Здравствуйте, everybody!

This may or may not be a dumb question, but I need help with a little problem- in Russian, how do you refer to the act of doing something? I'm thinking of something like a noun/verb type of word- not a gerund or participle. For instance- "i often practice skating". "My reading is improving" "I need help with speaking Russian.". Is that just a simple infinitive, or is it something else? I've been trying to find out, but I think I'm missing something.

Any help would be much appreciated! Спасибо!

-хоккеист