What to Practice - July 2024
Hello Hello! And happy July! It is summer here in Southern California and this is by far my favorite time to skate. To celebrate that we are doing probably my favorite choreography that I've ever created to Hot Stuff! Get ready to sweat!
We also have a brand new skill!! When I say pivot, I typically think of a toe stop pivot. One toe stop down, pivoting around that toe stop: forward or backward. So to my surprise, a few people have been asking me about pivots and I'm like, yeah, we do pivots. I do pivots all the time. But they are referring to a different kind of pivot. The pivots they are talking about are what I call an assisted 3-turn. In this pivot both feet are on the floor. When you're traveling forward, you lift the heels, both at the same time in order to turn backward. When you're traveling backward and you want to turn forward, you lift the toes. We’ll get into that more in a moment…
Every month I build out a practice schedule for you. All of the videos that I talk about can be found within the memberships on my website (ThatNicoleFiore.com) or with a membership on my YouTube channel. I also offer the Foundations Course on my website. The Course is an A to Z roadmap of everything I recommend every skater knows. It perfectly guides you into anything you will want to learn on skates. No matter what discipline or style of skating you want to do, this is the foundation you need. Speaking of all the things you’ll want to learn on skates, the membership has hundreds of videos to take you anywhere you want to go with drills, skills, and choreography. It has it all! I also offer private lessons online and in-person and I hold an in-person workshop once a month.
Alright, let's get into what I recommend practicing this month!
Everything that I mention in the video and text below can be found within my Membership on ThatNicoleFiore.com or the Membership on my YouTube channel. When you join the roller skating membership, you also get access to all of the mind|body|soul videos: mindfulness, off-skates workouts, as well as early access to the podcast. Please check it out and let me know if you have any questions at all. You can find links to each video at the bottom of each section.
Week 1:
Squat, Knee, Twist (mind | body | soul)
Rolling Pivot (Two-Foot Turn)
PRACTICE:
Inner Back Heel-Heel Transition
Drills & Skills:
Other than the pivot this week, I want us to do a workout from the mind|body|soul section. This one is called ‘Squat, Knee, Twist’. I think you can imagine what it consists of: a squat, knee, and a twist! All of the workouts in the mind|body|soul section are 10 minutes or less. I really do recommend sprinkling them in throughout the day, especially when sitting a lot. When I’m sitting and working a lot, I do one of these workouts and I instantly feel better/ very accomplished! Works like a charm! This video works on one foot balance and core stability.
Now into our rolling pivot (Two-Foot Turn). I would call this more of a transition. It will be in the transition category on the site. This is probably the quickest way that you can turn from forward to backward and you don't need to be on one foot at all. If you do want to progress from this pivot, you can work on a 3-turn.
Practice:
That could be your practice for this week, but I also want you to do the inner back to inner forward heel-heel transition. This is a really good way to turn from backward to forward right after that rolling pivot that you do on two feet. This is a transition that I use a lot because it is really simple. You don't have to rotate a lot. Unlike the outer back heel-heel transition, the inner back transition is a much closer step. It can be kind of like a quarter rotation if you pay attention to your edges. Your edges make things a lot easier. Hopefully this skill will help in understanding that a little bit more.
Where to find these videos:
Squat, Knee, Twist: mind | body | soul page [Link: Website, YouTube]
Rolling Pivot: Skills page (transitions section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Inner Back Heel-Heel Transition: Skills page (transitions section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Week 2:
Beginner/Intermediate Choreography — Hot Stuff by Kygo & Donna Summer
PRACTICE:
Toe Pivots
Beginner/Intermediate Choreography:
This week we have our Beginner/ Intermediate Choreography to Hot Stuff. Like I said, this is one of my absolute favorites! A lot of people (especially Elaine 🙆🏻♀️) credit this choreography to helping them get comfortable with their toe stops. You don't need to have toe stops in, but I do recommend them for this choreography. When you are on your toe stops, you do not need to balance fully on the toe stop. You will also have your front wheels down on the ground. It's very important to remember that, especially if you are a little fearful of balancing on your toe stops. It's not like a pinpoint that you have to balance on. You have some extra support with your front wheels.
Practice:
For our practice this week, I want you to work on your toe pivots. When I think of pivots, this is what I think of!! Our toe pivots will use our toe stop and we will be pivoting around that toe stop. There are four different ways that you can do a toe pivot. You can do your left outer forward, right outer forward, left outer back, and your right outer back. You might be thinking, Nicole, how am I supposed to do an edge on my toe stop? Yeah… you can't. You will actually be working your inner edges with the foot that comes around with all wheels on the floor, but you will also feel pressure like you’re doing an edge on the other foot. So you can kind of think of it as a fake edge.
