Q&A with US National Champion Figure Skater, Ryan Bradley

The tricky part about my life is that I don’t really have a routine. I am on the road so often that I tend to change things up every couple of days. When I was still competing though, my day looked something like this.

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Wake up at 8 am and make breakfast. Usually 3 egg whites and half an avocado. Head to a 9 o’clock appointment. Typically a Sports psychologist, a nutritionist, or physical therapist. Get to the rink at 10:15 to start warming up for an 11 o’clock session. Skate from 11-noon, and then go home and make lunch. Generally a salad or a sandwich. Head back to the rink at 12:45 to warm up for a session at 1:15. Skate until 2 and then stretch and recover before a 3 o’clock session. One last session at 4 and then off to the gym by 5:30. Lift weights, do plyometrics, and work cardio until about 7:30. At 7:30 I would go to the recovery center where I would do intervals in the ice tub to try and expedite the recovery process. Head to an off ice dance class at 8:30 and then get home at about 10. Just in time to make dinner and then get ready for bed. Dinner was typically something high in protein and low in carbs.

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Not particularly exciting, but it gives you a little window into how much time we have to commit to something like ice skating.

Now a days I wake up in a new city every couple days and try to figure out where I am.

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You are one of few that can pull off a back flip on skates impeccably. How did you learn to do that & what is going through your mind when you’re in the air?

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Learning a back flip was a pretty stressful process. I, like many children, learned how to back flip on a trampoline when I was younger. I didn’t have any formal training, so I just tried to rely on my athleticism to figure it out. My coach had promised me that he would teach me how to do it on the ice, with the use of a makeshift harness. But he kept putting it off and I grew impatient. So I basically got on the ice and decided to just try it. It didn’t go well. I had about 3 pretty brutal days of fall after fall before I finally figured it out. I’ve been fortunate enough to avoid hitting my head on any, knock on wood. Its really not that difficult now, but is pretty stressful late in the program when my legs are burning. But I love it because it elicits a great response from the crowd.

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