Shamelessly Plugging My Exercise of Choice

So while I admit that actual roller derby might not be for everyone (because I do understand that there are people for whom getting knocked on their hind quarters 15 times in a night by crazy women dressed in booty shorts and fishnets might not be a description of "fun")... I do want to point out that even though it is not a contact sport, regular roller skating, either inline or with quad-skates, is some of the best exercise you can get.

Here's a few points of interest you might like to know about roller skating...

• Studies have shown that roller skating provides a complete aerobic workout and involves all of the body's muscles, especially the heart.
• Roller skating is equivalent to jogging in terms of health benefits-caloric consumption, reduction of body fat, and leg strength development.
• Just one hour of moderate roller skating burns 330 calories for a 143-pound person. If that same person roller skates vigorously, he or she will burn up to 590 calories in an hour.
• The number of calories burned per hour while skating at 6 mph is 350 and 600 while skating at 10 mph.
• According to a study conducted at the University of Massachusetts, in-line skating causes less than 50 percent of the impact shock to joints compared to running (not so hard on the knees!)
• During a 30-minute period, on the average, in-line skating at a steady, comfortable rate expends 285 calories and produces a heart rate of 148 beats per minute.

But here's something none of the "benefits of skating" people tend to mention. Roller skating is FUN! It's not like slogging to the gym and pedaling an elliptical machine for an hour. It's not like running endlessly on a treadmill... There's music! And other people having fun! You can go to your local rink and start skating, and before you know it an hour or even two has passed and you've been exercising all that time without any of the horrible boredom that goes along with the gym!

----- End shameless plug for the roller skating industry -----