What is Inline Skating?
Inline skating is a multi-disciplinary sport that revolves around quite a number of activities practiced using inline skates. The sport requires inline skates that have two to five polyurethane wheels, arranged in a straight, single line by a plastic frame or, at other times, metal frames on the underside of a boot. The inline designs give room for more incredible speed and easier maneuverability than roller skates. It is also commonly or loosely referred to as another eponym, ‘rollerblading’ or just ‘blading’ due to the popular brand of inline skates, Rollerblade. The first rollerblade skates dated as far back as 1978.
Health Benefits of Inline Skating
I can bet you just think rollerblading, otherwise known as inline skating, is just for recreational purposes solely. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Inline skating has tremendous health benefits for the body. Even medical research has informed us that inline skating is among the top three activities that help boost physical fitness and well-being in total.
I’d like you to know that you can easily burn excessive calories, about 400 calories, if you skate at 20mph in just one hour. Amazing huh?
Here are some reasons why you should practice Inline Skating
- It maintains weight: Rollerblading is quite a rigorous cardiovascular exercise that burns a lot of calories. When rollerblading, as a 160 pounds individual, one can burn up to 913 calories in an hour. Whereas elsewhere, when you are jogging, one only burns about 584 calories and respectively, 277 calories when walking, according to Mayo Clinic. You have got to agree with me that this is a huge difference. Rollerblading is what I would choose if I were interested in reducing my weight.
- It improves balancing: When I found it difficult maintaining balance in some sports I chose to delve into, I was advised to try Inline skating. Balancing is required quite in every sphere of life, not just in sports. Getting into good shape and balancing well improves a lot of things. For instance, good balancing improved my walking posture a great deal, and soon it reduced how I feel fatigued. As you engage your abdominal muscles and lower back in rolling forwards and backward, your balancing improves.
- It works on the arms and legs: Rollerblading works on both arms and both legs. The legs and glutes are engaged in strides and build the momentum while the arms and cores engage in workouts for balancing and movement. When I needed to build up strength, especially for my lower body, I turned to Inline Skating.
- Rollerblading builds muscular endurance and aids muscular development. It increases muscle endurance: This tops the list of why I engage in rollerblading. I was of the opinion that the treadmill was just as sufficient until I figured out that in rollerblading, I am working my upper leg muscles, buttocks, lower back muscle, and hip movements all at once. By doing this, I am building my leg muscles which helps build strength and maintain control of my upright position.
- It makes me feel happy: Inline skating is not just about its physical benefits. It also improves one’s mental health by making one feel happy. It is great to clear the mind, minimize mood swings, and even barring depression. This is achieved by removing bad hormones and increasing the number of endorphins in the brain. Endorphins, asides from putting one in a good mood, have also proven to relieve or reduce brain pain. And while endorphins make one feel happy, they also ensure one concentrates better and allow one to improve in inline skating. So, engaging in inline skating is a sure way to regulate mood every now and again.
- It improves heart health: Ah, so it gets better. Asides from all that have been mentioned so far, inline skating aids the heart’s health. Heart disease is a worldwide phenomenon these days and has been the leading cause of premature death in Uncle Sam (USA). The National Heart Foundation claims that 787,000 die from heart-related causes in the USA, and the number is even bigger on a worldwide scale. There is a rise in the rates of death from heart diseases. Since Inline skating helps strengthen the muscles, the heart, which is a muscle, enjoys the privilege too and is protected from unsuspecting attacks as it is healthy and strong. The American Hearts Association has commended rollerblading as a great form of aerobics as it allows the heart to be at a rate of 140-160 beats per minute. The aggressive players can even jump theirs to 180 beats per minute.
- It helps defeat diabetes once and for all: I watched my grandfather struggle with diabetes in his lifetime. It was a costly intervention that ensured he didn’t lose his leg. Diabetes, like heart disease, is an ailment that arises due to a poor or unhealthy diet routine. Being overweight or lacking in aerobic exercise can trigger Type-2 Diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends strength training and aerobic exercises as sufficient intervention for preventing diabetes. Luckily, rollerblading involves and covers both of these. Exercise helps in controlling the insulin level in one’s body. It also strengthens the heart and bones and lowers one’s blood glucose levels, thereby relieving stress and improving good cholesterol levels. Doctors around the world prescribe about thirty to forty five minutes of aerobics to combat diabetes.