Where to find these videos:
Hot Stuff Choreography (Beginner/Intermediate) - Choreography page [Link: Website, YouTube]
Toe Pivots: Skills page (edge section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Week 3:
Drills 15 (off-skate warmup)
Back to Forward Toe Stop Hop
PRACTICE:
Toe Stop Strut
Drills & Skills:
We are going to start with Drills 15. This is my off-skates warmup. This is by far my favorite and probably most difficult workout that I have in the drills. This one is very special to me, very near and dear to my heart. This is what I used to do before I put my skates on when I was training and when I was competing. I recommend that you do the full thing and start implementing it into your skating routine before you actually put your skates on. It is super important for us to warm up, and that is often overlooked, even by myself.
Our skill this week is the Back to Forward Toe Stop Hop. To clarify: I have two skills that are named similarly. We have a toe stop hop, which is what I want you to work on. We also have a toe stop flip hop. They are very similar, but they are indeed different. Both are on theme with the toe stops for this month and I do recommend having a toe stop in. In the Toe Stop Hop we use one toe stop and then the other, switching feet to turn ourselves from backward to forward. I use this skill both in choreography and when I'm flying down a street and need to turn around with some flare.
Practice:
Again, staying on theme with the toe stops…you will want this skill for the Advanced Choreography coming up. I want you to do the Toe Stop Strut. I am all but 5’2”, but I am a bit taller when I have my skates on. When I'm doing this skill, I feel like I am a six foot model walking down the Victoria's Secret runway. I am a child of the 90’s, so that’s the first thing that I imagine. No matter who you are, I want you to feel that power. If anyone ever throws you shade for using your toe stops, turn around and toe strut your way away. This skill feels super powerful and it is so much fun to do.
Where to find these videos:
Drills 15: Drills & Workouts page [Link: Website, YouTube]
Back to Forward Toe Stop Hop: Skills page (jumps section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Toe Stop Strut: Skills page (toe stop section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Week 4:
Advanced Choreography — Hot Stuff by Kygo & Donna Summer
PRACTICE:
Waltz Jump
Advanced Choreography:
Now it is time for our Advanced Choreography to Hot Stuff! This is the remix from Kygo and Donna Summer and it is…SO much fun. It's literally one of my favorite pieces of choreography, specifically this advanced part. There is also a middle portion to our choreography that I want you to freestyle. I want to challenge you to come up with a few things of your own in between the Beginner/ Intermediate and into the Advanced. This choreography uses a lot of different skills. It uses a Body Roll (yes, that is a skill), a Toe Stop Strut, an Outer Back Toe Stop Spin, a regular Toe Stop Spin, and more. There's a lot going on and it is pretty fast. As always, please take your time and make it your own. You don't need to hit the exact same beats that I hit. This is to guide you into finding what you can do/ what you’re capable of. You can make it whatever you want make it.
Practice:
Our practice this week is going to be a little bit off track. I want you to do the Waltz Jump. I am not a super big fan of having my feet leave the ground 😂 I prefer my feet on the ground. But when you do want to learn jumps, the Waltz Jump is actually a very fun one. You don't need to jump it super big, but you totally can if you are a fan of jumping. You're only rotating a half rotation, from one foot to the other foot. So, if you jump to your left, you would take off on your left foot and land on your right foot. If you jump to your right, you would take off on your right foot and land on your left foot.
Where to find these videos:
Hot Stuff Choreography (Advanced): Choreography page [Link: Website, YouTube]
Waltz Jump: Skills page (toe stop section) [Link: Website, YouTube]
Alright, that’s it for this month! I hope you check it all out. All of these videos are included in the Roll With Me (On-Demand) Membership.
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!
If you prefer a roadmap from A to Z of everything that I believe every skater should know, The Roller Skating Foundations Course is also available! The course is literally everything (your solid foundation) to do whatever you want to do on skates.
At the end of each month, I want you to take a moment to look back and see how far you’ve come. Did you learn something new? Did you progress? Did you surprise yourself? Do you have new goals for next month? Take a moment, breathe, roll your shoulders back, lift your head high, and tell yourself you’re doing a great job. Because you are.
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.
What was your favorite part of this month? What was the hardest for you? What kept you going? Leave a comment and/or send me a message! 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 the Discord. Everything is better with friends!
