Beginner roller skating
Cross-Training Is Part of Skating, Not a Side Quest
ICP-certified coach Asha Kirkby counts off-skate strength and flexibility work as part of inline skating itself: it is what lets a skater learn the next thing without straining muscles and joints. Her core drills can be done with or without the skates on, and the skates add weight, so the same exercise gets harder and more efficient. Two kinds of session, one sport.
There is a temptation to file everything done without skates on under optional. A certified coach counts off-skate strength and flexibility work as part of inline skating itself.
Her reason is the next move. Cross-training is what keeps enough strength and flexibility in the body to skate safely and to learn the next thing without straining muscles and joints. The skater who skips it hits a ceiling that has nothing to do with technique.
Some of her core drills can be done with or without the skates on. A reclined side balance, for instance, works either way. With the skates on, their weight is added to the exercise, so the same drill gets harder and, in her words, more efficient.
Two kinds of session, one sport. Some days the work is on the wheels and on one move; other days it is on the floor, keeping the body able to do what the wheels will ask of it next.
Technique from Asha Kirkby of Skatefresh, an instructor certified by the Inline Certification Program. She teaches inline skating, and that is the discipline this page is about.
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