4 Exercises You Can Do At Home to be a Better Inline Skater
1. One Shoe One Skate
This exercise is particularly good for anyone who wants to start skating afresh. It goes a long way in helping steady the body. Now, what I do is I wear one skate on one foot and one shoe on the other foot. I have to be mindful that I am in the center, and both feet are not apart. I am not leaning on one or the other. I am standing on both legs. I maintain the angle where my knee is right on top of my toe. Perfect. So, from here on out, I push around with my whole body, of course, not just the one foot that has a skate on it. I am also mindful of putting my hands in front of me so that if I trip, I can balance my fall. So, I move around to see how far I can balance on that foot. One can do this exercise by staying on a line, having little cones, and then pushing on with the skating foot to see how far one can go. After getting to the first stop, I try to push myself to beat that first stop when I go again, on a straight line. Remember, I am pushing with the foot that has the skate on and balancing my body with the other foot. The other foot is not touching the ground in the process, or else there is a great need to steady myself from a fall. Anyone can practice this exercise, either a pro or a newbie.
There is also the one shoe, one skate backward where the exercise is done but backward. I move backward and roll on one foot, using the other to balance and stabilize my body. I soon try to use the foot which has the shoe on to turn to see my surroundings and to balance myself in order to prevent a fall.
2. T- Stands
Inline Skating is about building my core energy as well as my leg muscles and upper body as I am going to need a lot of balancing power to enjoy the activity. My leg muscles give me stability and aid my body endurance. So, in T-stands, the exercise is trying to build my lower body muscles. I am practically writing the letter T with my body. It is quite simple and yet tasking. So, in T-Stands, I bring both arms to the front till I have formed a curve and raise one leg at the back, which will be on the same line with my arms stretched forward. The second leg is standing underneath, and my whole body is resting on it. Please, tell me you can picture it. Well, if the leg I am standing on is not shaking, then I am not doing the correct thing. One leg cannot carry the whole weight of my body without trembling. So, when the leg on the ground is trembling, it shows I am getting the exercise. Like I said earlier, T-Stands help to build your lower leg and muscles. It is a very good exercise for stability and endurance.
3. Scorpion Kicks
Inline Skating is all about mobility, so I need mobility exercises as well as muscle-developing exercises. Scorpion kicks is an exercise that develops lower back and hips mobility. In this exercise, I lie down flat on my face with my hands and feet spread apart. My arms are sideways as well as my legs to their separate extremes. Then, I raise the right leg across my back towards my left hand and return to the initial position. I do the same by moving my left leg across my back to my upper body to find my right hand. I repeat on both sides about ten times each. The exercise ensures my lower back develops strength and my hip is flexible enough. It helps me develop my edges, and I do not have difficulty balancing on the skates or making sharp turns. I can rest if the exercise is a little bit exhausting. To get a good result, I slow the pace of my movement to ensure my lower back muscles are really stretching as they should be.
3. Prisoner Split Squats
The prisoner squat is a strength exercise that targets the glutes, quads, and hamstrings. The ‘prisoner’ arm positioning (hands behind your head), which the exercise got its name from, helps stabilize the muscles in your core as well as your back and shoulders. The prisoner split squats are a little bit different though. In the prisoner squat, I put my hands behind my head, keep my feet a bit apart, get down into a squat position, return to my initial position, and keep repeating the cycle. The split squat does differently because it removes a sizable load from my back, which a traditional squat would not do. The prisoner split squat removes the lower back from the equation and focuses on the legs more. One leg stays on an incline in the prisoner split squat, and you get into a squat position. I do this for about three minutes and then move along to the next exercise. The prisoner split exercise is a beneficial exercise for one’s quads and hamstrings.
4. Roller-Bum Squat
I wear my skate for the roller bum squat, get into a squat position, and then push my body on it. The roller bum squat is a good exercise for the knees and also a good skating position to prevent a fall. When exercising, I can lift my bum until it is above my head, then get back into the squat position. The roller bum squat helps to prevent serious injuries in case of a fall, so if I ever get into a precarious position when I am on my skate, all I need to do is get into this position. Remember, it is okay to fall from a low position than from a standing position or a half-crouch position. The higher the fall, the more damage it is expected to cause, and the lower the fall, the lesser damage, but of course, I am taking you through these exercises so that you can become the pro you are meant to be and not fall or sustain injuries while at it.
In conclusion, these exercises will ensure that an inline skater stays fit and ahead of their game. Also, practicing inline skating has a positive effect on the skater physically and mentally.
Stay fit, skate fitter.
