Burning Calories While Skating & Rollerblading

Rollerblading, also known as inline skating, takes its name from the company that came up with roller blades. Conventional skates or ‘quad skates’ came with four wheels affixed to the soles: two in the front and two at the back. Rollerblade or inline skates come with single line of three, four, or five wheels or rollers fixed right down the centre of the soles. Some skates come equipped with a ‘brake’ or ‘stop’ so as to enable the skater to reduce speed if needed. The brake is generally found in the heel of the skates, and very rarely in the toe region.

These brakes are particularly useful during in-line figure skating.

Skating activities and rollerblading require balancing and moving the lower body in particular patterns in order to perform on a pair of skates. Skating and rollerblading can be taken up as a recreational activity to shed weight the fun way, burning away calories by the hour, and at the same time improving one’s physical health. This activity burns about 461 calories per hour. As one continues with the regimen, the body will adapt to exercise, and you will need to skate longer or increase the intensity in order to burn your calories.

How Many Calories Are Burned While Rollerblading?

According to one study, a person weighing 160 lb will be able to burn 913 calories in one hour of rollerblading. This will vary according to body weight. Given the same amount of time, a 200 lb person will be able to burn 1,138 calories, and a 240 lb person 1363 calories. In order to lose one pound, a person needs to burn about 3,500 calories. In order to lose 20 lb, a person will need to burn 70,000 calories during a period of three months or 13 weeks, which are 5,400 per week or 800 calories a day while maintaining the same diet.

Larger and heavier people tend to burn more calories than smaller-built people. Of course, skating over steep inclines and curves requires more effort, and hence more calories are used up. If a person wants to lose 20 lbs in 3 months, following this chart will help. This chart indicates the calories burned in an hour of rollerblading.

A 120lb person skating at 8 mph will lose 250 calories.
At 10 mph, a 120 lb person will burn 440 calories.
A 120 lb person skating at 12 mph will lose 630 calories.
A 120 lb person skating at 14 mph will lose 820 calories
A 120 lb person skating at 16 mph will burn 1000 calories.
A 200 lb person skating at 8 mph will lose 470 calories.
A 200 lb person skating at 10 mph will lose 670 calories.
A 200 lb person skating at 12mph will lose 850 calories.
A 200 lb person skating at 14 mph will lose 1000 calories.
A 200 lb person skating at 16 mph will lose 1200 calories. Also read diet plan for burning 1200 calories

Calories burned rollerblading per mile can be calculated from the above table. The above values are for miles. Burning calories by rollerblading per km can be accordingly calculated by converting the values. Speed and a person’s body weight determine number of calories lost. Charts are available online for a six-month exercise regimen too.

Rollerblading is a combination of a fun-filled as well as a calorie-burning activity. The number of calories burned should obviously be more than the food intake. As with all exercise plans, a healthy and nutritious diet is a must. Similar to calories burnt while exercising, a person’s weight and the average speed while rollerblading are taken into account before arriving at the number of calories burned. The intensity, speed and distance covered within a specific time make a huge difference to the calories burned.

Submitted on January 16, 2014