FAQs
Ages 8-to-Pro. We recommend that children from ages 8 - 18 use the PowerSkater under adult supervision.
An 8′ and sides are 5 ½’ making the top of the triangle 2.5" high of the ground.
40 lbs.
Easy, all you need is to secure two bolts with supplied allen wrench, and attach the cords.
The unit comes with Standard Red which we recommend for ages 8-13 or for rehabilitation. The Medium Duty Blue cord is for 13+. The Intermediate Cord is for Midget Major, Junior, College, and Pros. The Heavy Duty Black cord is for the skilled and physically fit player at the Junior, College, and Pro ranks.
This depends on the age, skill level, and purpose for using the PowerSkater. Follow the Stryd.os app.
The PowerSkater should be viewed as a supplement to a professional skating instructor. It helps strengthen the important muscles used in skating. This can be challenging to do on the ice. The goal would be when the athlete gets on the ice with an instructor, they’re much further developed to work on more advanced aspects of skating.
Recommended 2-3 times a week following the STRYD.os platform.
By following the STRYD.os program, based on age and skill level, athletes should see an increase in muscle strength in weeks. This all depends on the athlete’s strength, following correct posture & technique, number of workouts, and time on the machine.
Absolutely. The PowerSkater forces a certain amount of coordination and reinforces the correct technique. The muscles as they grow will strengthen and help “memorize” your movements.
It doesn’t. The lateral slide board has been used by many hockey players to strengthen their muscles, improve their stride and knee bend. The movement does not mimic skating, for it is from side to side as well as thrusting your weight from side to side. You can create bad habits on a lateral slide board which will actually slow you down on the ice. The PowerSkater replicates the skating movement and uses your energy and muscles correctly.
We sell direct to the end user cutting out the cost of distribution in order to keep the PowerSkater affordable. We have many units across the country and may have one near you, however the majority are in private homes. We have units with NHL teams and players, medical facilities, training clinics, etc. We do not give out personal names and phone numbers. If there is a public facility or training facility near you, then we would be glad to provide such details.
We ship to Canada via our online website. (USD funds plus brokerage & GST)
No. Goalies must be excellent skaters. They demand great balance and explosive lateral power. It is a myth that goalies do not need to be good skaters. We have several goalies using the PowerSkater even at the NHL level.
Yes. There are some minor differences but the muscle groups used for skating and stride power, endurance, balance, stride length are all important to figure skating. Have your instructor visit our site and they will be able to help you transition the language to figure skating for technique, conditioning, and skills. Figure skaters own PowerSkaters.
Yes. We currently have units with several teams (Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Carolina to name a few, and in the KHL) and several individual players across all leagues. Peter Twist former Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Vancouver Canucks and is one of our strong supporters. He has stated that “the PowerSkater is the best dry land system on the market today that works the same muscle groups used in skating”. “It over-works the Pro’s”.
There are 3 primary reasons why an NHL team will buy a PowerSkater: improve skating technique; strength and conditioning; and for rehabilitation. Athletic trainers, Medical trainers, Therapists and Strength & Conditioning Coaches all have their specific reasons for wanting a PowerSkater. NHL teams hire Power Skating instructors to help individuals improve their skills.
Backwards skating requires similar technique to forward skating such as a proper knee bend, bend at the hips not in the back, 45-degree pushes, proper arm swing etc. Strengthening and conditioning your muscles through forward skating will help you in backwards skating. The Lateral Crossunder attachment also teaches pushes and pulls used in backwards skating.
Yes. I do not share in the opinion that “in-line skating is a good dryland skating substitute.” If you have poor in-line skating technique then you will have poor ice skating technique. In-line skating techniques are identical to ice-skating so the PowerSkater will help teach, train and condition athletes to be excellent in-line skaters.
You can break the hooks. Our experience indicates that about 5 to 7% of our customers have broken their hooks on the front mounting plate. This is due to the fact that the user allows the foot truck to slam into the front of the machine as opposed to controlling the return. When you push off with your striding leg, you are pushing a foot truck down a track under the resistance of an elastic cord. The foot truck becomes “loaded” and wants to return to the front at a high velocity. You need to return the truck at the same rate as the push off with a low impact stop. This action is important from a training perspective and prevents damage. The push off and return is an eccentric and concentric muscle contraction. These two kinetic movements provide flexibility and elasticity in your muscles for power and speed. Taking the weight off the foot truck by not controlling the return greatly diminishes the eccentric movement. A good analogy is to lift a weight up in a bicep curl, then drop it to the table on the way down. You in effect are training the muscle in one plane only. The PowerSkater trains both concentric and eccentric muscle movements.
No. Not at this point in time and it is not critical that you do so in this environment. A well executed toe flick is important, but many experts will agree that there are several other techniques higher or more critical in skating than a toe flick; such as proper knee bend, full length strides, low profile, back straight, full recoveries, pushing power, chest & head up, and effective arm swings. As an example if I can’t sustain a low profile with deep knee bends (90°) to develop power and full strides; what good is the ability to execute a toe flick? Work on toe flicks on the ice with your skating coach, but after you have mastered more important skills and techniques.
This add-on to the Power Skater, slips into the side of the track. This helps train the push and pull movement used in backward and forward skating