doing run throughs! Yay! But really, I couldn't be happier that summer is finally here.

This is a special year for me since not only is high school out for the year, it's out...forever! As of June 20, I will officially be a graduate of the class of 2013 and boy am I relieved. Yet it's definitely bittersweet. There were only about 300 people in my class and we were all very close knit. It's going to be sad not being surrounded by these people next year, but that's not to say that college will be just as great, if not better!

Am I going to be skating in college? My answer is a definite yes! Skating is not something I'm ready to leave behind just yet. I've devoted 12 years of my life to the sport and its not something I'm going to let go of easily. In fact, I almost deferred college for a year for an opportunity to skate with Disney on Ice! I decided however to put college first and after I obtain my degree I can tour for a few years. I'll only be 21 when I graduate after all, and I want to see the world before I settle back into my small hometown.

I also plan to skate during college, at both universities I will be attending since I will be transferring after my freshman year. My top choice college gave me a "transfer guarantee" stating that I could join them in fall 2014 the only catch being that I have to pass my freshman year with a 3.0 both semesters at another university. My first year I will probably be skating on a synchro team and maybe even doing a few freestyle competitions. My sophomore through senior years I will be skating on a top notch intercollegiate freestyle team and I am nearly trembling with excitement.

The whole world seems to be at my fingertips and I am thrilled to be off to such a great start. My life awaits me. I will keep all of my lovely readers updated with college information and my ongoings in university life including my skating schedule and regimen since I am slightly nervous about being able to maintain a high level of training. Anyways, feel free to contact me with any questions you have or advice you might have!

Best of Luck!!

Introspection

Introspection. For those who don't know, introspection is the practice of looking inwardly and examining ones one emotional and mental processes. In short, it's being ones own psychologist. Now I don't know how many of you have ever put a name to this practice, but I'm sure that most, if not all all, of you have engaged unknowingly in introspection.

Now there are many benefits to looking inward, one of which is the ability to reflect on past mistakes, learn from them and change future behavior. Blogging for example is way for me to exercise introspection. Through my writing I can address my behavior, identify problems and hope to correct them.

But what I want to spend the majority of this post on are the negative aspects of introspection which are rarely talked about. Psychologists and psychiatrists alike have undergone many years of schooling, training and have countless hours of experience in analyzing the mental processes of others. We, on the other hand, do not. In addition, we are biased in that sometimes we can see ourselves in a different light than others. Some people have a tendency to perceive themselves as being at a standard lower than where there they are perceived by society to be. For example, I have highly self-critical tendencies so what looks fine to others I might write off as being mediocre or even terrible.

My self-critical tendencies make introspection an interesting process. Ever heard the term "self-fullfilling prophecy"? I may have mentioned it in previous posts. A self-fulfilling prophecy, no don't think Harry Potter, is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to be true. Huh? It's when you tell yourself something so much that it actually starts to happen. For example, I believe that I am going to come in last at an upcoming competition. My fears of coming in last cause me to be so nervous that I don't land any jumps, fall out of my spins, and yes, I come in last.

Well sometimes, through introspection, we can create our own negative self-fulfilling prophecies. I may  get nervous to skate at a competition so I look inward and say I'm just an anxious person. Everything causes me to get very nervous. The next time I have a competition I will be thinking, I'm going to be nervous, I'm a nervous person. This ultimately becomes true but only because I have caused it to be so.

We can also use this as a way to make excuses for ourselves. I was having trouble sticking to my diet the other day so I told myself well I just have commitment issues. Now whenever I want to reach for that bag of chips I say Diets are useless, I have commitment issues. 

Starting to see it now? How many times a day do you see yourself doing this? Honestly for myself, too much introspection results in over-analysis, self-fullfilling prophecies and excuses. That's not to say that introspection is bad, or that nothing good can ever come from it but, like everything else in life, it needs to be exercised in moderation. Take everything lightly, don't sweat the small stuff and remember: You're probably better off than you think you are.


Best of Luck!!!

Perseverance

It took me two times to pass my Senior Freeskate test and the first time was miserable. When I say miserable, I mean it. The rink I practice in doesn't have regular test sessions; they are only about once every three-four months so my mom and I packed into the car and drove two hours to a rink where a test was being offered. I had skated there before, quite frequently actually. My coach has connections to the coaches, and the atmosphere of the rink there is much better than that of my home rink. My mom and I would drive out there at least once a month so I could get programs choreographed, fine tuned, or work on landing that darn double axel. It was to my disappointment that when my home coach and I decided I was ready to test my Senior Free for the first time there weren't any test sessions at my home rink. I decided instead that I would test at this rink 2 hours away since I had another coach there and it wouldn't be too different.

