Week 16: Off-Skates Training

So this week I was unable to make derby practice as I was in hospital (not from derby, may I just add! I was having an allergy screening.) But I had recently bought a workout DVD so I thought I'd give that a go instead.

I was looking in to off-skates workouts as I knew I needed to improve my core muscles (to help with balance) and to generally tone up my legs and get fitter. A lot of people recommended videos on the internet to use and there were a few websites that suggested workout routines. This all sounded good and, obviously, the videos were free! However, with shoddy internet I'd probably have to wait ages for the video to buffer or it would keep stopping plus I'd have to spend time, in between, clicking through videos, etc. I know, I know, that sounds like an absolutely ridiculous thing to to whine about but I just wanted a one video workout that I could put on and do without any faffing around! After Googling "roller derby workout" I found a DVD called, funnily enough, Roller Derby Workout!

It's a 50 minute long workout that has warm-up stretches, a core section, a leg section, a booty section, and an off-skates section. Skates are totally optional and you can wear them for all of the sections, except the last one. I have opted for no skates as I have a laminated floor and I can see myself breaking my neck! I might get some ankle weights though to make-up for the skates.

So I put the DVD in and got ready for an intense workout. Boy, was it intense! About 30 minutes in I was sweating like a good 'un! I did end up having to wear my knee pads and elbow pads as a lot of the stuff was on the floor and I needed some sort of cushioning, so that didn't help the sweating! The warm up was very similar to the stretches we do at derby training and then we moved on to core. Here I discovered my extreme lack of core muscles! "Now for a plank, we're going to hold this for 30 second" How about 10!? I collapsed to the floor! My stomach soon hated me after that section. The leg section wasn't too bad as they've been strengthened thanks to skating and the booty section wasn't too bad either! I'd done it and I felt awesome! Perfectly toned body, here we come!

The next day wasn't so much fun. My stomach ached, my legs ached, and it only got worse as the day went on. It was one thing I'd forgotten about skating. I used to feel like this every week after practice but I rarely get it now. I'd like to say it's cause I'm use to it, it's more likely that I'm not pushing myself enough. After a very long day at work (I work in a basement, which didn't help my legs!) I was set to go skating at the adult roller disco. I also thought a little gentle skating might help flush my muscles - there was certainly no chance of practising anything like crossovers or stops or even glides!

Skates on, pads on, ready to go. The first few laps weren't bad until my wheel skidded on something and I had to cling on to the rail to stop myself falling over (someone's inline skate had exploded and I'd actually skidded on a bit of wheel!) After recovering from that surprise, I went back on to try again. About 4 laps later my legs were killing me and I was having real trouble trying to actually skate. Whenever I came up to people who were skating slower than me, rather than trying to go round them or to try and slow down, I felt like I would rather just fall over, so I came off the track and rested for a bit. The rest of the evening continued like this and, when I got home, I literally had to fall in to bed as my legs wouldn't allow me to bend to get in. The next morning wasn't any easier. I was late for work because I couldn't walk at my normal pace! Thankfully, though, my legs started to ease up as the day went on.

As much pain as it caused me, I knew my muscles would eventually get used to it, so I did the workout again this morning. As my muscles are still a little sore, I didn't push myself. Rather than 20 of each exercise, I chose to do 10 or 15. If my muscles started to hurt rather than ache, then I stopped. I wasn't going to injure myself! I'm not sure how I'm going to feel tomorrow. I'm hopinh not as bad as last time!

I have a good feeling about this workout and I'm hoping it will help improve my skating ability too. I'll keep you guys updated!