Roller blading

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toots99
toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Are there any roller bladers here? I am interested in leanring more about blading. I can roller skate sort of okay, but how different (and how much harder) is blading? How much does a decent pair cost? How does it compare to skating, fitness wise...better, not as good as...?

There is a long trail by my apartment that I think would be perfect. I've never tried it, and I'd like to. Any info would be appreciated. :flowerforyou:

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  • whyflysouth
    whyflysouth Posts: 308 Member
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    I'm a very avid roller blader actually. It's one of the most enjoyable recreational activities I do. When the weather's reasonable in chicago I head downtown and blade just about all over the place. Would get a nice 6 mile tour of the loop every night in the summer.

    If you can roller skate you'll be able to pick up blading pretty quickly. It's almost exactly like ice skating so if you've done that before it'll be very familiar. You push of in a diagonal back to the side pushing movement alternating legs. You push out with the hip abductors and the hip adductors (the "thigh master" muscles, see: http://cenkchiro.com/img/imagery/c2.jpg) so it sometimes takes a while for people to get used to such a reliance of those muscles at first.

    As for blades, there are a bunch of different brands but I've always sworn by K2's. Honestly, I think K2 makes the most comfortable fitting and overall smoothest riding blades out there, and they are pretty much midrange when it comes to price.

    I get my stuff from inlinewarehouse, and since you're just starting out no need to get performance skates, I know for K2 their entry line is quite good, and in reality the boot is not as important as the wheels, so as you improve get yourself a better set of wheels and bearings if you like. If you go for a 2009 model it'll cost between $80-100 for the blades.

    Fitness wise, it really comes down to how hard you're pushing yourself, you'll definitely strengthen your core balance, your abs, your lower back, and what's great is that there is very little (practically no) pressure on the knees unless you're jumping around with them. It's aerobic and muscle building in the legs, due to the effort placed on the abductors, adductors, and gluts but there's no way to get massive legs with it because the quads and calves are secondary and used for stability more than force.
  • whyflysouth
    whyflysouth Posts: 308 Member
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    Here's a pretty thorough article covering the benefits of rollerblading: http://www.iisa.org/resources/fitnessfun.htm

    Also one thing I forgot to mention, each person's preferences and confort differs so I'd suggest to test drive a few different brands of blades in sporting goods shops before choosing what you like. Once you know what you like, then you'll find the best deal by shopping around online. I often find decent blades on craigslist so you could try that route as well, but first it's important to just get a feel as to the difference between well-made vs cheaply made blades and wheels are. A pair of cheap wheels can really kill the experience.
  • jordan_vakil
    jordan_vakil Posts: 45
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    great idea... I want to start roller blading, I loved it when I was younger, I am so looking for some when I get off work tonight!!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    I was an "inline skating" instructor when I was in college, roller blade is actually a brand name so they couldn't use it as a sport name. but anyway, I'd make extra money holding classes (the certification was actually pretty tough to get). I used to go everywhere in my skates, I was really good, could do tricks, skate for miles, played in a hockey league...etc. Now? Not so much, just don't have the time, Oh I'm still pretty good, and I hop on the blades every month or so in the summer, but I don't get out nearly as much as I'd like.

    I used to tell people, "there's 2 things I'm cocky about, computers, and blades." Course I've learned enough to be cocky about neither any more. :tongue:
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    Lots of helpful information! I will certainly heed your advice, thanks! :flowerforyou:
  • rjadams
    rjadams Posts: 4,060 Member
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    I was an avid roller skater in my youth. Then I got blades. I was never as good on them as quads (roller skates) Blades tend to hurt my ankles. So I got some good outdoor quads. Roller Derby makes a decent pair for about 80 bucks. I now go and roller skate the trails. I am more comfortable and secure on quads than on inline skates.

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