Can roller skating help you lose weight? the short answer is Yes. Roller skating like other forms of exercise can help you lose weight but this depends on other factors including your diet. I love skating and can spend hours a day learning a new trick.
I can usually feel the effects very quickly on my body especially my legs.
In this article, I will explain in detail how roller skating can help you lose weight and tone your body. I will also tell you how you can incorporate this into your exercise routine to keep things fun and effective.
Roller skating as a workout
Exercising is essential to long-lasting health. In the short-term, physical activity can help with mental health and lowering blood pressure.
The kicker is its benefits down the line, which include reducing your risk for cancer and other serious diseases, maintaining a healthy weight, and boosting your immune system. Most people keep in shape with conventional forms of exercise like running, walking, biking, and swimming.
While these are great activities, they can get boring after a while and feel more and more like a chore.
Roller skating is a great alternative if you are looking to add some fun and adrenaline into your routine! Even though many think of roller skating as more of a social activity, it is also a legitimate sport in and of itself.
As we will go into more detail, roller skating is a great form of exercise that can help you lose weight and achieve that slim figure you’ve always dreamed of, all while having fun.
Is roller skating a good way to lose weight?
Yes, if you’re in a calorie-deficit.
Roller skating (and any form of working out, for that matter) will only help you lose weight if you are in a calorie deficit, which means that you need to burn more calories than you consume.
Assuming that you are not on a diet, you will most likely have to burn more calories roller skating than you take in during the day.
However, you will still need to watch what you eat.
The more energy you use up, the hungrier you will be. While it may be tempting to reward yourself with unhealthy food after skating, it could put you out of the calorie deficit you worked hard for. Instead, you need to nourish yourself with food that is nutrient-dense and full of protein.
Along the same lines, you are also going to feel thirstier as you begin to ramp up your activity levels. Sometimes thirst can be mistaken for hunger, so make sure to keep hydrated. In turn, you will feel fuller while skating.
Set up a roller skating routine
Staying consistent is key when it comes to losing weight.
Even though the prospect of roller skating can seem fun now, it is also possible for you to get tired of it after a while and then quit it altogether. As with any other exercise of your choice, you need to keep up with it in order to reap the rewards. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean diving in headfirst.
Try to start slowly and gradually introduce roller skating into your regimen, especially if you are somewhat inactive and do little physical exercise most of the time. You can begin with three times a week and ramp it up later if you want more of a challenge.
If you want to keep roller skating as a part of your exercise routine, it needs to stay fun for you to keep coming back to it. For every skating session, set goals and challenge yourself to improve on your skills. This not only gives you something to look forward to but is also beneficial to your advancement in the sport.
Another part of keeping up with a routine is personal accountability.
To meet your goals, it helps to stay motivated through other means, such as keeping track of your progress with mobile applications or finding a local roller skating community to join. I am part of a “wheelies” community and have found it very helpful.
These are only a few of the opportunities that roller skating has to offer to keep you busy and consistent for years to come.
Can roller skating burn calories?
The American Heart Association recommends roller skating as one of the many different forms of exercise to stay active and healthy.
Roller skating is an aerobic fitness sport that requires a ton of energy, which is in the form of calories. Because of the intensive nature of the activity, it can burn more calories than other physical exercises.
It is even easier to burn calories while roller skating because you are more focused on having fun than working out.
However, your weight will partially determine how many calories you will burn. According to the Mayo Clinic, a 160-pound person will burn 548 calories after 1 hour of roller skating. Moreover, a 200-pound person will burn 683 calories, while a 240-pound person will burn 818 calories.
The more weight you carry, the more energy you have to expend to roller skate. But as long as you don’t consume more than you burn, you will steadily lose weight over time.
Does roller skating help with belly fat?
Roller skating is not only conducive to weight loss but also a leaner figure. The technique of skating helps to trim down and tone up your body.
Skating makes you move every part of your body from your head to your feet through a combination of balance, twists, and turns. This is especially helpful if you’re trying to cut down on belly fat.
But there are some good and bad news.
First, the bad news is that roller skating in and of itself doesn’t target specific areas of fat. The good news is that your overall body fat percentage will lower the more you skate, so you will notice changes in your body as a whole and not just in your belly.
Posture is very important when roller skating to help you keep your balance.
One of the basic things you’ll learn is to engage your core in order to keep your centre of gravity. So this helps to strengthen your core and engage your deep abdominal muscles which can help your tummy appear smaller.
If you want to accelerate the process, consider adding the following ab workouts to your roller skating routine.
Roller skating abs and glutes workout ideas
Materials
You will need a low bench, roller skates, and a weight bar/barbell (preferably a lighter one that is comfortable enough to situate on your pelvis without weighing you down or being too uncomfortable).
