If you ask a regular skater the thing that they are scared of the most, their likely answer would be stopping while skating downhill. The truth is stopping downhill is tricky because most stopping techniques you employ while skating on flat roads might not work there. This is probably the thing that makes it even scarier for some of these skaters.
But stopping on roller skates downhill isn’t that scary. On the contrary, it’s more fun than you can imagine. The best way to stop on roller skates going downhill is to use both toe stops. You might be slightly confused about this, but don’t worry, I will explain in detail in the course of this article. Before I teach you how to stop on roller skates going down the hill, you need to learn how to skate downhill first. For those who have always wanted to learn this, now is your chance to become proficient. So, let’s get started.
How to Skate Down the Hill (Beginners Guide)
Skating, whether uphill or downhill requires balance and uses all your muscles. If they are not toned up, you won’t be able to skate properly. In addition, you could end up with body pains after skating. Therefore, you must exercise your core, legs, and thighs before picking up your skates.
Even after skating, you still need to do a few exercises to ensure that your body is still in shape. The life of a skater isn’t easy, but if you are ready to get into the skating clique, then you need to be prepared to do what’s necessary – exercising. The first time I skated, I didn’t exercise, and I regretted it terribly. I ended up falling multiple times, sustaining bruises, and even had a few broken ribs from the falls. I’m sure you don’t want to end up like me.
Warming up before skating increases your strength, speed, and agility. It increases blood flow and makes the muscles more flexible, decreasing the chances of them being torn or strained. Warming up reduces the risk of injuries. But, when you don’t warm up, you will have strained muscles. Now, you may ask yourself, what are those exercises that can help tone your core, thighs, and build your strength and balance? While skating itself is an exercise, you still need to engage in some warm-up exercises to prepare your body for it.
These workouts are divided into two; on-skate and off-skate. Off-skate exercises are for beginners and those who haven’t skated before, while the other is for regular skaters. Although I wouldn’t advise you to try on-skate exercises, especially if starting, they can keep your muscles toned. I will tell you the workouts that fall into the above categories.
You can also do all the exercises in the two categories if you want. It will only build your endurance and stability even more. Remember, aspiring skaters need to practice more to become perfect, so you need to be totally committed to the exercises described here.
Let’s start with those for novices.
Off-Skate Exercises
Slide Lunges
Side lunges are exercises you do to warm up your thighs, which are one of the parts that get worked up during skating. To do this, step to the side, then bend down to a squat. Set your shoulders wide and go from side to side.
Glute Stretch
This is one of the exercises you need to do before skating. Glute stretch can get your hip and buttock region stretched and toned up. Bend your knees, concentrate your weight on one of the legs. Then cross the other leg over the leg with the concentrated weight above your knee and bend to stretch. Switch to the other leg and repeat the same process.
Balance on One Foot
This exercise will enhance your skating balance. Bend your right or left knee, raise the other leg, and lean forward. The goal here is to stay balanced on one foot for as long as possible. Repeat this exercise on the other leg.
Hamstring Stretch
Stretching the hamstring is crucial while skating because the legs and the thighs are much involved. Stand on both feet, bend, and leap forward at the waist while keeping your legs straight. Reach for your toes until you feel hamstrings stretched.
Skate Position
This exercise is all about assuming the skating position. Simple right? No, it isn’t if you haven’t done it before. It works great on your glutes, hamstrings, shoulders, and lower and upper back. To do this exercise, stand on your feet straight with your feet apart, bend your knees at 45°, extend the toes, and raise one of the legs to the side.
Ensure your knees stay bent all through. Bring back the extended leg slowly to avoid falling and switch to the other leg. You can try this exercise with your skates on.
Single-Leg Squats
This exercise is similar to balancing on one foot. It tones up your quadriceps, cores, and the muscles in your calves and hamstrings. Stand straight on one leg and keep your hands on the hips. Extend the other leg slowly by bending the knee on the first leg and lowering your body up to 45°. While in this state, push yourself up. Switch to the other leg and repeat the same process.
