Sometimes working out can be SO boring. I have a hard time just going to the gym and remaining entertained with just the music in my headphones to keep me going. While I try to make them fun, home workouts usually end up being less productive than I would have hoped. However, once I got into roller skating the game completely changed. It’s a fun form of cardio with so much versatility, I have yet to get bored with roller-skating and I’ve been doing it for four years now! Since joining roller derby, though, I’ve found ways to get the most out of your on-skates workout, without it necessarily feeling like a workout. Get your music bumping ‘cause this roller skate workout (made up of popular roller skating tricks) is bound to have your heart pumping!

The Workout

Total time: 30 minutes

You’ll need: skates, enough space to move around on your skates (for me, this looks like half a basketball court minimum), and pads (while helmets, wrist guards, and knee pads are not required to complete this workout, they can be a good idea to prevent injury and have more confidence on-skates)

Warm-Up:

To start off this roller skate workout, I like to start each on-skates workout with at least five minutes of “heavy” skating. By this, I mean turn up your music and skate as fast and hard as you can. This is a surefire way to get your heart rate up and get your feet accustomed to being on wheels and prepared to maneuver in other ways later on. If you choose to do this “heavy” skating in a circle or oval, I would reverse the direction after 2.5 minutes to keep it even. 

Side touches:

To do side touches, you must first know how to use your skates to move laterally. Once you get that down, you move in each direction, then squat down to touch your skate or the ground. This may look easy but after two minutes, I am always sweaty.

Toe stop jumps:

Like in the video above, toe stop jumps are a great way to increase your toe stop agility, but also get your body moving on skates. I usually like to find a line on the ground or a crack in the pavement to using, then alternate my toes over the line as I jump down the line. Try this out for 60 seconds!

Squat jumps:

We all know what these look like off-skates, but here’s the tea: being comfortable and confident in keeping oneself stationary on skates is just as important as feeling comfortable and confident skating around. So, this move not only makes for a good workout, but it also can help immensely with your on-skates abilities. Do this for two minutes, and be sure not to jump too high and keep your knees bent when you land, trust me. 

Stair stalls:

While this move can be a little tricky for a beginner skater, there are lots of ways to make it easier! Not only are stair stalls impressive when you get them down, but they are also pretty effective at keeping your heart rate up, so long as you approach them repeatedly. To do the stair stalls, you’ll have to find a set of at least two steps (and a railing, if you need something to hold onto). Then you will skate toward the steps and use your plates (not your wheels!) to step onto the edge of the steps. I like to put one foot on one step and the other on the next one, mimicking climbing the stairs. Try out stair stalls for three minutes, then if you feel comfortable, hop into the next move. 

Ledge stalls:

For ledge stalls, it’s the same principle, you’re still going from skating to stopped on an elevated surface, balancing on your plates on the corner of a ledge instead of stairs. I would say ledge stalls are basically the box step/jump of roller skating. This higher surface can make it trickier to get up but certainly makes for quite the workout after three minutes. 

Laps in derby stance:

If I learned one thing from roller derby, it’s how to get LOW on roller skates. The lower your center of gravity, the more sturdy you are on skates, and when you’re subject to get hip-checked by other players, keeping your derby stance is important. However, derby stance does a lot more than just keep you steady, it also REALLY works your legs and booty because you’re basically skating around in a squat. Keep those knees bent (or stay low, not hoe, as my fresh meat mistresses would repeatedly advise) and skate in one direction for two minutes and the other for two minutes. Yes, it will burn.

Maneuvering drill:

I wasn’t sure what to call this one, but one thing is for certain: this drill really helps with your maneuverability on skates and is a fun one to figure out! All you need is two objects to skate around. In the video, I am using cones, but really anything small will do– water bottles, rocks, etc. When I skate forward I go between the cones and take a sharp cut outward, then do a backward crossover, stop, then repeat on the other side. It can be tricky to figure this one out at first, but I swear, once I had it down, I felt like I was doing some sort of dance. Try this one out for three minutes and see how it feels!

Toe stop jumps:

Yup, we’re repeating these, but this time for two minutes! This is a great way to bring your heart rate back up and finish your workout strong.

“Heavy” skating

For the final five minutes of our roller skate workout, skate it all out! This always feels so amazing to me, and if you need to bring in your cooldown a little early, just skating around at whatever pace you need is great to do to finish up your workout as well.

Have your ever done a roller skate workout made up of roller skating tricks? Let us know in the comments below if you’re going to try this one out!

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