Roller skating weight bar/barbell routine
Workout 1:
- Rest your upper body on the bench while you are feet are on the floor. Everything from your knees to your upper body should be parallel to the floor.
- Lay the weight bar/barbell on your pelvis.
- Then, lower your butt slightly and roll out on the back two wheels of your skates so that both of your legs are stretched out. Bring your feet in and repeat a few times.
Workout 2:
- While in the same position with upper body on the bench, bring your feet in so that you are being supported by your toe stops.
- Move your pelvis up and down for a targeted ab workout. Repeat a few times.
Roller skating non-weight bar/barbell routine
Workout 1:
- Hold yourself in a push up position on the bench with hands on the bench itself and feet on the ground.
- Pull one knee in without lifting your skate off the floor while letting your other foot roll backwards
- Repeat the same movement but with opposite legs.
Workout 2:
- Stand over the bench in a way that the bench is in between your legs.
- Squat down with arms outstretched and hold onto the bench.
- While holding onto the bench, push back both of your feet. You only need to be rolling on the front two wheels of your skates.
- Roll back in and stand up. Repeat a few times.
Does roller skating slim thighs?
Again, roller skating cannot reduce the fat in any certain area, but you will notice a difference after skating for a while. However, it can only slim thighs to an extent.
As you are skating, your muscles are being broken down at the cellular level and then later on will be rebuilt in a stronger and bigger capacity. This allows your body to adapt to this activity and perform better in the next round.
Even though this may not be the news you want to hear, all hope is not lost for slim thighs in roller skating. It also depends on your activity levels and other lifestyle factors.
Athletes are more likely to have bigger thighs because they skate with greater intensity and for extended periods of time. The average skater will be in great shape, but not at the same level as professionals are. In addition, there are some factors that you can’t control for.
Men are prone to bigger thighs because they have much more testosterone than women do. Just as men are different from women, each one of our bodies are different from the other.
There is no good way to predict how one person’s body will react to roller skating compared to another. It could be that your body type, muscle type, and genetics all play a role in determining your overall shape. What you can take into your own hands though, is your diet.
Avoid high-carb diets, which can increase appetite and cause you to eat more carbs.
In essence, you don’t have to give up skating for fear of gaining bigger thighs. Even if you do, that is also completely okay!
Can roller skating tone legs?
Given what you have learned so far, it comes as no surprise that roller skating can indeed build up your legs to a significant extent.
You need strength in every part of your body to be successful at roller skating for weight loss. If you are new to the sport, you will notice that your legs, in particular, will be sorer the day after your skating session.
Your legs are where most of the action will be since they are essential to movement, support, and balance in skating. This part of your body will most likely be the first to be toned up as well.
Supplement your skating with extra squat workouts detailed below.
Roller skating squats workout
Materials
You will only need roller skates and a flat surface.
Workout 1:
- Stand upright with feet apart slightly wider than shoulder width.
- Do a side lunge and hold for a few seconds. Repeat on the other side.
Workout 2:
- Stand upright with feet apart slightly wider than shoulder width.
- With hands outstretched in front of you, squat down and hold for a few seconds. Then, stand up. Repeat a few times. This will help with your core, toning your legs, and balance, unlike normal squats.
Is skating better than walking?
Choosing any type of exercise to work out in is a matter of preference and one’s goals. In terms of losing weight, you will get to your goal faster if you try roller skating. Compared to walking, skating burns about two to four times more calories in a 60-minute session.
You are also engaging more of your muscle groups, which helps to burn off fat.
The cons with skating are that you need specific equipment, surfaces, and conditions to have a smooth ride. There is also a risk of falling or colliding, so you need to pay extra attention to your surrounding while skating.
Otherwise, if you are someone who prefers to keep at a slower pace, walking may be a better fit for you.
Can roller skating help you lose weight?
Roller skating is a fantastic alternative form of exercise that anyone can do. But keep in mind that physical activity is only one part of the equation and shouldn’t be your only strategy to lose weight.
The only thing that matters is the difference in calories you consume versus what you use every day.
It is incredibly easy to burn a ton of calories from roller skating, but you will only lose weight if your diet accommodates to this. With that being said, roller skating can help you achieve your “perfect” body, if there is such a thing.
The most common misunderstanding in this topic is that skating or other physical activities can help you target specific areas of fat on the body. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Conclusion
Roller skating is a cardio workout that builds muscle and tones your body, which burns fat in the process.
This naturally occurs and does not favor some areas over the other. In the end, the most important thing is that you are happy and healthy.
Weight is just a number that varies from person-to-person and shouldn’t be your main focus. Once you get into the groove of roller skating and having fun, the weight loss will come naturally.
So go out there and have fun skating!