Lower-Back Booster
Roller skating can put a lot of stress on your back. The booster workout can maintain a solid lower back by strengthening the hip muscles and hamstrings. To do this, keep your hands on your hips and bend the knee to 45°. While in this position, lower your torso for some seconds and return it to its normal position.
On-Skate Exercises
Squats
You can do squats both on skates and off the skates. Squats help to activate the core and the quads. Squatting for a minute or two will develop the leg muscles, giving you more balance and agility.
Toe Stops
This exercise involves walking on the toe stops of the skates and jogging one lap at a time alternatively. It is a comfortable exercise that you can do, and you can increase the number of laps for more intensity.
Skating in the Opposite Direction
This is another warm-up exercise for pro skaters. This exercise is done by simply skating in the opposite direction. Pro skaters do this to even out the muscles.
Note that even pro skaters can do the exercises that beginners do. Like I said, combining both exercises will give you additional endurance and stability. However, novices shouldn’t do these on skates until they have become more proficient.
Let’s get to how to skate down the hill properly. These skating techniques I’m about to teach you can also be used while skating on a flatter surface, but the main goal here is learning how to go down the hill.
- Get your safety gears on. It means cladding yourself in wrist guards, knee pads, elbow pads, and a helmet. You can forfeit the helmet if you feel it will become a burden. But, you wouldn’t want to risk bumping your head into something, especially while going downhill.
- Stand on your feet staggered or a little apart. Don’t have them inline so that when you bump into something big accidentally with your skates, you won’t fall to the ground. If you skate inline, you could fall easily because the speed attained going downhill is incomparable to that while going on level ground. I recommend putting one foot slightly ahead of the other.
- You can skate down the hill in two ways – going straight or moving around the edges. As a beginner, I recommend going around the edges because you have a lesser chance of falling than moving straight. Also, it’s convenient stopping while going around the edges.
- While moving around the edges, I recommend you loop or cut into your edges like going zigzag while your knees are bent at 45°. It gives you better control and balance. However, you must keep your core, your back, and your abs engaged all the time and never lose focus. Keep your head on your destination and avoid looking down as much as possible.
- Keep your knees bent and ensure that you lower your body to the ground. Body position is paramount when skating. Doing this will push your weight further down the skate and help you to gain more balance. If you are too light on the upside, you could lose stability.
- As I mentioned earlier, cutting into your edges gives you better balance, control, and can also help you to slow down. If you wish to make a stop, you can either stop on your toe stops or press inwards and outwards more slowly until you stop.
How to Stop on Roller Skates Going Downhill
Now that you know how to skate down the hill, I will teach you how to make those stops on your skates conveniently. You can also employ these techniques on level ground. So, let’s get started with how you can stop yourself when skating down the hill.
- When going downhill and you want to make a stop, turn around backward, lower your body a little bit so that your weight stays down but not too much. If your weight stays down so much, it may likely result in a fall.
- Keep your knees bent at 45°. Mount on your toe stops simultaneously and put both toe-stops down like you are digging into it. Many skaters put one toe stop down, but I don’t recommend this, especially if you are skating speedily.
- Some toe stops aren’t as high as others, so your stopping will depend on your elevation and weight. I recommend you evaluate how high your toe stops are and then decide how low you can get.
- Most people try to reach for the ground with their hands when putting both toe-stops down. It would be best you didn’t do this. Instead, keep your knees bent with your top side a little forward and back engaged.
- While trying to stop, always look ahead and not focus downwards. Your weight will send you down in no time if you face down. Since you are skating downhill, facing down could be dangerous.
- You can spread your hands either sideways or backward while stopping. This is a great idea because that can help you to attain more stability on the skates.
Conclusion
Skating down the hill is fun and can expose you to a new world of experience, even though it can be scary at times. As a beginner, you don’t need to be afraid of skating down there, let alone be scared of stopping. I have shared some techniques I use while going downhill, and I’m pretty sure they will work for you if you follow all the instructions.
So, never stop skating and continue to learn on the move. Many techniques and skills are discovered in the process, and who knows, you could develop one in your adventure.
