How Many Calories Does Roller Skating Burn?

Roller skating is a fun sport that works as an excellent form of cardio exercise.

But, before you include it in your plan to maintain your health or using roller skating for weight loss, you should know have the answer to the question: how many calories does roller skating burn?

Studies have shown that roller skating can have the same benefits to your physical health as jogging does, all without the impact that comes with jogging.

It is also a nice sport to pick up as a beginner and easy to really advance in, giving you pretty instant satisfaction.

We looked into all of the health benefits that you can get from roller skating, from the amount of calories it burns and weight loss, to the long-term health benefits, and even which muscles that you can expect to really work out when you are skating in different environments.

Roller Skating For A Workout

Roller skating has been popular for decades, but it really met its stride during the past two years.

It was taken up by many people who found that they could no longer go to gyms for workouts.

We looked into the research on whether roller skating is a real workout. To put it simply, it is definitely a good workout.

Because the entire workout requires you to get yourself going and control your movement, it gets your heart rate up and going pretty quickly.

Roller skating is also a nice workout for people who have joint issues where running will put too much strain on their hips and knees.

There is very low impact with roller skating, so it is a nice option to give you cardio in a safe way.

How Many Calories Does Roller Skating Burn?

When asking how many calories roller skating burns, it is not so simple.

The question cannot be easily answered, because not everyone skates the same way. It really depends on the intensity and your own personal metabolism.

But, there is a calculation that you can use strictly as a guideline. You just need to remember to not use this as a rule as it will depend.

To get an idea of how many calories that you burn while roller skating, you can expect to burn about 250 calories if you are skating for 30 minutes.

To be more accurate, moderate skating for a 140-pound person can burn as much as 330 calories an hour, but it will change depending on your size and your metabolism.

If you are a faster skater and aim for speed, you could burn as much as 600 calories in a single hour. This is because when you go faster; your heart rate goes up, which ultimately burns off calories.

Skating For Weight Loss

If you are thinking about skating in order to lose some weight, it is possible to do. Any exercise regime with a good diet is the right formula for weight loss.

As we mentioned above, the faster and harder that you skate, the more calories that you burn.

The higher your heart rate gets, the better chance that you will not just burn calories, but also begin to burn off fat as well.

You cannot target certain areas to burn off fat, however, so keep in mind that roller skating will not burn off belly fat or firm up your rear-end. Weight loss only works for the whole body.

Remember that exercise for weight loss really only works when you are also watching what you eat.

Even racing for an hour straight to burn 600 calories does not negate a really poor diet, so do not use roller skating as an excuse to eat poorly; it will not help you lose weight.

Different Types Of Skating And Fitness

Just like different types of skating will burn different amounts of calories, different types of skating work different parts of your body.

This can help you identify which kind of skating will target the muscles that you are hoping to focus on. Here are the three primary types:

Dance Skating

This sounds fun, and really it is a lot of fun, but it is also a lot of work. Dance skating works both your core and your legs.

The focus here is especially on your calves, so you might notice some shaping up as you practice this.

You might also notice that your posture and movement is a lot smoother after you do a lot of dance skating.

Street Skating

Street skating can be good for both cruising, but also navigating changes in terrain and incline. You are more likely to find bumps in the sidewalks and have to work with sudden declines and inclines.

This is not the ideal place for new skaters as a result and it will certainly work out your whole body. When you travel uphill, you will work a lot of muscle groups, but there is a heavy focus on your glutes, hamstrings, and your core.

Meanwhile, when you are cruising downhill, you will need to work you core and hips to control your movement and ensure that you will not wipe out.

Skating At A Skate-Park

Speaking of inclines and declines, there are a lot to be found if you are roller skating at the skate-park.

There is a lot of movement when working with the skate-park ramps. You will certainly be working out your muscles, including your core, glutes, hamstring, and even your quads.

You will burn a ton of calories if you skate at a skate park, because you need speed to really get going and there are a lot of obstacles to navigate.

In addition to weigh loss and fitness, there are other health benefits that you can get from roller skating.

Cardiovascular exercise really gets your heart pumping and will build up the strength of your heart.

This will make you far less likely to have health issues and can increase your overall longevity.

Skating is also good for your mental health. There is a certain level of freedom that comes from skating and the movement itself is an excellent way to reduce your stress level.

Exercise itself is always good for your mental health, but there is an added benefit to skating.

As we said earlier, roller skating is as aerobic as jogging is, but without the wear and tear that you put on your joints when you are out jogging.

Final Words

Ultimately, when you are trying to work out whether roller skating is good for weight loss or how many calories the exercise burns, the bottom line is that roller skating is an excellent way to exercise. It is a fun and efficient way to workout.

If you are not sure where to begin with roller skating, start in a predictable space without a lot of inclines to manage.

Once you have built up your core and control, then you can build up your speed and really begin to use roller skating as a means to burn calories.

Regardless of the reason that you take up skating, the bottom line is that it is a good and easy way to burn some calories.