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OCTOBER 9, 2002
What You Get from Blading

Roller blading, or in-line skating, is a low-impact, high-speed workout that's great for heart health and muscle strengthening. It feels good to whoosh along a road or in the park with the bicyclists and ahead of the walkers and runners. A 12-mile skate is the aerobic equivalent of about a 6-mile run and avoids the strain on your knees. Roller blading is good for overall leg toning and for building strength and power. It strengthens the thigh muscles, improves the hip muscles, and tightens the buttocks.

How Not to Get Hurt
Roller blading primarily involves the lower body. In particular, it works leg muscles, including the quadriceps (top of the thigh), hamstrings (bottom of the thigh), and groin, as well as hip and buttock muscles.

Roller blading is a low-impact sport, but it can also be a sudden-impact sport. Since in-line skates are faster, smoother, and more maneuverable than conventional roller skates, stick to flat, paved, lightly traveled roads at first. Always wear protective safety gear and never attempt any fancy movements unless you have practiced them. Always look ahead to plan a possible escape route.

Tips to Improve Your Roller Blading
  • Learn how to stop. With knees bent, hands in front of the body and eyes looking forward, slide your right foot forward, keeping all wheels on the ground, and lift the right toe until the heel brake at the back of the right skate makes gentle contact with the ground. Sit down as if on a chair, with the left knee bent, and apply pressure through the right leg and right heel onto the brake until you come to a complete stop.
  • Don't wait until you're out of control to brake. Start braking at the top of a hill if you are not comfortable with speed.
  • Make sure to bend from the knees, not the waist, when you brake. Practice in a safe, controlled environment until stopping becomes second nature to you.
  • Take a lesson with a qualified roller blading instructor or ask your local skate shop for help if you have trouble learning how to brake.
  • Stretch your entire leg after skating, but concentrate on the groin muscles. Do the following two stretches: Stand with your legs a few feet apart, hands on hips, and gradually bend your left knee and lean to the left. Keep your trunk straight. Hold for 20 seconds, then switch sides. Then sit down and bend your knees so that the soles of your feet are touching each other. Put your elbows on your knees and gradually push them outward. Hold for 20 seconds.
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