Skating and Caloric Burn

The Caloric Burn

An inline skater can improve his or her inline skating fitness level dramatically through an increase in the caloric burn per roll by:

* Skating longer distances
* Rolling at a faster pace
* Adding a sprint

Rollerblading Exercise from Longer Distances

What is long distance skating? To realize the rollerblading benefits from long distance skating you don't need to blade a marathon distance of 26 miles (42 kilometres). On the other hand, a half-hour roll in the park isn't going to cut it either!

Long distance skating refers to a sustained effort at a good pace for 2 and 1/2 hours with a couple of 10 to 15 minute breaks during the roll. Depending on the individual's pace, which is based on his or her stamina and fitness, some may skate 10 miles (16 kilometres), others 15 miles (24 kilometres), and still others 20 miles (32 kilometres) during this time period.

Greater Caloric Burn per Roll

Let's compare the number of rollerblading calories burned during a typical skate and a longer skate. Assume a 120-lb, a 150-lb, and a 180-lb skater all roll at a constant speed of 10 mph for a duration of 1 and 1/2 hours with two 15 minute breaks in between. Therefore, all skaters roll a distance of 10 miles. At a speed of 10 mph, our 120-lb skater burns about 440 calories per hour, the 160-lb skater consumes 555 calories per hour, and our 200-lb skater uses up 670 calories per hour.

Let's double the distance of the skate from 10 miles to 20 miles and keep everything else the same. Our 120-lb skater now burns 880 calories, the 160-lb skater consumes 1,110 calories, and the 200-lb skater uses up a whopping 1,340 calories for a skate that takes 2 hours to complete.

If you want to burn more rollerblading calories, double your distance, and keep your speed the same.