Get Rolling With This Summer’s Coolest Workout

Photo credit: iStock/kaspiic

Hitting the gym and logging miles are perfectly fine ways to exercise, but there’s one workout that builds strength and burns calories all while being a topnotch social activity: roller skating. Luckily for us, we have an outstanding roller rink right on the Delaware River, the Blue Cross Riverrink Summerfest. 

Roll through your workout

“Roller skating is fun, and it’s great exercise without being work. You can spend hours roller skating and not realize that you have been working out,” said Northeast Philadelphia’s Angela Lopez, a skater and member of the Moxi Skate team. She also runs Chicks in Bowls Philadelphia, a girls’ group that encourages people of all ages to roller-skate.

“I can spend hours trying to learn a new trick. During that time I am using my core, balance, and agility. I am getting a great sweat and then feeling accomplished that I’ve learned something new in the end,” Lopez said.

Express yourself

Unlike repetitive training and choreographed fitness classes, roller skating is a great way to cut loose and be yourself. Philadelphia circus artist and co-founder and creative director of Cotton Candy Circus Arts, Erin Flanigan agrees. “As a performer, I find roller-skating to be more expressive and interactive than other forms of exercise,” she said.

Roller-skating also boasts the benefit of being a total-body workout. Lopez and Flanigan both say that roller-skating works the calves, thighs, glutes, and core, as well as the arms. Learning a new skate skill, like skating backwards or the more advanced Salchow, is also a fantastic way to work different muscles.

Get social

Roller-skating is more than a killer workout, it’s a great way to meet people. “Roller skating has been the best networking tool I have ever used,” Lopez said. Through roller -skating, she says she’s met people “from all walks of life who share the same love of roller -skating.”

Not convinced? Give it a try! (IBX members enjoy free skating admission at the Blue Cross RiverRink when they show their member ID card.) There is a reason why people are flocking to local roller rinks: roller skating is, above all, fun! Finding a workout that is also fun encourages you stick with it. And, as it’s been discovered, long-term, regular exercise can be an ideal way to ward off disease and other potential ailments.

Use the hashtag #FearlessFit and share your favorite photos of you and your friends roller-skating. Get more information on how Independence Blue Cross can be a part of your plan for health and wellness.

Sponsor content is created for IBX by Philadelphia magazine as a marketing collaboration with IBX. This material is intended for reference and information only and should not be used in place of advice from a doctor or suitable qualified healthcare professionals.