The Queen of the Skates Workout Inspired by Debi Thomas
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Below is a breakdown of “The Queen of the Skates Workout,” a short-but-intense circuit inspired by Olympic figure skater Debi Thomas. This workout draws on elements crucial to a figure skater’s success—balance, lower-body strength, agility, and explosive power. By performing these four exercises as an 11-minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible), you’ll build stamina and reinforce athletic qualities reminiscent of Debi Thomas’s remarkable performances on the ice.
Format
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Duration: 11 minutes total
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Structure: AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible)
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Exercises & Reps:
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11 Ice Skaters
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11 Lateral Lunges
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11 Jump Squats
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11 Jumping Jacks
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Move through each exercise in order, performing 11 reps of each. Once you complete Jumping Jacks, start again at Ice Skaters. Continue cycling through as many times as you can until 11 minutes are up.
Exercise Details
1. Ice Skaters
How to Do It
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Start standing with your feet hip-width apart and a slight bend in your knees.
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Push off your right foot and hop laterally to the left. As you land, bring your right foot behind your left leg in a gentle tap, keeping your chest up and your core braced.
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Immediately hop to the right side, driving off your left foot and letting your left foot travel behind your right leg.
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Continue alternating sides, moving as dynamically as you can while maintaining control.
Muscles Worked
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Primary: Glutes, quads, and calves
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Secondary: Core (for stability and balance), hamstrings, and abductors/adductors (for lateral movement)
Tie to Figure Skating
Figure skaters rely heavily on lateral agility and single-leg strength. Debi Thomas demonstrated lightning-fast transitions on the ice, requiring control while gliding from edge to edge. Ice Skaters mimic that side-to-side push-off and help train the same stabilizer muscles that keep skaters rock-solid on the ice.
2. Lateral Lunges
How to Do It
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Stand tall with your feet together and your core braced.
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Step your right foot out to the side (laterally) into a wide stance.
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Bend your right knee while keeping your left leg straight. Push your hips back and ensure your right knee does not cave inward and stays above your toes.
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Push off your right foot to return to the starting position.
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Repeat on the left side, alternating for a total of 11 reps on each leg (or 11 total if you’re doing “1 right, 1 left” as a single rep count—modify as needed).
Muscles Worked
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Primary: Glutes, quads, adductors (inner thigh)
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Secondary: Core, hamstrings
Tie to Figure Skating
Lateral lunges improve hip stability and mobility, both essential for a figure skater’s quick directional changes and graceful moves on the ice. By strengthening muscles in the inner and outer thighs, you develop stability that helps prevent injury when absorbing impact from jumps or spins in skating.
3. Jump Squats
How to Do It
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Begin in a squat stance: feet about hip- or shoulder-width apart, chest up, and core tight.
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Lower your hips back and down as if sitting into a chair, ensuring your knees track over your toes and your back is neutral.
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Drive forcefully through your feet to explode upward into a jump.
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Land softly with bent knees to absorb impact and transition immediately into the next rep.
Muscles Worked
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Primary: Quads, glutes, and calves (for the jumping and landing phases)
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Secondary: Hamstrings and core (for stability)
Tie to Figure Skating
Jump Squats mimic the explosive power figure skaters need for jumps on the ice. When Debi Thomas soared in her routines, she combined lower-body strength with near-perfect timing and control. These plyometric movements build explosive leg power for leaps and dynamic choreography.
4. Jumping Jacks
How to Do It
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Stand upright with your hands at your sides and your feet together.
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Simultaneously jump your feet out to about shoulder-width apart while bringing your arms overhead.
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Jump back to the starting position, bringing your feet together and your arms down.
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Keep a quick, rhythmic pace, but ensure control in your core and shoulders.
Muscles Worked
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Primary: Calves and shoulders (for the repeated jumping and arm raising)
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Secondary: Hip abductors (outer hips), core, and upper back to stabilize arm movements
Tie to Figure Skating
Jumping Jacks offer a brief cardiovascular challenge while also reinforcing agility. Figure skaters benefit from sharp total-body coordination and endurance, both necessary to maintain routine intensity. This exercise serves as an effective “active recovery” within the circuit, keeping the heart rate high and the body engaged.
Why This Workout Works
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Lower-Body Strength & Explosiveness: Exercises like Jump Squats and Ice Skaters train the legs to generate power—vital for skaters launching into spins and leaps.
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Lateral Movement & Balance: Ice Skaters and Lateral Lunges hone side-to-side strength and stability, mirroring skating strides.
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Cardiovascular Endurance: The AMRAP format forces you to keep moving for the entire 11 minutes, developing stamina that figure skaters need to perform challenging routines without fatigue.
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Core Stability: Every exercise requires a strong core to maintain alignment and prevent injury, much like figure skaters who need exceptional midline control on the ice.
Tips & Modifications
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Form First: If plyometric moves (Jump Squats or Ice Skaters) are too challenging, perform the movements without jumping until you build confidence and strength.
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Step Through: Replace full jumps with quicker step-outs or calf raises if impact is a concern.
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Pace Yourself: While the goal is to maximize rounds in 11 minutes, maintain good form to avoid injury.
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Warm Up & Cool Down: Do a dynamic warm-up (like hip circles, arm swings, and gentle squats) before starting, and finish with light stretching for the quads, hamstrings, and calves.
Train like Debi Thomas by emphasizing strength, balance, and endurance. This quick 11-minute circuit targets the fundamental components of figure skating performance—lower-body strength, lateral agility, power, and cardiovascular capacity—setting you on a path to build an athlete’s foundation of grace and intensity. Enjoy the rush as you channel your inner champion on every rep!