[outfit_details]Navy Merino Longsleeve, Blue Leggings, Navy Gloves (old similar here), Texas Ring
Harlick Figure Skates, Daily Edited Phone Case
This post was made in collaboration with Chase Freedom Unlimited, all opinions are my own.[/outfit_details]

Figure Skating was a huge part of my life for 11 years. Now, almost a decade later, I’m taking it seriously again. The first reason is the passion for the sport, the second for health. It’s a great way to get a workout in not involving your typical gym or weights. I used to spend hours a day training and working on becoming a better figure skater. Now, I skate at least once a week but devote time each day to becoming a better skater. My parents made a lot of financial sacrifices so I could pursue skating. Looking back on it, you have to have some sort of privilege to be able to skate and I’m forever grateful my parents wanted to provide me with a charmed life. Therefore, financial responsibility was important in my home growing up.

When it comes to credit cards, my parents always taught me to never ever put myself in debt. Credit cards can be fantastic for building up points, improving your credit score and even earning cash back. Only buy what you can afford to pay for by the end of the month and you are set. Thanks to my Chase Freedom Unlimited Card rewards, I’m always earning as I work toward my figure skating goals. Currently, new cardmembers earn 3% cash back on all purchases for their first year, up to $20,000, which is an awesome offer. Choosing a cash back credit card is a great reminder to be smart with your money and it will help you in the long run.

3% cash back can make a difference at the end of the month and ultimately, the year. When Johnny and I pay for ice time, it’s $20, so 3% of that is 60 cents. I always say a penny saved is a penny earned. That may not sound like a lot, but to put it in perspective, 3% of our day is 43 minutes. That’s a good amount of time to devote toward a goal. I’ve been spending 43 minutes of each day working on something skating related. The easy one is heading to the rink and skating. Johnny and I skate at least once a week. However, the other days of the week, I’m stretching or working out for at least 43 minutes a day. Either that or catching up with my favorite figure skaters and seeing what they are up to, ha!

Fortunately, I’ve always been a very flexible person, especially when I was younger. This made figure skating easier for me, as a lot of the spins and spirals require flexibility. Plus, the more flexible you are, the better movement and control you have of your body. As I’ve gotten older, I have lost some of that flexibility. Not to mention, I stupidly decided a few months ago to do a spin requiring a lot of flexibility without any prior stretching or warming up. I don’t think I actually tore a muscle… but it does hurt quite a bit when I stretch it out. Even if I don’t work out or skate, I’m making it a habit to get on the floor and stretch every single day.

My Current Skating Goals

During the past few weeks, I’ve been dedicating myself to improving my overall skating skills and getting my spins faster. Easier said than done. Especially since it can be frustrating because these are all things I did so easily years ago. It’s a great reminder that skating is more than cute outfits and looks a lot easier than it actually is. To improve my skating skills, I am pushing myself through some patterns I used when I was younger. Let’s just say…I used to finish these with a decent amount of speed. Now, I can barely power though, ha!

Another goal is to make my spins faster and more centered. When you spin on the ice, your blade creates little loops like in the photo below. You want all of those loops to be no more than about two feet wide. If you are off balance in your spin, you start “traveling” and the loops move. As you can see below, I have a bit to work on. Nowadays, video technology is so much better than before. I’m able to watch back and really see exactly what I’m doing and improve on it.