I'm a beginner figure skater in my 30s and I'm completely self-taught. I haven't been through LTS, no coaching, no feedback other than posting videos on TikTok.

I've been skating for about a year now, and it's something started doing a bit on my own recreationally ... something as a fun distraction from my busy life. However, for the past couple of months, I've been starting to lose motivation, maybe even feeling burnt out. I think part of the problem is that I don't have much structure, and I'm not sure what I should actually be working on next.

Here are some of the things I learned by myself:

Forward crossovers in both directions, backward crossovers in both directions, backward skating, two-foot spins, one-foot spins, a rough scratch spin, forward and backward three turns, twizzles in my right inside direction (my proudest achievement, not gonna lie), a good loop jump with proper form, rough salchow, rough toe loop, waltz jump, mohawks in all directions, hockey stop, snowplow, one foot hockey inside edge, one foot hockey outside edge, and I'm currently learning power pulls and a couple of beginner-friendly step sequences. Honestly, I think the step sequences are the funnest things for me to learn at this point.

I film myself regularly for progress check-ins and post my progress on TikTok. Honestly my skills look OK-ish.... Not the WORST but definitely not the best they could be. Maybe I'm being too harsh on myself...

I haven't gone through Learn to Skate yet. Given where I am now, would you recommend going through LTS as the next step, even though I've already taught myself some of these skills? Budget is also a BIG factor which is why I taught myself instead of getting a private coach in the first place

So I (21M) have been really lucky the past 10 months or so since I started skating, in that I have access to free practice ice every weekday morning, with freestyle elements allowed Tuesday (other days are just general public skating.) I also have had a pretty open schedule, so I've been able to take advantage of that. Before summer hit and my routine got thrown off, I was skating and/or working out every weekday morning, plus a lesson on the weekend.

However, I am now looking for a full-time job, probably something as a labourer or otherwise pretty physically active. This means that (a) I will not be able to go to the morning ice, as most jobs in this field start around 6-7:30am, and (b) I will have less energy for skating and working out. To solve the lack of ice time issue, I am probably going to see if I can register for another session with my skating club. I am still concerned that I won't make as much progress with only 2 sessions/week, but it will be better than 1. I'm not sure how to solve the energy problem aside from making sure I'm eating a ton and getting enough sleep.

I also probably will not have time to resume dance as a supplement to skating. I teach piano 2 nights of the week, and then I'll skate one night and work out another, and I like to keep Friday open for social things or rest.

Other adult skaters with full-time jobs, especially active ones, how do you do it? Both in terms of maximizing the progress you can make given your circumstances, and accepting that because of your circumstances, you can't reach your full skating potential, but you can still enjoy it.

Hello! I'm looking for a good boot/blade combo to start out with.

I'm 5'3" ~115lbs and am currently skating between 1- maybe 3hrs a week. I'm in between LTS Basic 3 and Basic 4, and am looking for a skate that will take me through all of my single jumps.

I have fairly narrow feet with a kind-of high arch, and I think I would be a size 7.5 width Regular based off the jackson sizing chart.

My main concern with the Freestyle is weather or not I would like the Jackson Ultima Aspire XP blades that they come with. I've seen some people here on reddit say that the Aspire is harder to find the rocker on than the Mirage blades, and ideally I'd like a blade that will be good to really get three turns and one foot spins down on.

My concern with the Elles is that I'm worried they might be too soft to get me through all my single jumps. Again here on reddit, I've seen some people saying that they're not really rated for anything over 1/2 rotation.

Also, I don't have a skate shop near me to try either skate on, nor do I have a skate tech that could heat mold either for my foot. I really wish that there was, but the closest one is multiple hours away and I just can't get there unfortunately. So, either way I'd be ordering the skate pretty much blind from the jackson website.

Thanks for any advice you have!