Knee issues are very common with skaters, especially those who begin to skate a lot or start doing longer distances before their leg muscles are strong enough to support the joints properly.
Skating correctly demands that the leg muscles do a huge amount of work compared to being sedentary, so it’s very common for new skaters to complain of knee and leg pains when they suddenly begin to skate and increase their skating intensity or frequency.
Having a regular maintenance program for supporting your knees and lower body muscles should be part of every skater’s weekly routine, especially as we get older. This series and the other free resources within ‘Yoga 4 Skaters’ are designed to support you in achieving that if you choose.
Many people assume yoga is “just stretching” but I wanted to educate skaters about how yoga can be used to not only increase flexibility but to also increase muscle strength, particularly around certain joints. This is super useful for supporting your body as you take up skating and continue to skate more and more.
A knee surgeon had suggested I “have surgery then look for another job”. I hit my yoga mat instead and 11 years later I still don’t have any knee pain despite still skating A LOT.
Let me know via social media how these exercises felt to you.
I’m hoping to motivate you to supplement your skating with other strength building movements so you gain the benefits of cross training and avoid repetitive strain (slow-onset) injuries from your skating.