Does Roller Skating Help with Ice Skating? {7 Unique Ways}

Does roller skating help with ice skating? Roller skating and ice skating share more similarities than differences. Some ice skaters cross-train with roller skates during summer to prepare for winter ice skating sport.

So, after research, I’ve put together this guide to elaborate on how roller skating helps with ice skating. Roller skating uses skills and techniques like body posture, stopping, and turning that can be applied to ice skating. In addition, roller skating develops muscles, improves balance and coordination, develops speed, has cardio and aerobic benefits, and boots confidence—all these help keep the body fit for ice skating.

7 Ways Roller Skating Helps Ice Skating

But this is only the tip of the iceberg. In the rest of this post, I’ll dive into the details of how roller skating helps with ice skating. So, without much ado, let’s get to it!

1. Roller Skating Vs. Ice Skating Skills and Technique

Roller skating uses specific skills and techniques like skating posture, stopping or slowing down, and turning that can be used in ice skating. Below is how that works.

Roller Skating Vs. Ice Skating Posture

Roller skating and ice skating are skating disciplines, meaning they all use the same posture when skating. What’s the recommended skating posture, you ask? The recommended skating posture is staying low with bent knees above the toes and shoulders over the hips.

This posture helps to transfer your body weight to your toe balls, preventing possible forward or backward fall. Because of this, it’s possible to cross-train with roller skating to learn the basics of skating, especially when you can’t access an ice skating rink.

Stopping on Roller Skates Vs. Ice Skating

Ice skates don’t have a pre-fitted braking system like roller skates. However, there are braking techniques the two skating disciplines share, like the snowplow. These stopping methods cut across all skating disciplines and so you can use them when ice skating.

Turning on Roller Skates Vs. Ice Skating

There are many ways to turn when roller skating or ice skating. The most common ones are flat spins, parallel turns, and cross-overs. The techniques are relatively simple and easy to learn. However, it’s advisable to start with less complicated techniques like flat spins.

Instead, it’s better to stat with parallel turns, graduate to cross-overs, and lastly to flat spins. In addition, when doing flat spins, start with the less advanced turns like 180 degrees spins before graduating to the 360 degrees and 1080 degrees spins.

Roller skating and Ice Skating Safe Falling Technique

Falling is inevitable when skating. Even the most experienced skaters fall occasionally. However, it’s more familiar with beginner and some intermediate skaters. Considering ice skates have a shorter blade base, and balancing can be an issue, falling is expected.

Nonetheless, there are several safe ways to fall when skating. Most importantly, these techniques cut across whether you’re rollerblading, roller skating, or ice skating. That being said, once you learn the correct ways to fall when roller skating, you can easily apply them to ice skating.

2. Muscle Development and Endurance when Skating

Ice skating is mainly done in winter, especially outdoor ice skating on frozen roads and water bodies. Nonetheless, you can still go ice skating any time regardless of the season because there are numerous ice skating rinks in operation.

If you’re a professional ice skater, adopting roller skating as a cross-exercise sport can go a long way, especially when you’re not in your ice skates. Roller skating is vigorous and works all body muscles like ice skating. Therefore, practicing on roller skates will help you build the same muscles while giving you the endurance you need when on the ice skating tracks.

3. Body Balance and Control when Skating

Like we’ve already seen, roller skating and ice skating use the same skating posture. Therefore, practicing on roller skates will help you build body balance and control when ice skating. Ice skates can be unstable due to the nature of the blades.

Therefore, practicing roller skates can help you gain quick control on ice skates even though they have different means of locomotion. The bottom line is, if you can learn to balance and have control over roller skates, it shouldn’t take you long to adjust to ice skates.

4. Development of Speed

Though ice skates are faster than roller skates, you can still add some little speed to your ice skating speed limit by practicing on roller skates. Roller skating, like other skating disciplines, is fast enough.

Studies show that, on average, roller skates roll at a speed of 31 miles per hour. Therefore, transferring it to ice skates wouldn’t be a problem if you can sustain this speed on roller skates. Don’t you think so?

5. Cardiovascular Benefits of Roller Skating

All skating disciplines have health benefits since they’re considered low-impact aerobic exercises. So, regardless of whether you’re doing ice skating, roller skating, rollerblading, or skateboarding, the cardiovascular benefits are the same and cut across the board.

Therefore, roller skating on the sides will help you gain more cardiovascular benefits like improved heart health, low cholesterol, and lung function.

6. Aerobic Benefits of Roller Skating

Roller skating and ice skating are low-impact aerobic exercises, meaning they’re rough on calories but gentle on joints. Besides that, both sports require energy to propel you around. Therefore, the body burns excess calories and fats in the body and converts them to glucose.

This helps to keep excess calories in check and burns the stored fats in the muscles. Roller skating more often will boost your fitness, making you more agile when on ice skates.

So, if you’re looking for an alternative way to keep fit, roller skating has tons of aerobic benefits and will help you achieve your goals in record time.

7. Boosts Self-Esteem and Confidence

I love skating for many reasons. However, the fact that it can boost one’s self-esteem and confidence stand out for me. Balancing on skates takes a lot of courage. Moreover, skating with like-minded skaters at skating rinks or parks helps to build confidence.

Therefore, if you’re looking for ways to boost your confidence and self-esteem, practicing with roller skates once in a while can be helpful.

More Ways to Get Better at Ice Skating

Getting better at ice skating requires a lot of time and patience. In addition, you need to do the right things, like practicing the right techniques. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Here’s more to what you can do to get better at ice skating.

Signup for ice skating lessons—this is a sure way to flatten your learning curve quickly. Sometimes having a dedicated trainer is all you need to give you the little push.
Network with like-minded skaters—peer learning is often underrated but yields the best results ever. So, learning frommore experienced or slightly experienced ice skaters can move the needle for you.
Practice more often—ice skating at least once a week for between 30 minutes and one hour is better than not skating at all. So, try to visit the rink occasionally to improve your skating skills. If you find it costly, cross-training through roller skating and other skating disciplines like rollerblading can still suffice.

Does Roller Skating Help with Ice Skating? Wrapping up!

Does roller skating help with ice skating? If you’ve been asking, the answer is a big yes. Roller skating and ice skating uses the same techniques as stopping and skating posture. Besides, roller skating works the muscles and keeps the body fit for ice skating. Therefore, if you’re thinking of cross-training using roller skates, I’d urge you to go for it.

More Reading: Is Ice Skating Hard? (Your Burning Question Answered Comprehensively)