Y’all may remember that I {try to} play roller derby. I’m still what they call ‘fresh meat’, though. That means I need to up my game-both on skates and in the kitchen and that I need a great roller derby workout.
Full Body Roller Derby Workout
I am finally able to get back on skates regularly (Mondays and Thursdays), so now I just need to work on building up my “skating” muscles so that I can pass my 10 lap in under 2 minutes and 10 seconds (yes, really).
When I skate, I’m usually skating for a minimum of 90 minutes, which is amazing cardio, and according to my Polar a360, over 1000 calories…I know this because I can see it on my activity tracker, and reflected in my weight when I use my Polar Balance scale, which syncs directly with my app.
As if that wasn’t enough, when I’m not exercising, my activity tracker/watch reminds me to get off my booty and move. Which is a good thing when you work a full time job from home!
Great for getting healthy, but I need to eat some of those back…and while it’s super tempting to eat drive through junk, I find that it’s much, much easier to make myself a quick smoothie when I get home to refuel and help my body recover.
The same goes for more traditional workouts. You push yourself, and then you need to heal and rebuild. Literally. Sometimes, you just need a quick workout that gets the job done and helps you improve your game. And for my roller derby workout, I need to focus on muscles that I normally do not think about.
Roller Derby Workout
Now, there are certain muscles that you use when skating that are often overlooked because they’re smaller muscle groups. This can be frustrating if you can’t be on skates all the time. And for us girls, these spots are often the ones that we want to work on anyway. It’s a win-win.
Here’s my current off-skate workout that I’m busting out daily. It’s fast (just 21 minutes!), and fun. You’ll need enough space for lunges, a 10-15 pound weight or barbell, and a timer (your phone should work).
Perform as many reps of each exercise as you can for one minute, then switch exercises. Simple, right? Simple, but effective. This workout will burn in a good way. You’re done when you’ve completed 3 rounds!
- Skater or Curtsey Lunges
- Weighted Deadlifts
- Full Plank (it’s just a minute!)
- Single leg balance-right
- Single leg balance-left
- Push Ups
- Squat Jumps
Don’t forget to have your fitness tracker on! My a360 said I “walked” 5,000 steps during that workout!
You Need Protein AND Carbohydrates
Have you ever heard of the “anabolic window”? Often heavy lifters will often carry a protein shake that has a good protein/carb balance to prevent the body from breaking down muscle mass for energy. The idea is that you use an external source of readily digestible protein (and fast digesting carbs) so your body uses that and builds your muscles.
The protein helps to encourage muscle growth and assists in muscle repair, while the carbs step in so your body doesn’t have to make energy right after a huge workout. The catch is that this combination really does need to be consumed as soon as possible after your workout. Like NOW. Right now. The outside window appears to be around 45 minutes to an hour for the macronutrients to do their job.
That’s not saying that you have to, but that is the recommended window.
So, if you want to be super simple about it, you can bring ants on a log with you to the gym, or make it as soon as you get home (or to the office). Or you can make yourself a protein shake. Here’s one of my favorites:
Mint Chocolate Recovery Shake
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
- 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
- 8-12 ounches plain, unsweetened almond milk or water (your choice)
- 1 tablespoon stevia-sweetened chocolate chips
- 1 scoop collagen
- 5000 grams Glutamine
- Ice
Toss everything into your blender and blend away. Add ice to increase the thickness of your shake. If you’re traveling, you can skip the ice, but make sure you shake the stuffing out of it in your shaker bottle.
Remember to hydrate with water as well-you actually need to hydrate the day before you exercise (so every day, let’s just be real), so drink up! Don’t forget to track your progress at the same time each day using your scale.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Polar US . The opinions and text are all mine.