It wasn't the rink, my coach there or the two hour drive that caused me to have a wretched skate and I would be lying if I said they did. I was so shook up on the ice the night before my test that my coach had to call my dad to come to the rink because she was out of pep-talks to give me. I have always had a problem with nerves but this time I was almost catatonic. I was apathetic about working hard, wouldn't do a long program and was unresponsive to anything my coach had to say. I did nothing but stand on the boards with a far-away look on my face. I had given up and quit on myself even before the day of my test. What started out as a tiny seed of doubt had grown into an enormous bean stalk that smothered all of my self-confidence. It built on itself, and developed into a vicious cycle. Because I was so apathetic at the rink, I became more and more unprepared for my test. With every day I moped through, I lost a day of actual training. When the day of my test came, I was physically prepared, but only just enough.

Mentally however, I was a wreck. When I got to the rink the morning from the test I couldn't even bring myself to do off-ice to warm up. I just got out of the car, put my dress on and wandered around outside, wallowing in my emotions and acting as if I had already failed the test. My coach out there who had only seen the giggly bubbly side of me was totally freaked out, too shocked by my behavior to even scold me. I cried after the warm up, hyperventilated slightly and whined about how I just wanted it to be over with.

Well when I got off the ice it was over with all right, with not even an opportunity for a re-skate. I cried and cried and cried about how embarrassed I was, what a bad skater I was, and I beat myself up for hours after. I didn't even want to look at my test papers and I still have not. All of the pep talks in the world wouldn't have helped me through. 5 million dollars for the best sports psychologist wouldn't have helped me deal with my nerves because I had already made a choice in my head and I wasn't open to changing the way I was looking at things. The night before my test when my dad came to the rink he looked me in the eye and gave me a big motivational speech with a stern but supportive voice. But here's the thing, even Coach Brooks' 1980 Miracle speech would have done nothing to motivate a skater who had already decided not to listen, not to try, and had already told themselves they were not going to succeed. Motivational speeches don't get people up off the ground, they only lift up the people whose feet are already hovering. The decision to be motivated, to be confident can only come from within.

This is getting lengthy so I'm going to try to wrap it up. My second test, I was much more prepared. I had a mental breakthrough. I could land the jumps in my sleep, with my hands tied behind my back and my eyes closed, but the jumps were never the problem. This time I prepared mentally just as much as physically. I made a commitment to myself and dug down deep, kindled the spark that had ignited, and lit on fire with wild desire. The drive to pass my test the second time was like nothing I had ever experienced. Every time I skated I did an almost clean or clean program and I was by no means willing to give up on anything. The better I got, the better I got and just like before, this was cyclical too but in a positive way.  The four little words "I can do this" were my mantra and I said them over and over again both in my head and even out loud. Ever heard the phrase "fake it till you make it?" Well the first few "I can do this" repetitions were not very believable but the more I repeated it, the more I truly began to believe it. On the day of my test, I tested at home in my home rink with my home coach and kept my nerves at bay. With every jump I landed the smile on my face grew wider and when I struck my ending pose tears of joy were rolling down my cheeks, not because I had passed but because I was proud of my journey.

You can do it. You can do anything. And as corny as it sounds you really can do anything you set your mind to. In hindsight, I'm glad I failed my test the first time because if I had passed by the skin of my teeth I wouldn't have had to change my perspective. I am a better skater because of my experiences. I train harder, I believe in myself more often, and I try hard to persevere. My journey is by no means over, in fact I am just beginning to discover who I am as a skater. The whole world is out there waiting for you, believe in yourself and you will do great things. In my case, I was my own worst enemy. Skating, I like to think, is 20% physical ability, and 80% mental perspective. Either way, you are 100% in control. I tell myself before every performance, competition or practice that this is my body, my mind and I am in control of my skating. Nerves do not control me anymore, nor should they control you. Through perseverance and determination I have been allowed the chance to discover myself.

I am just starting out on my journey, and I am so excited to see where this road leads me.
Best of Luck!!