Is rollerblading good for hockey players? Rollerblading is an excellent off-ice cross-training activity for many sports since it’s associated with many physical and health benefits.
Rollerblading is considered a low-impact aerobic activity. It’s gentle on the bones and joints but rough on calories. This is to say, rollerblading burns calories and body fat to keep the body lean and fit.
It also improves balance and works all body muscles, especially the lower body. Hockey players need balance and stronger muscles.
They also need to be fit and lean for the sport. Can they use rollerblading to achieve this goal?
I’ve put together this guide to point you in the right direction if you’re wondering whether rollerblading is good for hockey players. So, let’s get to it!
Is Rollerblading Good for Hockey Players?
Is rollerblading good for hockey players? Yes, rollerblading is good for hockey players. Rollerblading is an excellent off-ice cross-training activity for hockey players to stay in shape during the off-season and improve stick handling technique, puck shooting, and balance.
Rollerblading and ice hockey use techniques such as stopping, transitioning, pushing and gliding, and posture. Hockey players can use rollerblading since it develops muscles and strengthens the body.
How Rollerblading is Good for Hockey Players
I got good news for you if you’re wondering whether rollerblading is good for hockey players. Below, we dive into how rollerblading is good for hockey players!
1. Helps Hockey Players Stay in Shape During the Off-season
Hockey players’ best shot at being great is to train regularly. But this can be daunting, especially during the off-season months.
While some players down their hockey tools, passionate players switch to off-season training tools like rollerblading.
Rollerblading is considered a low-impact aerobic activity. So, it’s gentle on the joints but burns calories. Research shows that rollerblading burns between 573 and 1069 calories per hour.
Considering it is summer, keeping fit for the next season can be a hassle for obvious reasons. The good news is that you don’t need to stress about it when you can turn to rollerblading.
It’s an excellent way to burn calories, belly fat, and other muscle fat to keep fit for the next hockey season.
The best part is it’s fun and doesn’t feel like a workout. All hockey players need this to be on top of their game.
2. Offers an Opportunity to Improve Hockey Skills
Rollerblading offers an opportunity for hockey players to improve their hockey skills. The best way to achieve this is to consider joining roller hockey.
It’s similar to ice hockey but with slight differences. For example, while ice hockey uses bladed hockey skates, roller hockey uses skates with rolling wheels.
The other difference is the surface. Ice hockey is primarily done on an ice rink, while roller hockey is done on surfaces like asphalt, polyurethane, and wood.
So, how does roller hockey help ice hockey? You must be asking. Here’s the thing! Both roller hockey and ice hockey use similar techniques, as discussed below!
- Stickhandling: The stick handling technique is the same for ice hockey and roller hockey. Getting to roller hockey would be a great opportunity to improve your stickhandling skills.
- Puck shooting: the target is to get the puck into the opponent’s goal to score. Both sports use the same techniques to shoot the puck from one point to another. Playing roller hockey during the off-season is an excellent idea to improve your shooting skills.
- Transitions: the primary transitions in hockey are crossover turns and forward and backward turns. The good news is that you can practice these transitions on roller hockey during the off-season.
- Stopping: the primary hockey stopping techniques are the t-stop and power slide. The good news is that you can learn these stopping techniques while rollerblading. Roller hockey and recreational rollerblading are great for improving your stopping techniques.
- Propulsion: roller hockey and ice hockey use glide and push motions for propulsion. You’ll push and glide on rollerblades the same way you’d on ice skates. The only difference is that ice hockey uses more inside edges than roller hockey. But you can also get the inside edges on rollerblades by slightly bending your feet inwards.
- Recommended posture: all skating activities use the same posture for stability and coordination. The recommended posture involves bending. Your knees should be above your toes and shoulders over your hips to evenly transfer your body weight to your footballs. You can learn and master this technique on rollerblades.
3. Improves Body Balance
Balance is crucial for ice hockey as players must make quick transitions and move from one point in the rink to another.
Since ice hockey and roller hockey apply the same strategy, you can improve your body balance by rollerblading.
As we’ve seen above, realizing proper balance starts with learning and mastering the correct posture.
Rollerblading is a reliable tool for improving balance as you wait for the ice hockey season.
4. Works the Body Muscles and Strengthens the Body
Strong muscles are crucial for hockey since the sport can be aggressive. One of the benefits of rollerblading is working and strengthening body muscles, especially the lower body.
The primary muscles rollerblading works are the core, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. These muscles are essential when playing hockey since they’re responsible for propulsion.
5. Rollerblading is Fun and a Great Way to Pass Time
Lastly, rollerblading is a fun and great way to pass the time. It stimulates the production of dopamine, the feel-good hormone, helping manage stress.
Overall, rollerblading improves mental health, making it an excellent therapy. Hockey players need strong mental health for optimum performance and can use rollerblading to get it.
Is Rollerblading Good for Hockey Players? | Wrapping Up
Is rollerblading good for hockey players? No doubt, rollerblading is an excellent way for hockey players to improve their skills during the off-season.
Rollerblading also helps hockey players to stay in shape, improve skills like crossovers and, forward and backward turns, stopping, and propulsion.
I believe this guide has cleared the air and pointed you in the right direction if you plan to continue playing hockey during the off-season.
You’ll need to acquire properly-fitting roller hockey skates like the Alkali Revel 5 Senior Adult Inline Roller Hockey Skates and join roller hockey players in your neighborhood.
Alternatively, you can train yourselves by playing roller hockey while you wait for the new season with your ice hockey buddies.
