Learning to inline skate without a heel brake is NOT the best way to become a good skater quickly. "What are you doing skating with that brake? Take it off, it doesn't work, it'll only get in the way." This (and other versions of this) are the mantra and industry norm...
Feeling stuck & feeling frustrated with slow progress in your skating? When adults start skating (on rollerblades or roller skates) there’s a HUGE variation in rates of progress from one person to another.We can say that new adult skaters fall into one of 3...
Pt 2 in a series of posts by our instructor (and airline pilot), Sabine 23rd March, 2023 London Heathrow - Houston, Texas Flight time 9h 47min Time difference 6h After weeks of rain, wind and freezing temperatures in the UK, it is so nice to spend a few days in warmer...
Pt 2 in a series of posts by our instructor (and airline pilot), Sabine February 2023San Jose, CaliforniaFlight time 10h 23Time difference 8h Waking up in my lovely room in San Jose, the local time is 4am. One glance at the clock tells me to go back to sleep, no jet...
How do you feel when you are out for a skate and then you see a downhill slope approaching or you simply notice that you have started accelerating? If it's a gentle downhill slope and you can see when it flattens out, then perhaps you feel some excitement as you know...
Have you ever practiced a skill for several weeks or even months and STILL not been able to do it Many people experience this with many new skills they want to learn.If practice did make perfect, then no one would struggle with new skills after some ‘practice’.I see a...
Back in 2005 I started teaching Mark to skate at age 57. His doctor had told him to get some aerobic exercise and to lose weight and he was scared because his father died at age 60 of heart disease. All his life he had always wanted to skate but never had. He hated...
I recently received this question from a student using the Skatefresh Beginner Online Course. I think so many wish they’d asked this question but “heel brake shaming” is still so prevalent it’s probably why they didn’t ask. “I want to become very skilled at urban...
Wizard skating is the new name given to a style of freestyle skating popularised by Canadian aggressive skater @LeonBasin and his friends from @Mushroomblading. They came out of the skate park and started using “flat ground” for tricks, transitions, jumps and flowing...
“When I started to skate aged 69, I think my friends and family were as surprised as I was that I could. I only heard encouraging things from them, along with amazed laughter: those who felt otherwise didn’t say anything.” - Edwina (now 74) This kind of reaction is...
https://youtu.be/lQCv0FK5OLQ How do your hips and glutes feel after you've been for a skate? Most people report to feeling more open and energised in the hips and glutes due to the added muscular load that skating puts on these muscle groups. They can feel tired,...
https://youtu.be/L4VfLduKkvQ In the northern hemisphere the weather is getting colder and darker and I can feel this change in my joints…. I need a little more time to warm up and stretch after skating so I don’t get stiff and achy.Do you have any pain after you...
My father has lived in Uganda for over 25 years and after not seeing him for almost 3 years due to the pandemic, my 3 siblings and I decided to spend Christmas 2021 with him. We had a fabulously relaxing family holiday together, spent mostly at my father's lakeside,...
At some point in your roller skating journey you will want to try and skate backwards. It’s fun, it’s different and looks kinda cool. At Skatefresh we try to show and help skaters of all ages and abilities how to learn new skills efficiently, without trial and...
How does your lower back feel right now?How does it feel after a skate? So many skaters feel some kind of discomfort or ache in the lower back and it can become an issue if ignored and not explored. I've had a huge number of interactions with skaters over the...
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...
As an inline and quad skate coach with over two decades’ experience, I worry when I see this popular question searched on Google. Why do I worry? Because "beginner skaters" should not be in a skate park. The global boom in roller sports, quad roller-skating in...
This is a video reply to a beginner inline skater's question about socks and which ones are the best to wear for roller skating or inline skating. Asha shows variations of socks that you can consider for the perfect, most comfortable fit, whether you are on inline...
When a skater decides to begin skating on streets, it is I hope with a clear and rational understanding of their skill level and ability to control and stop their speed at will. Not being able to do this is not ideal even in isolated situations, but it is risky and...
The following article contains content written by Peter, a Skatefresh customer and scientist based in Cambridge in the UK. Peter only started skating at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown and unlike most "new skaters" he's already got an amazing Fitness...