Rollerblading is an enjoyable activity, but it is also one of the best ways to improve your overall fitness. According to University of Wisconsin Medical School assistant professor Carl Foster, rollerblading provides a dynamic workout that can help burn more calories than running or cycling, build more muscle than those two activities and is also comparable as an aerobic exercise.
Burning Calories
Interval skating on rollerblades burns more calories than hard running or bicycling. In interval skating, you skate hard in the tuck position for 1 minute and skate upright in a more relaxed manner the next minute. Skating in this manner burns about 450 calories in 30 minutes. Running or cycling will burn between 350 and 360 calories over a similar amount of time.
Anaerobic Benefits
The benefit of an anaerobic exercise is determined by how well the workout strengthens and develops muscles. Inline skating provides excellent anaerobic benefits to the hips and thigh muscles in addition to the glutes, buttocks and calf muscles. Running and cycling don't benefit the hips and thighs as much as rollerblading.
Aerobic Workout
Inline skating provides an aerobic workout when you skate for at least 30 minutes at a time. Aerobic exercise benefits both the heart and the lungs. The 1991 inline skating study done by Foster, who also served as the coordinator of sports medicine and sports science for the U.S. Speed Skating team, found that running was a better aerobic workout than rollerblading, but that cycling was not as good a workout as rollerblading.
Technique
While running and bicycling can usually be mastered in early childhood, rollerblading takes more know-how and practice. Before you can make a plan to get healthy by rollerblading, you have to learn how to start, stop, accelerate, turn and keep your balance on inline skates. Use elbow pads, knee pads and a helmet to protect yourself from being injured in a fall.
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