Does skating work your arms?
David Ramirez
Updated on August 20, 2026
Between the music, lights, sunlight, social aspect, health benefits and fun, roller skating is one of the most fun workouts! Works the arms and legs: Skating works the legs and glutes as you power through movement, while your arms and core get a workout as you balance your body during the movement.
What muscles do skating work?
Muscles Involved
Skating is a unique sport because it works out an array of muscles in your lower body at the same time. It also works some muscles in the upper body as well. The primary muscles involved in roller skating are the hip abductors, the quadriceps, hamstrings, shins, and calf muscles.
Does roller skating work your arms?
Andrew Laux, a NASM-certified personal trainer with Fyt, agrees, adding that roller skating is a full-body workout—it uses both your inside and outside legs muscles, such as your glutes and inner thighs, as well as your core and arms.
What does skating do for your body?
Skating works nearly every muscle group in the body, and gliding requires synchronized movement of the legs, which is important for joint flexibility. It also builds up the leg and abdominal muscles. Like any workout, skating is great for cardiovascular health – it gets blood pumping and the heart rate up.
Is skating better than running?
You burn nearly as many calories on skates as you do running (for a 125-pound person, that's 210 calories inline skating for 30 minutes versus 240 calories running 12-minute miles for the same duration, according to Harvard Health Publications).
28 related questions foundCan you lose weight from skating?
And skating for weight loss is definitely possible if you skate for increasing lengths of time with fairly constant exertion. Skating's popularity as a fitness activity comes from its strengthening of the legs and glutes, and the good cardio and aerobic workout it offers.
How do you swing arms when skating?
The arms should swing forcefully and rapidly along the same line as the push off from the skate, in order to maximize the drive from the ice. If the skating leg is pushing directly sideways on the ice, the arms should also move sideways.
Can I lose weight roller skating?
In fact an hour of inline skating can burn up to 600 calories! As a cardiovascular activity it also gets your heart in shape. 30 minutes of roller skating can raise your heart rate to 148 beats per minute resulting in weight loss and a reduced risk of weight related ailments like heart disease and diabetes.
Is roller skating good for your abs?
Build your core – Roller skating engages your core abdominal muscles, making it a great way to work out your abs without doing boring crunches. You might not even notice it, but maintaining your balance requires you to flex and hold abdominal muscles that you might not normally engage.
Does roller skating build butt muscle?
Roller skating mostly works the muscles of your hips and legs. Your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves will all get a good workout. Skating also gives your backside a few unique advantages.
Does skating give abs?
Skateboarding also helps develop key muscles like hamstrings, glutes, quads, lower back, and yes, even abs.
Is skating good exercise?
Studies have shown that roller skating provides a complete aerobic workout and involves all of the body's muscles, especially the heart. Roller skating is equivalent to jogging in terms of health benefits and caloric consumption, reduction of body fat, and leg strength development.
Does roller skating slim thighs?
Although roller-skating can provide a rigorous fat-burning workout, aerobic activity alone won't help you trim excess fat from your legs. You should couple an exercise regimen with a sensible diet to shed the pounds. In addition, spot reducing is a myth.
How many calories do you burn rollerblading 5 miles?
With rollerblading you burn approximately 65 calories per mile. If you go faster (11 mph - 13 mph - 15 mph), the calorie consumption per hour will be higher.
How many calories does 2 hours of roller skating burn?
Roller skating is recognized and recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA) as an aerobic fitness sport. Just one hour of moderate roller skating burns 330 calories for a 143-pound person. If that same person roller skates vigorously, he or she will burn up to 590 calories in an hour.
How fast do speed skaters go?
While short-track speed skaters usually reach speeds exceeding 30 mph, long-track speed skaters can typically hit over 35 mph.
How fast do some speed skates go?
So, how fast do speed skaters go? Short track speed skaters on ice go about 31mph (50kph) but can reach speeds in excess of 35 mph (56kph). The fastest ice speed skater reached 56.5mph (91kph), whereas the fastest downhill inline skater reached 77mph (124 kph).
Why do speed skaters hold one arm back?
"So when you want to save a little energy, for later in the race, you can put one arm on your back." The swinging arms may come back out during the final moments of the race to give the skater an extra boost for the finish.
What are skater exercises?
10 Dynamic work-out exercises for skateboarders
- Warm Up. ...
- Forward Lunge & Lat reach 10 metres x 2. ...
- Bear crawl: 10 metres x 2. ...
- Duck walk: 10 metres x 2. ...
- Box Jumps: 4 sets of 10 reps. ...
- Lateral skater jumps: 4 x 30 second. ...
- Single leg lateral hurdle hops: 30 seconds each side for 2-3 sets. ...
- Skipping rope work: 3 x 30 seconds.
How much weight can you lose by skating?
If you skate every day, in a week's time you'll burn 2,100 and 3,108 calories, respectively. Because 1 pound of fat consists of 3,500 calories in stored energy, you could lose between 1/2 and 1 pound per week, depending on your activity level and metabolism.
What burns more calories skating or biking?
3. Rollerblading vs. Biking Calories Burned. Rollerblading burns approximately 573-1069 calories every hour while biking burns around 300-400 calories every hour, going at a casual pace.
Is skating better than walking?
So, let's compare skating with a brisk walk, as a 185 lb person. Brisk walk = 222 calories. That's almost 100 calories more, or about 40% more calories burned while rollerblading over the same time period. Over two hours you'd burn 356 calories more.
Is roller skating better than rollerblading?
Rollerblades are better for longer distances because you go faster. You can go long distances too on roller skates, of course, but you may struggle to keep up. Roller skates might be easier for very young children, and feel more stable initially, but counter-intuitively blades can be easier to learn how to skate well.