Last Updated on by San San
How Many Calories Does Skating Burn in Fitness?
Remaining fit and healthy is always a challenge, so much more when we are busy. We tend to get caught up with our families or just busy with our jobs that we forget to actually pay attention to what our bodies go through.
It is a constant discipline to always stick to our workout programs which makes people just quit the activity altogether. Even if we always stick to our workout programs, it too can get stale at some point.
We know we shouldn’t stop, or else we would lose all the benefits we have built up through exercise. But, most people stop working out and exercising which makes them go back to square one.
So how do we get out of this monotonous routine? The answer is simple. We need to change our workout programs. We need to find an activity or workout that is different and interesting. One that will keep our attention long and enjoy doing it. But the question is, what activity is this? I have a recommendation, and that is skating.
You might be familiar with skating, whether it be roller skating, ice skating, speed skating, or skateboarding. You see a lot of children or teenagers skating around your neighbourhood. One might find these activities unproductive or not consider them as an exercise.
Well, they are very wrong about that. Skating cannot only be an enjoyable activity, but it is good as an exercise as well.
All types of skating can become a great workout program. They are not only a good cardio exercise, but it is a fun and interesting activity. Different types of skating have strong communities around them. You can easily hop in and enjoy it with them.
The Benefits of Skating to Your Health at Any Age
Skating has benefits to a person’s health. It is not only fun and engaging, it definitely plays a huge role in a person’s health and fitness because of the amount of moving this activity involves.
Skating is a Good Cardio
A regular cardio exercise involves doing rounds around a park or stuck on a treadmill. Understandably, this can get monotonous. If you want to try to do something different, skating can be a start.
Skating is a rigorous cardio exercise. Different types of skating though they appear to be different, still involve a lot of cardio. The different forms of skating work the same fundamentally, and that is long but quick strides. This seems simple at first glance, but like cardio, you can get physically tired doing it. The entire point of an exercise is to get tired.
Unlike other forms of cardio, most types of skating are low-impact exercises. This means they don’t affect your tendons and joints as much as regular cardio does. Jogging or running requires you to stomp your foot on the ground. As a result, recoil happens in your tendons and joints. The recoil isn’t much, but if done too much, it can cause some pains later in old age.
Skating offers health benefits the same way other cardio exercise does. This includes strengthening your cardiac muscles, better heart, better sleep, burning calories, and avoiding chronic diseases. To maximize the benefits of cardio, do some skating for at least 250-300 minutes per week.
Maintain the pace and intensity of skating for consistent results. If you are not an expert at skating, start low intensity first. Gradually increase the intensity later once you get used to it.
Skating is Good For Your Mental Health
Any form of exercise can help improve your mental health. A study conducted in 2019 shows that physical activity, such as exercise, can help improve happiness. Physical exercise helps your mental health in several ways. This includes the brain releasing some adrenaline and endorphins. Both of these biochemical compounds make you feel good after a workout.
Also, doing exercise in the morning will set the mood for the rest of the day. Doing exercise in the morning is one thing done right first thing. You then do the next thing, and the next, and the next. If you hit the ground running, you gain the momentum for the rest of the day.
What really differentiates skating from regular cardio is how fun it is. No more doing those repetitive laps around a park, but now doing some fun skating instead. Skating may seem difficult at first, but it’s like learning to bike. Once you get used to it, you will start having fun.
Skating Builds Your Core Muscles and Improves Balance
Skating helps you develop your core and lower muscles. The muscles that are developed by skating are the hips, abdomen, lower back, and pelvis. The growth of these muscles will also significantly improve balance and body coordination. This is because as you stride in skating, the movement of the arms and legs needed to be in sync. This is particularly applicable to the elderly and can lower the chances of falling.
These benefits are certainly good for you. However, you might think that you can’t use skating to lose weight. Fortunately for you, you can use skating to lose weight!
So How Many Calories Does Skating Burn?
Skating is a cardio workout, and just like any cardio workout, you can use it to lose weight. How many calories are being burned depends on what skating activity it is. For example, in ice skating, 640-850 calories are burned per hour. While rollerblading can burn as much as 420 calories per hour.
When you do your skating, make sure that the pace is constant. Avoid coasting as much as possible and keep your legs striding for consistency in your weight loss results. It does not matter how slow you are at the start and build your way up as you get used to it.
If you want to burn even more calories, then challenge yourself by intensifying the workout.
Safety
Skating is a fun exercise, but you must proceed with caution. Skating is not very beginner-friendly, especially for people who have never tried any activity similar to ice skating. Just as we had a hard time learning to ride a bike, skating is likewise as complex. However, just as you learned to ride a bike, skating will also come in naturally. It becomes a skill you never forget. If you learn now and do not go skating for a while, you will still know how to skate.
To protect yourself in case of a fall, use some protective gear. This includes wearing a helmet, gloves, knee pads, and elbow pads. Take note that skating always requires a wide-open space. Watch out for some pedestrians and be on the lookout out for some debris that might cause you to trip.
