Skating helps improve the strength and condition the bodies of women. Women can participate in a variety of skating activities for fitness, including inline skating, ice skating and speed skating, just to name a few. No matter what kind of skating you take part in, however, you will be guaranteed a healthy and fit body if you stick with it.
Inline skating, also known as rollerblading is currently a very popular physical activity. Not only does it provide hours of enjoyment, it also provides a great workout that burns lots of calories. A great aerobic exercise, inline skating can really get your heartbeat moving and your blood flowing. Yet another benefit is that it also isolates muscles much like, or even better than, physical activities such as running and bike riding.
Inline skating creates more muscular activity for your hips, thighs and shins than either running or biking do. Inline skating is just as effective as running when it comes to increasing your aerobic activity. The striding movement of inline skating strengthens your leg muscles more than running or riding a bike does; yet, it produces a far lesser shock impact on your joints than running does. After you really get into it, you will notice a big difference in both your legs and hips. Your legs will become longer and leaner, because it tones your glutes, quads, calves and thighs. Your hips will also become much tighter just after a few weeks of regular skating.
Like any physical activity you should warm up before getting started. A great way to warm up is to jog or walk briskly for about five or 10 minutes. It is important that you also stretch your quad, hamstring and calf muscles to avoid pulling a muscle in your leg.
Now that your body is all warmed up, it is time to put your skates on. If you are a woman who is new to inline skating, it is best to not run out and buy a new pair of skates. First try borrowing or renting a pair. When you do buy, buy a low-grade skate, which is better for beginners. The grade has to do with the wheels and the lower the grade, the slower the skate and that’s a good thing for beginners.
To be safe, you should also wear wrist, elbow and knee pads, and most importantly a helmet. Not only will wearing them help protect you from injury, wearing this gear may also lessen your fear of getting hurt and allow you to learn quicker. If you are a beginner, you might stop wearing some of the extra padding as you become more experienced. But keep in mind that wearing a helmet is always a must!
There are several techniques to inline skating. Learning to glide, slow down, stop, and do crossovers are all necessary to becoming a good inline skater. But once you get the basics down, you can stride your way to a healthy body!